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The Creative Arts in Counseling. Samuel T. Gladding
Читать онлайн.Название The Creative Arts in Counseling
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781119814108
Автор произведения Samuel T. Gladding
Жанр Учебная литература
Издательство John Wiley & Sons Limited
Music is often a primary ingredient in teaching guidance lessons. One technique that works is using music to express feelings. For example, DeLucia-Waack (2001) wrote a hands-on manual for counselors that offered a creative way to help children of divorce learn new coping skills through music. Among the topics addressed were parental conflict and family relationships, anger management, divorce-related stress, custody issues, and court scenarios. Through music, children have been helped to understand and overcome the crisis of divorce and develop in healthy ways. In another guidance approach, Gerler (1982) recommended that a counselor and music teacher work together to devise a game in which children were “teamed in groups of four and instructed to create musical ways to express feelings” (p. 63) without words or lyrics. In the case of fourth graders who carried out this task, one feeling was assigned to each group, and they were directed to devise two or three musical ways to express this emotion. Responses ranged from forming a hum-and-sniffle quartet to represent sadness to using two pianos to convey an angry musical conversation.
Creative Reflection
What music and songs do you remember from your childhood? What memories, pleasant and otherwise, do you retain from that time? How do you think the music from your childhood has influenced your life?
Besides engaging in cooperative ventures with music teachers, counselors can work on their own to find and use music that gives their students experiences involving singing, composing, or playing an instrument (R. P. Bowman, 1987; Newcomb, 1994). Sometimes all three of these types of musical expression can be combined; however, usually one modality, such as singing or composition, is used more than others. Children find singing fun and often remember main ideas of lessons by incorporating them into songs. When songs are used in guidance classes, the following procedure is helpful (B. L. Harper, 1985):
1 Introduce the words of the song as a poem.
2 Chant the words in rhythm.
3 Practice chanting the words for 3 or 4 minutes per class period until children memorize them.
4 After the children know and understand the words, play the song (it is fine to use prerecorded music).
5 Keep a double-spaced copy of the words before the children when they sing, with the verses separated from the refrain.
Outside of guidance classes, singing is also beneficial, especially for children who may have suffered trauma. This is because singing, besides being a natural behavior for humans in most cultures, may be “used as a self-help technique, a means of developing feelings of rapport with others, and a method of self-affirmation” (Mayers, 1995, p. 497). Singing a song repetitively, either alone or in a group of other children, can be ritualistic and hypnotic as well. It can alter breathing patterns and help with general relaxation.
In composition, children are encouraged not only to write but also to sing their songs. Mayers (1995) advised, “It is not necessary to teach the child to engage in this activity, only to direct the songwriting toward a therapeutic end. Children are capable of determining what they need, what words will be calming, what tune fits the mood” (p. 497). Through composing and writing their own songs, children learn to be more independent as well as creative. They also learn to be less anxious and feel a sense of empowerment. Mayers reported that children as young as 4 and 5 years old can compose songs that are helpful to them in dealing with their situations.
Music is used with children in other therapeutic ways as well. For example, Hodas (1993) created a music tape titled Stretch Yourself? Songs for Coping that contains a variety of selections counselors can use with children who are having difficulty dealing with different forms of adversity. The song selections encompass a wide variety of topics, including sexual abuse, physical illness, suicide, the effects of war, and gender issues. Memory (2002) likewise chose to use music with at-risk children and teens. In dealing with special child populations, songs must be chosen with care. A well-chosen song can be quite powerful in helping children recognize situations and deal with them appropriately and constructively. Another way of breaking through children’s shells of isolation therapeutically with music is by playing sounds familiar to them, such as internal body sounds (e.g., a stomach growling or a heart beating), or having them listen to neighborhood sounds. Once rapport is established in this manner, rhythmic activities and rhythm instruments such as sticks and tambourines can be used to engage these children and gradually draw them into social relationships with other children and adults.
Adolescents
Music is popular with adolescents, and almost all listen to music as well as incorporate it into their lives (Kimbel & Protivnak, 2010). This means of self-expression and emotional release plays a role in adolescent development in multiple ways (Armstrong & Ricard, 2016). Young people almost invariably describe the positive benefits of engaging with music when asked to reflect on the relationship between music and health (McFerran & Saarikallio, 2014). Music is a particularly powerful source of social communication and social influence in this age group (Ostlund & Kinnier, 1997). Community music therapy can provide an authentic relationship-building experience for college students (Schwantes & Rivera, 2017). At its best, music can be lifesaving, such as the lyrics of “How to Save a Life” by The Fray. Music can also increase prosocial behavior; for example, preventing HIV (Thompson, 2003). At its worst, music may become repetitive and stale or glorify violent behavior, which may increase negative emotions and thoughts that can lead to aggression (A. Palmer, 2003). Popular music is both a reflection of and an exacerbating influence on attitudes, values, and behaviors (Bushong, 2002).
Creative Reflection
What were your favorite musical groups when you were a teenager? How did their music affect you? What messages did you get from it? How is it similar to and different from the music adolescents listen to now?
Most adolescents are deeply involved in music, such as playing a musical instrument, playing in a band, going to concerts, or identifying with major musical figures (Kimbel & Protivnak, 2010). For some, music is quite inspirational because it evokes “images of movies . . . in which movie characters triumphed over adversities” (Gfeller, 1988, p. 41). The fact that the website Spotify (www.spotify.com/us/) and its offspring are largely listened to by an audience younger than 30 years of age (and even the existence of such channels is known only to them) is further evidence of the importance of music in the lives of this age group. In addition, television shows like The Voice, American Idol, and America’s Got Talent and games such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution focus on music and appeal to this age group. Overall, the activities and events just mentioned plus the rhythm and words of Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Lady A, Black Eyed Peas, Drake, Tim McGraw, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga speak to adolescent youth in unique and powerful ways.
For young adolescents, according to Wells (1988), “music therapy is helpful in bridging the gap between nonverbal and talking therapy. It aids in mastery and sublimation of thoughts and feelings, and it helps to facilitate ego development through success-oriented experiences” (p. 47). For older adolescents, participating in music therapy activities gives them a firsthand experience of the relationship between effort made and skill achieved in music performance. Adolescents in juvenile delinquency programs