Critical Analysis: Letting It Out

Letting It Out: The Effect of Music Therapy on Bereaved Young People . Music is an undeniably powerful emotional tool; whether conscious of it or not, humans have been producing sounds as an expression of their most intimate feelings for thousands of years. Given the ubiquity of music in daily societal life, it’s possible to lose sight of its profound ability to affect human emotions on a deep, personal level. In her article “Tipping The Scales: A Substantive Theory On The Value Of Group Music Therapy For Supporting Grieving Teenagers,” Katrina McFerran details her study on the effects of group music therapy with bereaved teenagers. McFerran witnessed the dramatic benefits music therapy could bestow on grieving teens first hand. After spending years working with young people who lost loved ones to cancer, she felt that further research was required to ensure that her therapy provided the creative support the teens needed (McFerran 2). The studies she conducted, detailed within the article, provide compelling evidence for the positive effect music therapy can have on the psychological welfare of grieving teens. This particular study is quite interesting due to its adherence to a systematic methodology known as grounded theory, in which the first step of the scientific process is data collection and a theory is extrapolated later on based upon the observations (Strauss qtd. In McFerran, 2010, p.14). McFerran’s assertion that this is the best method for evaluating the potential effects of music therapy on the teens is sound given the qualitative nature of the study and the fact that the grounded theory approach allows for objective data gathering, without the bias of an expected result. Instead of a preliminary hypothesis McFerran poses the question “What is the experience of group music therapy for these six younger bereaved adolescents?” (McFerran 2) which is open-ended, allowing for any potential outcome rather than searching for one in particular. She continues to expand upon her original question until, after all the data is collected and organized, she proposes her theory: “Bereaved teenagers feel better if they have opportunities for fun and creative expression of their grief alongside their peers” (McFerran 22). Her process of moving from a vague original question to a directly focused theory is an incredibly effective structure for developing an impartial theory based solely on the data collection. McFerran’s study was conducted using two groups of students at an Australian middle school. Group one had a majority of male students with an average age of 14, while group two had a majority of girl students with an average age of 13. McFerran employs three methods of music therapy with each group: improvisation, song sharing, and song writing. “Group one did not engage in the improvisation, while group two embraced the idea of playing together on instruments and performed themed improvisations based on emotions such as ‘Calm,’ ‘Sad,’ ‘Angry’” (McFerran 11). This instance affirms McFerran’s decision to structure the study so two-sidedly, highlighting the divergent opinions of the different groups. The contrasting opinions, characterized by group one’s refusal to try the improvisation, demonstrate that all music therapy approaches will not work every time, and in some cases a specific activity can be beneficial to one group, while frustrating and counter intuitive to another. On the other hand, both groups welcomed song sharing and “discussion of preferred songs was lively and passionate, with each individual actively nominating significant songs” (McFerran 12). Interestingly, a CD of “grief songs” was compiled by the therapist and made available to both groups, which used them as reference points during music selection. This is one of the only potential biasing factors in McFerran’s study, and it is unclear if this had any influential effect on the subjects. According to McFerran, song writing seemed to have the most grief processing potential for the groups, and although there was an initial lack of focus, once the group decided to write a song, they stayed with the chosen topic all the way through musical development (McFerran12). Group sessions after song writing were more comfortable, with greater participation and openness. Beyond these experiments, McFerran also interviews the students in small groups and utilizes many references to past studies and relevant literature to support her interpretation of the data. Katrina McFerran is a senior lecturer at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Her study is intended to reach a scholarly audience of music educators, researchers, and psychologists. Given its publication in Qualitative Inquiries in Music Therapy the study could reach a larger audience of healthcare specialists and therapists as well. The article was published in 2010, which makes sense because music therapy is a fairly new field. McFerran’s style is key when talking about how she addresses her audience. McFerran’s tone is very calculated; she assures reliability with an in-depth statistical analysis of her study, addressing any potential flaws or areas that could be improved. There isn’t much in the way of vivid language, but what the study lacks in imagery it makes up for in specificity and detail. McFerran says “I do not believe that music therapists apply techniques in a prescriptive way, instead drawing on their professional knowledge in creative and improvised ways that belies their slightly rebellious personalities, with one study of music therapists identifying traits very similar to rock musicians,” (McFerran 23). This is telling of her tone given that she is working with teenagers, who would find a rock star comparison to be very engaging. She writes in a way that is clear and academic, yet she uses simple metaphors and turns of phrase to make her ideas more relevant and understandable for a wider audience. McFerran’s study pertains to the field of psychology, therapy, and healthcare and it follows that her work would be formatted as a typical research study in a scientific field. She goes through the process of collecting data and narrowing her results down through axial coding to get a better sense of what the information meant (McFerran 16). Using grounded theory, McFerran moves from her general questions about the potential benefits of music therapy on these teens, to her data gathering, then on to the establishment of a theory based on the data. McFerran’s results provide evidence that music therapy can benefit grieving teens. Upon reviewing the personal and group interviews with the teenagers, it is clear that the music therapy had been beneficial to almost all of the teens. While every approach didn’t work perfectly, some aspect of the therapy was helpful to all of the teens involved in the study. These results gives credibility to the idea that music therapy will become more widely implemented form of healthy coping for those grieving the loss of a loved one