Empathy and aggression in group music therapy with adolescents : Comparing the affordances of two paradigms

Abstract

This multiparadigm inquiry sought to investigate music therapy group processes aimed at facilitating empathic interactions between adolescents referred for aggression in a relatively under-resourced school in Eersterust, South Africa. Two qualitative studies were conducted under the umbrella of this multiparadigm research. The first employed Husserlian phenomenology and the second was informed by the theories of Deleuze and Gergen. In the two studies music therapy practice differed in relation to how the adolescent participants were produced and the therapeutic techniques that were used. Theoretically, notions of aggression and empathy differed between the two paradigms and this held varying implications for practice. The research process within the two studies differed in that, while in the descriptive phenomenological study an experiential essence could be pursued, the study informed by the thinking of Deleuze and Gergen afforded relational rhizomic expansion of meaning. Music was also foregrounded and receded in varying ways within the two studies. The implications for music therapy practice that were highlighted by the phenomenological study were the value of bracketing; the usefulness of a client-centred approach that balances structure and freedom; and the importance of considering empathy in multifaceted ways. In the study informed by the theories of Deleuze and Gergen, the usefulness of aggression within a non-judgemental approach to music therapy that concurrently seeks to enhance collective well-being was highlighted. Other implications for music therapy practice that were emphasised through this second study were the value of a more inclusive concept of empathy in music therapy; the value of “small bends”; and the importance of considering assemblages that can inform the planning of therapeutic processes and possibilities for participants’ growth. Through deep immersion in each paradigm, diverse representations could be offered and a richer understanding of the topic under consideration could be generated. The research aimed to explore the role of paradigmatic orientation, particularly regarding the relationships between practice, theory and research. By “plugging” group music therapy processes into two different paradigms, varying approaches to thinking could become possible. The creative potential for interplay between the two paradigms was explored.