music therapy in a foster care unit.

MUSIC THERAPY IN A
FOSTER CARE UNIT.
AN EXPERIENCE WITH
TRAUMATIZED ADOLESCENTS.
Giulia Fedrigo
C.E.R.R.I.S.
( C e nte r for Education, Rehabilitation Researc h and Social
Inte r ve nt ion)
•  Protection of minors in a state of neglect, abuse or situations of psycho-social
disadvantages
•  Maternity protection
•  Rehabilitation and care of people with disabilities
Giulia Fedrigo
C.E.R.R.I.S.
( C e nte r for Education, Rehabilitation Researc h and Social
Inte r ve nt ion)
¡  Residential ser vice for minors: temporar y accommodation with
educative project for the minor (local ser vices and family also
involved in the project)
Daily care
Social and educative interventions
Academic and social inclusion in the urban-social environment
Giulia Fedrigo
C.E.R.R.I.S.
( C e nte r for Education, Rehabilitation Researc h and Social
Inte r ve nt ion)
¡ E ducative
community
for minors
with
emergency
reception
¡ E ducative
community
for minors
Youth age 13-18
¡ E ducative
community
motherchild
Pregnant women
and mother-child
dyads
Children age 0-13
Giulia Fedrigo
C.E.R.R.I.S.
( C e nte r for Education, Rehabilitation Researc h and Social
Inte r ve nt ion)
¡ E ducative
community
for minors
with
emergency
reception
¡ E ducative
community
for minors
Youth age 13-18
¡ E ducative
community
motherchild
Pregnant women
and mother-child
Children age 0-13
4 participants age 14-17
1 participant age 10
6 participants age 8-13
Giulia Fedrigo
REASON FOR FOSTER PLACEMENT
¡ P HYSICAL ABUSE
¡ S EXUAL ABUSE
¡ N EGLECT
¡ A BANDONMENT
¡ PARENTS INCARCERATION
¡ A LCHOL/DRUG ABUSE (PARENTS)
¡ P OOR PARETNING SKILLS/INADEQUACY
Giulia Fedrigo
PARTICIPANTS
¡  7 PRE-ADOLESCENTS
¡  4 ADOLESCENTS
(1 drop-out of the program
after the first session)
¡  CHALLENGES FACED BY
PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED:
¡  Cognitive impairments
(mild to moderate)
¡  Physical disability
¡  Emotional problems
¡  Behavioural problems
¡  Learning disabilities
¡  Experience of trauma
¡  Dislocation
¡  Abuse
¡  Narcolepsy
Giulia Fedrigo
THE PROGRAM
¡ 10 individual music therapy
session of 1 h during summer
holidays (June to September, 10
weeks)
¡ The Music therapy project was
presented as a “Music Laborator y”
to the par ticipants.
¡ A poster shows the activity the week
before the beginning (after it was
introduced from par ticipant’s
tutors).
Giulia Fedrigo
PROGRAM AIMS
•  Foster the development of a musically mediated therapeutic
relationship;
•  Enhance the expression and the elaboration of emotion
freely through the music channel;
•  Encourage verbal processing of the issues related to their
music;
•  Offer an individual and free space inside the institute life;
•  Create a song (or a musical product) and/or a video clip to
share outside the therapy room.
Giulia Fedrigo
PROGRAM AIMS
•  Foster the development of a musically mediated therapeutic
relationship;
•  Enhance the expression and the elaboration of emotion
freely through the music channel;
•  Encourage verbal processing of the issues related to their
music;
•  Offer an individual and free space inside the
institute life;
•  Create a song (or a musical product) and/or a video clip to
share outside the therapy room.
Giulia Fedrigo
THERAPIST ATTITUDE
¡ First focus: establishing a trusting relationship
with the participants
¡ Get alongside them:
¡ Being true to them
¡ Open
¡ Good listener
¡ Offering acceptance
McFerran (2010)
Giulia Fedrigo
THERAPIST ATTITUDE
¡ F irst focus: establishing a trusting relationship
with the participants
¡ G et alongside them
¡ B eing true to them
¡ O pen
¡ G ood listener
¡ O ffering acceptance
METHODS USED
and adopted techniques
Giulia Fedrigo
METHODS
(Bruscia, 2014)
¡ I MPROVISATIONAL: Instrumental improvisation
(free or
in a role play game)
¡ R E-CREATIVE: instrumental re-creation on precomposed songs
¡ C OMPOSITIONAL: songwriting
¡ R ECEPTIVE: song (lyric) discussion
Giulia Fedrigo
CLINICAL CASES
Giulia Fedrigo
R. male, 12 yo
¡  Arrived in Italy few weeks before as a migrant from Tunisia
¡  He started the project 1 week later
¡  Included as showed his interest in the music program
¡  Oppositional behaviour and uncommunicative
¡  Participate at all the sessions
¡  Interest in drums
¡  Open with the therapist as the sessions goes on
¡  Ask to spend the lunch time (he was on Ramadan) in the
music room for playing together
Giulia Fedrigo
R. male, 12 yo
¡  Favourite activity was to play the drums on AC/DC songs, often
asked the therapist to join in.
¡  Interested in produce a video but unwilling to compose a song
or to sing/play one and to videotape
¡  Produced a video on one of his favourite song
¡  Worked outside the therapy sessions
Giulia Fedrigo
L., female, 15 yo
¡  Sexually abused
¡  In September she moved out from the center, project was
activated in the last few months of her stay
¡  Participate at all the sessions
¡  Previous musical experience (she played violin)
¡  Songwriting and lyric discussion
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
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Exploration of preferred music of the girl
Discussion on the lyrics of some of her favourite songs
Brainstorming process to identify the issues for her song
Selection of the style of her song (rap)
Lyric creation
Creation of a base with a musical software
Singing and recording
Editing of the video clip
Creation of a DVD for her
record
Giulia Fedrigo
L., female, 15 yo
¡ S ong issues:
§ Friendship
§ Adolescence
§ D isillusion (false myths)
§ B ad companies
Giulia Fedrigo
L., female, 15 yo
¡ G irl most significant comment:
“Music is everything for me (…) thanks to this
song, I found the courage to denounce what
happened to me”
The song she referred to is a rap song from an Italian boy band
(Gemelli Diversi).
The song –entitled “Mar y”- talk about a girl who was abused by her
father.
In the song the protagonist, Mar y, run away from her family and years
later, af ter she built a new life, she came back to her town happy, with
her family, and visiting the grave of her father is unable to cr y.
Giulia Fedrigo
OUTCOMES
¡ P sychologist comment:
therapy diaries and final products “were great
observational tools which showed the massive
involvement of the emotions and the power of music
as a means of entertainment and therapy together, to
sublimate internal emotional state. Without it they can
come to the surface in a conscious and, sometimes
painful way”
Giulia Fedrigo
OUTCOMES
¡ 
7 out of 11 par ticipants developed a musical product, a song, a
music or a video clip and shared it within the peers inside and
outside the institute;
¡ 
A good relationship was established with the therapist;
¡ 
The use of technological instruments enhanced the par ticipation of
the adolescents , being both attractive and comfor ting for them;
¡ 
The chosen approach fostered communication and collaboration
between par ticipants and therapist;
¡ 
3 par ticipants showed their involvement in the project by doing their
“homework” outside the session without being formally asked;
¡ 
Par ticipant shared a lot of emotional issues within the Music therapy
sessions , without feeling like being in therapy
Giulia Fedrigo