Emotional Processes in Music Therapy
Emotions are an essential aspect of human nature and play a central role in interpersonal relationships, personal well-being, and therapeutic change. Music is intimately linked to emotions, and both have served adaptive functions throughout human evolution. Music therapy is an ideal clinical modality due to its inherent power to activate and transform a client's emotional state within the context of the therapeutic encounter. This book examines both the scientific and artistic dimensions of emotions and explores ways that music therapists can become more "emotion-focused" in their work. Structural similarities are identified between emotional processes and music, and guidelines are given on how these similarities can be used to address multiple dimensions of the client.