Perspectives on Perspective – a Critical Appraisal of Perspective-taking in Music Therapy Education and Clinical Practice

Ph.d.-thesis by Kerry Devlin

This dissertation investigates perspective-taking in music therapy clinical practice, pedagogy, and research. In this project, perspective-taking is defined as the conscious or unconscious process through which a music therapist formulates an understanding of a therapy participant, and how this perspective(s) impacts the way(s) they engage a therapy participant in music therapy. Explicating and defining the perspectives music therapists take is timely, particularly in the United States, given the significant social and political changes (e.g., liberation movements such as Black Lives Matter and disability justice; the COVID-19 pandemic) that started long before but accelerated during the summer of 2020. These movements have, and continue to, challenge music therapists to think more broadly about the impact of the perspective(s) they take on the lives and identities of the people they work with.

The dissertation is comprised of four articles and a linking text exploring perspective-taking through the framework of Brookfield’s (1998) critically reflective practice. The article series begins by defining two perspectives in music therapy assessment and treatment planning (Article #1), followed by an examination of a pedagogical approach to teaching these two perspectives to undergraduate music therapy students in the United States (Article #2). The perspectives of two music therapy stakeholders are then explored through their engagement as co-authors in research focused on the impact of receiving music therapy in two different settings – a school and private practice (Article #3). The article series concludes with an analysis of ethical considerations integral to co-research processes with music therapy stakeholders (Article #4).