Therapist's Clinical Decision-Making: Working in the Music and Music Therapy Methods, An International Roundtable Discussion

The foundation of therapeutic practice is the understanding the affordances, opportunities, challenges, demands, and risks inherent in the music and music therapy method. Integrating this knowledge with an understanding of the strengths and needs of the client provides the springboard for the therapeutic process. The therapist’s orientation and reflexive approach further inform the moment-to-moment clinical decisions in each session and across the arc of the therapeutic work. The panel of therapists discuss their respective case from a new publication, Clinical Decision-making in Music Therapy: Case Studies. In their exploration of music therapy sessions in diverse clinical settings, each therapist provides a brief overview of the case, description of their clinical context, identify their clinical choices and decisions specific to the music and music therapy method, what informed their clinical decisions, and what informed transitions in the music or from one music therapy method-variation to another. Each panellist also shares their reflections of the case and different clinical choices to they could have made related music and music therapy method. The panellists examine what they learned through their work with the client(s) and how this work has fostered their deeper understanding of the client, self as a therapist, the music, and the music therapy method-variations. Discussion of how reflecting on engagement in the music and music therapy methods helps to expand ways of thinking and acting within our clinical work and deepening awareness of how we as therapists respond to the emergent needs of clients.