The Creative Arts in Counseling - Samuel T. Gladding

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label, discuss, and learn to manage their emotions. Possible advantages include greater client self-awareness and emotional regulation as well as a stronger counselor-client relationship (Eckhardt & Dinsmore, 2012).

      According to Hindu tradition, listening can occur on four levels. “The first is the level of meaning. The second is the level of feeling. . . . The third is an intense and constant awareness or presence, and the fourth is known as the ‘soundless sound’” (Beaulieu, 1987, p. 13). Each of these levels is self-explanatory, except for soundless sound. It is really the rhythmic, punctual moments of silence within a composition of sound that make the work predictable, safe, and enjoyable (Bonny, 1987). Listening also holds the power to stir up emotions in the unconscious. Song selection by clients is a kind of projective technique that reveals the needs of the unconscious for certain types of stimuli (Brodsky & Niedorf, 1986). By tracking the theme and tempo of music chosen, therapists can ascertain more clearly the emotional level at which clients are operating and thereby plan effective treatment interventions. They can also understand more readily what unique musical prescriptions, if any, might work for their clients.

      One way for counselors to help clients listen more intensely to music is to play clips of music, have the individuals listen, and then help the listeners process the feelings or memories the music elicits. Another way for clients to listen to music is to ask them to bring in music on their cell phones that reflects their emotional states. In this method, clients may be asked what part of the music speaks to them most; for example, the rhythm, the melody, the lyrics (if there are any), or some combination of the three. Yet another way counselors can help clients listen to music meaningfully is to have the clients visualize a color that goes with the music the counselor selects and then talk about the experience, draw, or even move to show what they got out of the exercise. Bradley et al. (2008) have used songs with lyrics such as “Don’t Laugh at Me” (with regard to differences), “You’ve Got a Friend” (with regard to friendship), and “I Shoulda Listened” (with regard to ignoring good advice) in this exercise. In both client- and counselor-initiated listening activities, music provides a springboard from which other life material is processed on either a verbal or a nonverbal level.

      Performing music is a very personal experience with powerful potential. It involves the musician, the instrument, and sometimes an audience. Through performing, individuals use music “as a means of communication, identification, socialization, and expression” (Siegell, 1987, p. 185). They introduce themselves in a way that is impossible to duplicate otherwise. Sometimes the music that is performed is relatively simple, such as being a sound within a group experience. At other times, it is elaborate and involves harmonizing many notes in a clear and distinct way. For example, drums have been used as an outlet for dealing with low assertiveness as well as anger (MacIntosh, 2003). It is the way they are played that makes a difference in the outcome.

      Music was performed by employees of French mental hospitals as early as the 17th century to treat melancholy. In the 19th century, music was elevated to an active form, as psychiatric patients organized choruses and orchestras (Owens, 1986). In the early part of the 20th century, music was considered an occupational therapy and focused on resocialization rather than healing. Throughout the history of musical performances, including today, clients from a variety of sites, including mental hospitals and outpatient centers, have benefited. Performing activates people to the realities of self, instruments, time, and others. Goldstein (1990) wrote, “The tempo of the song, the tone quality of the singer, and the lyric content all provide indications of the feelings being expressed” (p. 120).

      Creative Reflection

      Sound out on a table, a chair, or your knees what the rhythm of a typical or a special day is like for you. Include the sounds of getting up, going to work or class, eating lunch, partaking in afternoon activities, returning home, and finally going to bed. What do you notice about the beat or rhythm of your life? What would you like to change or keep the same?

      Improvising with music is best represented in American jazz, whether performed by clients or simply listened to. In improvising, musicians follow a plan to be playful as well as artful in their work with others. In a jazz band, for example, there are at least two parts: a rhythm section and a front line. “The rhythm section lays down the beat of the music. The front line instruments are responsible for the melodic lines and their interplay” (Barker, 1985, p. 132).

      Composing music is a creative act that puts composers in closer touch with their feelings. “It can be used as a way of promoting many of the healing qualities inherent in creative acts” (Schmidt, 1983, p. 4). It is empowering because it gives the composer an opportunity to arrange notes in a way that is unique and personal. Composing can also be self-enhancing in that it requires perseverance and discipline that become part of a person’s self-concept after the event has occurred. For example, clients who play a musical piece representing their lives may be exhausted at the end from the intensity of the experience. However, such clients may also be quite satisfied with themselves for putting their feelings into sound and writing them down as well as playing them in an expressive and representative way.

      Counselors may also request or encourage clients to engage in musically related activities such as writing a song that represents themselves, their experiences, or their feelings. For example, Bradt et al. (2019) used music therapy to help military veterans who suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychological health conditions express the themes in their lives, such as personal struggles and barriers to recovery, moving on, and positive relational challenges. “Songwriting enabled service members to share their thoughts, emotions, fears and hopes with family, friends and other providers, often for the first time, and as such played an important role in their personal growth and recovery process” (p. 19).

      Music making and song writing can take many forms, such as asking clients to tap, snap, click, bang, or hum to represent different emotions. A musical group of the 1960s, the Mamas and the Papas, had a popular record album titled Make Your Own Kind of Music, which perhaps stresses the individualization of people, especially clients, in using themselves to create harmony both within and without. In some cases, musically inclined counselors may compose and play music to represent themselves to clients. Such a process, whether unilateral or reciprocal in nature, assists clients in realizing the universal power that a musical composition can generate.

      Music is used with a variety of populations—children, adolescents, adults, older adults—and in a number of settings—family/couples therapy, group therapy, hospitals/clinics, and educational environments. In this section, both populations and settings are covered with regard to how music is used.

       Children

      Children, especially preschool-age and elementary-age children, seem to love music. They spontaneously sing, listen, or play instrument-like objects such as those found in rhythm bands. Children’s natural affinity for music relates to a number of factors, including the fact that they may not have the vocabulary to express

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