From Chaos to Hope. The Transformational Power of Music Imagery Therapy
‘Susie.’
I don’t write case studies about genuine client work. Occasionally however, opportunities arise which enable me to showcase the value of the therapies I practise.
Here below is one such example from my training in Re-educative Music Therapy. ‘Susie’ my first training client, is a work colleague, who kindly gave her consent for this case study to be published. Names and any relevant biographical information have been changed.
INTRODUCTION
Susie received fourteen Music Imagery sessions, fortnightly online (with a 6-month gap between sessions 7 and 8). At the beginning she described feeling an ‘inner void,’ and needing a new clarity, reassurance and hope.
BEGINNING
Susie, (pseudonym), was a busy 45-year-old woman, with a teenage daughter. Following a series of family crises and bereavements she had set herself on a new path in life, feeling ‘reborn,’ ready to start living again. While exciting, this also felt confusing and scary. She hoped that Music Imagery sessions would help; give some sort of reassurance, clarity, hope.
Music’s Role in this beginning phase.
Introducing Susie to a new form of self-care.
The supportive nature of clear, calm simple musical pieces, connected Susie to a deep gratitude for what she already had in her life - the space and resources to create for herself something far more authentic and fulfilling. She recognised the practical and emotional demonstrations of love she had received, and how this energised her to give something back.
Fast, light, playful pieces encouraged her to ‘scribble’ on the page, enjoying the colour and shapes which spontaneously emerged. It was a relief to notice how the music ‘by-passed’ her mind and unlocked feelings in her body. She learned to trust rather than fear this free-flow of energy, and felt a renewed interest in her own physical, self-care – cycling, breathing etc. Rather than stressed, she felt re-connected with her life force.
By the end of this initial phase, Susie had discovered a trust in her inner process. Specific instruments, melodies, harmonies or musical textures spoke to her in vivid ways, resulting in far more hopeful reflections about herself and future life.
MIDDLE
Now feeling in a more hopeful, trusting place within herself, Susie felt able to draw upon the music’s qualities to connect to uncomfortable feelings, which she had always known were there, and which she feared could derail her life.
Music’s Role in the Middle Phase.
Acknowledging and creating a safe space in herself for her anger, fear and loneliness – as a deeper expression of her self-care.
Against a dark soundscape featuring a menacing low male voice, Susie created a pastel image of a volcano, where her anger and passion ‘spewed up particles of fear.’
In the next session, to a slow, soulful vocal piece with soaring saxophone melody, she poignantly depicted feelings of abandonment, evoked by a trusted colleague’s decision to leave the organisation Susie had founded. In a later session, a much darker theme tune to the Scandinavian noir, Wallander, evoked for Susie her potential for emotional overwhelm which she had often feared. She was able to see such ‘overwhelm’ as a sensitivity - which rather than a flaw was a superpower. This imbued her final picture of her ‘reborn’ self with a new array of qualities – relating both to her sociable, practical self and her capacity for finer feelings, intuition, hope.
END AND CONCLUSION.
Although not a musician herself, Susie was able to use music’s unique qualities to connect in a safe way with both comfortable feelings (giving rise to a sense of calm and gratitude) and deeply uncomfortable feelings (anger, fear).
The transformative power of music, expressed via pastels on the page and through our reflections, was such that this enabled her to recognise and accept these aspects of herself. To recognise the ‘superpower’ within her felt deeply empowering. Her ‘reborn self’ felt stronger, occupying a bigger, more compassionate space in life.
