Understanding the impact of international music therapy student placements on music therapy practice and professional identity

ABSTRACT

Introduction

In this article, authors present and contextualise findings from a research project examining the experience and impact of participation in an international music therapy student placement for nine Australian music therapists. Research participants reflect on the impact both at the time of the student placement, and subsequently on their professional lives as music therapists.

Method

Researchers used qualitative thematic analysis to analyse nine open-ended interviews with the research participants. Themes were articulated over three iterations of analysis and were developed into a series of narratives that reflected various perspectives on key emerging themes.

Results

Researchers interpreted five broad areas of learning from the data: Placement structure; challenges and supporting factors on placement; learning opportunities identified within the placement; future impact on individuals; and broader insights for the international development music therapy literature.

Discussion

Learning from across these five areas is considered in relation to the context of international development as an emerging practice area in music therapy. Researchers suggest how key data points may inform future approaches to music therapy practice. A critical lens is used to consider some ethical considerations related to this area of work, and to propose ways that research learning may inform future music therapy practice in international development.

KEYWORDS:

• International development
• music therapy
• student
• placement
• service learning
• sustainability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Keywords: Music therapy AND international development, humanitarian aid, humanitarian, service learning, crisis response, disaster.

² Journals searched: Journal of Music Therapy; Australian Journal of Music Therapy; New Zealand Journal of Music Therapy; Canadian Journal of Music Therapy; Nordic Journal of Music Therapy; British Journal of Music Therapy; Music Therapy Perspectives; Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy; Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy; Arts in Psychotherapy; Arts and Health; Journal of Applied Arts and Health; Qualitative Inquiries in Music Therapy.

³ Further articles including participant and stakeholder voices from this collaboration are pending publication.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Notes on contributors

Lucy Bolger

Lucy Bolger is a Senior Lecturer of Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne. She has worked with people across the lifespan in community and institutional settings, in Australia, Bangladesh and India. Lucy has particular interest and expertise in collaborative processes in music therapy, sustainability-oriented practice, participatory music work with communities and young people, and international development work in music therapy. She is also interested in equity and access to music therapy, and how innovative approaches can support music participation for those in remote and rural communities. These interests continue to inform her practice, research and teaching, and are underpinned by a belief that all people should have access to music as a resource for health and wellbeing.

Melissa Murphy

Melissa Murphy (Ph.D., RMT) is a music therapy practitioner, supervisor, educator and researcher. She has worked in mental health, aged and palliative care, but her primary interest lies in the disability sector. Melissa currently works with both children and adults with disability in the education system, community settings and in private practice drawing on her skills as a clinical music therapist, GIM practitioner and community music therapist. She is the founder of MusicSpace, a community music hub for people living in the greater Geelong and Surf coast regions in Victoria, Australia. Philosophically informed by critical and ecological theory, MusicSpace aims to foster personal and group creativity, as well as social and musical connections within the local community. She is the former National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) representative and Disability Advisor for the Australian Music Therapy Association and music therapy representative for the working group of Allied Health Professions Australia.