Exploring a potential role for music therapy to promote positive communication and emotional change for couples: a single-session pilot case study

This pilot case study explores a potential role for music therapy in relationship counselling by employing a case study design. It is contended that music therapy might support couples in understanding and communicating their relationship, affording opportunities for self-expression, emotional expression, communication (verbal and non-verbal) and social participation. The study was conceived with the objective of establishing a possible treatment or intervention which might stand alone or be included as part of a therapeutic service being offered to couples. Constructed around a single music therapy session with a married couple, the study comprised: an exploratory, semi-structured interview with the couple before the session; a music therapy session of 50 minutes’ duration; and a follow-up interview with the couple after the session. Four major themes emerged: (i) guarded, needy, things not meeting; (ii) happy together, venturing together; (iii) deep union; and (iv) transcendence. Data analysis was based on Van Manen’s (1990) phenomenological approach. The findings from this pilot project suggest music therapy’s potential for couples in promoting deeper emotional connection, positive communication and emotional change. Although the results should be treated with caution given the limitations of the methodological design, this study suggests that music therapy may provide an intimate environment to facilitate intense interpersonal interactions between the partners of a couple. This is possibly a new area of practice for music therapists, and further research is warranted.