A constructivist grounded theory research project studying music therapy as an anti-oppressive practice in long-term and psychiatric residential care
Analytical emancipatory social justice and anti-oppressive practice concepts have begun to be integrated into music therapy to inform and expand the theoretical basis of practice (Sajnani et al., 2017). Anti-oppressive practices (AOP) in music therapy have been developed to expose and undo both obvious and unknown oppression to increase social justice within music therapy systems, practice, and research (Baines, 2013). Music therapy as an Anti-Oppressive Practice (Baines, 2013) was examined in two sites, 1. a long-term care facility, and 2. a secure mental health centre. The study used Constructivist Grounded Theory method guided by the question: What are the experiences of residents and staff in music therapy as an anti-oppressive practice? The research revealed dilemmas, opportunities, and outcomes of music therapy research and practice processes that engage anti-oppressive analysis. Further consideration of the data revealed that an anti-oppressive practice framework for music therapy research and practice broadened client agency through integration of client preferred music experiences in all aspects of programming and increased cultural humility and competence in staff offering heightened ethical standards across both sites.
Queering the Curriculum: Why Music Therapy and Other Creative Arts Therapy Trainings Need Queer Theory
Music therapy academic faculty responsible for teaching the next generation of healthcare practitioners have a responsibility to ensure that the learning environment is one in which the principles of equity and inclusion are upheld and practiced. Without queer perspectives included in the curriculum, promotion and continuation of heteronormative and cisnormative attitudes and beliefs increase. As media, culture, and society reflect increasing awareness of and open-mindedness toward queerness, so does the opportunity for reflection and questioning regarding binary identities and exploration of the need to shift to fluid, spectrum identity categories. This questioning begins with perceiving that contemporary social identities are formed from a limited conception of a normative binary that recognizes only heteronormative and cisnormative sexual orientation and gender identities, which can be extended to other inadequate and unhelpful binaries, for example dis/abled and racial binaries that entrench prejudice. Reviewing current teaching environments and methods allows for consideration of how social constructions limit the capacity of educators to fully include attention to, and critique of, all thoughtless binaries – whether gay/straight, female/male, old/young etc. In this paper we reflect on and reveal predominant heteronormative and cisnormative values in music therapy education, advancing ways to make classroom and practicum settings a safe and exploring space, with the potential to positively impact all students and their current and future clients.
Considering the ways in which anti-oppressive practice principles can inform health research
All research that investigates therapeutic practice should be conducted with the aim to develop and support good procedures of inquiry. An anti-oppressive practice approach within health research provides a way to systematically examine research procedures and motivations to increase the potential that the resultant research will yield ethical and just results. In this paper two music therapy researchers consider how anti-oppressive practices can address real life problems and be applicable to real life situations; from questions of participation, to developing the research question, recruitment, consent, and further steps of the research process. The goal of this paper is to examine issues arising when considering anti-oppressive practices and healthcare research practices from the perspective of the authors’ experience of music therapy research.
Analysing gender oppression in music therapy research and practice
Health research approaches and practices have historically developed in a culture of privilege, often described as white male privilege. As interpersonal therapies such as music therapy and psychotherapy rely on the therapist's use of the self, it is incumbent on training programs, trainers, and students to first be aware of their own cultural identity, rather than focusing on cultural sensitivity training and awareness that only perceive the "other". Music can transmit oppressive information, including information about gender. Limited acknowledgment of feminist theory in music therapy has presented possible reasons why the foundational tenet of feminism, gender analysis, particularly with the modern intent of decreasing binary theories of gender, is rarely present in music therapy publications. Employing critical cultural analyses within research and treatment practices can begin to address oppression and inequities. Music therapists have explored the relevance of feminist theory to the practice of music therapy.
Queering the Curriculum: Decolonising the Self in Music Therapy Education and Practice
Queering our Pedagogy: Engaging Anti-Oppressive Practices as Learners and Teachers
Critical pedagogy has its origins in the work of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, with an underpinning imperative that classroom work will interrogate societal structures, attitudes, and tropes that oppress and silence. In this chapter we present meanings of the term queer, and consider the process of queering in relation to music therapy education. The need for the term queer, and our intentional use of it, reflects the view that heteronormativity is entrenched in every aspect of culture including all education which in turn includes health practitioner education in colleges and universities. By using the term queer, and its verb queering, we indicate the need to embrace a wider range of experiences and identities than those that are often hidden within the normative realm. By using the term queer alongside anti-oppressive practice, we acknowledge the shifts and developments in queer studies, and appreciate that queer’s vague positioning and resistance to precise definition is part of its attraction as a means to interrogate contemporary music therapy training. We offer suggestions for queering music therapy class interactions, by challenging the inherent heteronormativity in curriculum for health and social care workers.