3. Theoretical Perspectives > main table of contents
Music therapy in the Netherlands has various non-music therapy theoretical influences. Especially the influence of psychoanalysis, ego-psychology and humanistic psychology are large, even though the theoretical background is not always explicitly indicated.
It is psychoanalytic to link certain musical behaviour to the oceanic, anal, phallic and genital phase, as happens in the list of appeals of the creative process theory (Grabau & Visser, 1987). The psychoanalytic framework of concepts used within this theory, but also outside of it, comprises the "repression" of needs, the symbolic "projection" of needs and experiences in musical material, the music therapeutic relation as a form of "transference" and the "regression" to an earlier phase of development. The concepts "symbiosis" and "individuation" have been taken from Margaret Mahler (Kappers, 1990; Vink-Brouwer, 1991). Van Praag (1988) gave a theoretic foundation of countertransference in music therapy.
Various views on "play", amongst others the play concept by Winnicott have had a major influence on the Dutch music therapy.
The creativity concept was shaped by the work by Kris and Ehrenzweig. Especially Kris' idea of the "aesthetic illusion" was adopted. With the help of Ehrenzweig's views, which are in line with Melanie Klein's work, a link could be made between the psychoanalytic way of thinking in levels of consciousness and gestalt psychology.
Views on creativity were also influenced by humanistic psychology. This way, basic assumptions, such as having satisfying needs awaken new needs, the stimulation of a person's own creativity and the assumption that the ability to deal with situations creatively has a therapeutic effect on various disturbances, fits in a humanistic/holistic pattern of thought. A description of the disturbance as being caught in forms, and of cure as being liberated from frozen relations (Smitskamp, 1988), links up with gestalttherapeutic views.
Play forms that have their origin in gestalttherapeutic plays and concepts, such as "hot seat", "figure - background" and "integration" were already used as early as the seventies and early eighties (Raijmakers, 1984), but in recent years gestalt therapy has mainly received a larger influence, as the work by the German-speaking gestalttherapeutic music therapy became known in the Netherlands. Some concepts from gestalt therapy which have been adopted are "awareness" and "confluence". Also the influence of morphologic psychology has been getting stronger, lately.
In certain wards in psychiatry, especially the closed wards with their more serious problems, behavioural therapeutic techniques are used, which can be traced back to music therapy (Haans, 1992). Concepts taken from the communication theory, such as "analogous communication", "complementarity" and "symmetric escalation" were introduced in music therapy by Wijzenbeek and Van Nieuwenhuijzen (1984). Music therapy can also be embedded in a therapeutic approach, such as the "therapeutic community model" or the "cognitive restructuring" by Beck (Van Hest-de Witte & Verburgt, 1992).
In recent years, the emphasis with several music therapists has moved from a method of working based on a single theory to an eclectic approach, geared for the client's specific disturbance and the change in it (e.g. Van den Hurk & Smeijsters, 1991).
Working with mentally handicapped often takes place against the background of the cognitive development model by Piaget.
But also the appeal analysis after psychoanalytic model (Stijlen, 1984) and the humanistic way of thinking have been adopted. Actualizing the available possibilities, empathy and unconditional regard - concepts from the client-centered therapy - are encountered more than once (Van Rest, 1986). Structured behavioural therapeutic approaches and techniques are also used (Vodegel, 1984).
In rehabilitation a client-centered and actualizing approach is very common (De Bruijn, 1984, 1986).
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