Abstract
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
2020. A year when so much has been turned upside down. A year full of separations and divisions; a year full of disruption and bewilderment; a year full of losses and grief.
As Music Therapists, we have needed to re-address so many aspects of our work and step up to so many new challenges. It has required being flexible to rapidly changing circumstances within our workplaces and for our clients. It has required reactivity and pro-activity. It has required an attitude of critical reflection: ‘Ultimately, openness to change and honesty about one’s own practice is required by all involved’, stated Twyford and Watson (2008: 218), and it is good to be reminded of this in 2020.
This edition offers essays and articles that demonstrate the adaptability of the music therapy profession and the Music Therapists working in the field. They highlight issues that pertain not only to 2020 but for future endeavours.
It starts with two essays which offer insight into the ways in which Music Therapists both in the United Kingdom and internationally have re-envisioned their work as a direct consequence to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jon Booth and Marianne Rizkallah write about work achieved in the United Kingdom since the lockdown this year and the support that BAMT (British Association for Music Therapy) has been able to provide to practitioners working in so many different arenas. They emphasise the need for professional and personal support – practical and emotional. Phone support services, online training and support groups for Music Therapists have been provided by a variety of Music Therapists and BAMT has kept abreast of the ever-changing Government guidelines during this year.
It is also a delight to include an essay by Triona McCaffrey, Katrina McFerran, Gustavo Gattino and Sumathy Sundar. They have written about their passion for global collaboration in their essay, The Global Music Therapy Educators Network. The COVID-19 pandemic has galvanised music therapy trainers throughout the world to connect and support each other as the rapidly changing situation this year has impacted on all the trainings. The Global Music Therapy Educators Network currently connects 70 trainers with the aim to ‘fortify resilience in our teaching system and support our efforts to cope effectively with the pandemic situation’ (p. xx).
This edition also includes two articles. In Beth Pickard’s article, ‘A Critical Reflection on the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Music Therapists: A Critical Disability Studies Perspective’, she writes about the ‘friction at the intersection between music therapy and disability studies’ (p. xx). Pickard notes that much music therapy language has historically been rooted within a medical model which has the potential to produce an unhealthy power dynamic within the therapeutic relationship. She writes from a theoretical and philosophical perspective and demonstrates a clear passion for rigorous dialogue: ‘It is necessary for current and future generations of practitioners to appreciate the importance of engaging with the politics of disablement’ (p. xx, citing Oliver and Barnes, 2012).
Sharing resources is a key theme of the second article by Jo Tomlinson, ‘Music Therapist Collaboration with Teaching Assistants for Facilitating Verbal and Vocal Development in Young Children with Special Needs: A Mixed Methods Study’. This study specifically asked, ‘If the Music Therapist collaborates with Teaching Assistants (TAs) in setting up music sessions for the TA to carry out independently, does this enhance the children’s verbal and vocal progression?’ (p. xx). Tomlinson acknowledges that there has been a growing interest in transdisciplinary work which emphasises that healthy and effective teamwork has the potential to benefit all parties. And while this article focusses on a specific approach to sharing knowledge and skills, it is a good example of the collaborative spirit which so many practitioners experience.
The growing number of publications demonstrates the profession’s healthy growth and this crop of book reviews within this edition covers a good variety of subjects: Early Childhood Music Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorder; Early Theoretical Writings; Creative Arts Therapies in and the LGBTQ community; Music and Dementia from Cognition to Therapy; Functional Voice Skills for Music Therapists; and Responsiveness in Music Therapy Improvisation. While it’s a challenge to read all the books being published, these reviews enable us to gain a good understanding of some of the contemporary publications. The reviewers provide insightful and thoughtful comments on these books and we thank them for their time.
It is now much easier to go online to uncover interesting and relevant publications and so it feels time to move on from providing Textwatch within the BJMT. For many years, John Strange has given his time and expertise generously compiling the lists for each edition. He has now stepped down from this work and we would like to take this opportunity to thank him enormously for his dedication to the Journal; we have enjoyed working with you, John.
Finally, it is important to note that the BJMT conference, which was to be held in Belfast in 2020, has been postponed until April 2021. We very much look forward to being able to connect and share next Spring. Thanks go to the committee that has adapted to the changing circumstances we have found ourselves in.
