Group music therapy with adolescent asylum seekers at a temporary reception center : a phenomenological study
Authors
Date
2020Copyright
This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to; (1) explore the experience of teenage asylum-seekers as they went through 20 sessions of group music therapy while waiting for the resolution of the asylum claims at the temporary reception center for refugees and (2) discover the type of challenges that a therapist can face when working with teenagers in a situation of crisis and what can be the possible steps taken in order to overcome those challenges.
By adopting a phenomenological approach, the goal was that in exploring the essence of the participants’ experience, the findings would show a clearer understanding of how music therapists, social workers or anyone working in connection with adolescent asylum-seekers could contribute in improving the condition of children refugees in situations of crisis. The research questions that guided this inquiry where the as follows: what is the nature of the experience of adolescence asylum-seekers as they go to group music therapy in a reception center? And what kind of challenges can therapists expect to face when working under those conditions? The research findings showed that our teenage participants experienced (1) a sense of joy and improved mood, (2) a connection to their country in moments of nostalgia, (3) increased confidence and overcoming sense of shyness, (4) a sense of developing personal identity through music, (5) a sense of awareness into how music can affect them, and gratitude for that they saw an opportunity to take part in group music therapy. The study also uncovered that enormous challenges can arise for any therapist working with adolescents of foreign background mostly due to cultural and linguistic differences, post-migration related issues, and equally the need to preserve anonymity in the case of an ongoing asylum.
It was also found that while those challenges can be overcome by the therapist adopting the right approach and right attitude, the level of challenge can be almost overwhelming, making such projects difficult to undertake without sufficient support.
...
Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Pro gradu -tutkielmat [29141]
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Refugees and a local community : a study of aborted establishment of an asylum seeker center in Jämsä in 2010
Jokinen-Jokela, Terhi (2010)The focus of this thesis are the frames created and used throughout the examined time period from January 2010 to September 2010 and the news narrative created by the local newspaper, Jämsän Seutu, about a proposed ... -
Implementing improvisation and songwriting to aid the transition to adulthood for adolelescents with special needs : a case study
Tiusanen, Päivi (2016)Adolescence is a transitional period with many developmental tasks. The adolescents need to resolve the specific question of career choice and establishing authentic friendships. Transition to adulthood is often challenging ... -
Where fatherlessness meets music therapy : "the importance of therapist & the uniqueness of music"
Charalampidis, Miltiadis (2014)A great number of studies are supporting father’s vital contribution in the well-being of their children. Fatherlessness, on the other hand, is something that more and more children are experiencing, growing up in a ... -
The sense of self of experienced and non-experienced music therapists in musical improvisation : an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Christodoulou, Artemis (2014)Music therapists’ work is constantly researched and measured in order to find the best possible ways for conducting music therapy and treating people through music. In spite of this, music therapists themselves are rarely ... -
The right to play wrong : qualitative study about group music therapy experience of young musicians dealing with music performance anxiety
Haarde, Käll (2015)Few studies have looked or presented the meaning of music performance anxiety from the viewpoint of young musician´s. Whereas most of the studies conducted were quantitative, this study used qualitative approach of ...