The Language of a Group: Implications for Clinical Music Therapy Practices

I am currently working on a study to explore the implications of family and institutional practices of different groups of clinical music therapy practice.  These practices make up the local culture.  While some music therapists are employed by one agency and strictly serve one type of clientele, many music therapists provide contractual services for multiple agencies or work within institutions that such as hospitals or community agencies that provide services for people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

An important component of culture is the language that a group uses.  I am not referring to just the type of language spoken (i.e. English, Spanish, etc.), but also the specific vocabulary and social intent that is connected with the group or institution.   Each group tends to have its own jargon.  For example, if you work in special education, you need to be familiar with concepts like IEPs, benchmarks and goals, and scaffolding.  Clinicians who work in hospitals need to understand the names of procedures and the labels and roles of different members of the team.  One study participant commented how parents were re-identified.  She indicated how the parent of a child in the hospital typically became known as “mom” or “dad”—identified by their role as opposed to their name or individual identity. 

As with all elements of culture, language shows us something about the beliefs and values of the group or setting.  For example, special education is very much driven by the need to use legal frameworks and guides such as the Individualized Education Program (IEP) to establish educational and therapeutic programming for children with special needs.  In the hospital setting, however, there is a team that surrounds the sick child and each member of that team has a role.  In both examples, the music therapist must develop an understanding of the culture of the institution and how to best work within that system.  One study participant indicated, “There are many things that are not spoken.”  It is therefore up to the clinician to take time to not only learn the vocabulary of the group, but also be a careful observer about the communicative intent in order to best understand the role of music therapy within that structure.  The study participant above reflected on her transition from a special education type of setting to a hospital setting when she indicated, “I found that I really had to tie into my humanness and my intuition and my sensitivities as a person more than a set of tools or songs or concrete things.”  She had to learn the expectations of the new group through their language.  She had to re-learn her way of being as a clinician. 

Studying Cultural Behaviors: Insights into Development and Learning

I find myself in the midst of a few very different qualitative research studies.  One study is examining the implications of family and institutional culture on music therapy practices.  Another study is examining how families interact with a local institution of informal learning.  The third study is looking at how individuals, as informed by their contexts, are navigating a new context.  While the populations are very different for these three studies (music therapists, families/ caregivers with young children, and college students), the central question that threads through all of the studies is the idea of how an individual’s local context shapes their experiences, transitions, and learning. 

Overall, these studies represent an exploration of cultural variables on a more micro level.  Rather than examining culture related to larger ethnic or geographic variables, these studies are an attempt to examine culture for day to day experiences.  In a previous entry, I shared Spradley’s definition that culture is the knowledge that allows us to interpret and engage in social behavior.  Each of these studies therefore attempts to examine the nature of the cultural knowledge and how that knowledge guides behaviors and learning.

What is the value of this sort of examination?  Why is it beneficial to examine the everyday lived experience?  In a recent conversation with a research colleague, we were discussing the perception of a researcher from the hard sciences who claimed that examining the everyday occurrences is just looking at what is common knowledge.  The researcher did not see the value in studying what is known.  Last night, I was reading a passage by Geertz in which he was talking about the nature of studying culture.   He was describing the importance of theoretical formulations in the interpretation of cultural behaviors.  Geertz claims that, “stated independently of their applications, they seem either commonplace or vacant” (p. 25).

So, what is the value of studying the common place?  I believe it’s about really seeing what is right in front of us.  I just finished teaching a child development course.  Students in the class were required to complete a child observation paper which included 4-5 hours of direct observation of a child or group of children.  Typically, students will select children that are familiar to them (i.e. cousins, friend’s children or even younger siblings) out of convenience.  By the end of the project, students often report seeing things in the child that they never noticed before.  In some cases, the transformation in their perception of the child is so significant.  They shift from seeing the child just as this loud, obnoxious child to really seeing how their behaviors are shaped by numerous factors.   The students use developmental theory to guide their interpretations of the children’s behaviors so the commonplace becomes a point of insight and understanding.

Careful examination of everyday behaviors as guided by theoretical formulations allows for deeper interpretation and understanding.  This process can drastically alter the way that we understand others and how we interact with them.  I believe this is the value of the commonplace. 

Geertz, C. (1973).  The Interpretation of Cultures.  New York, NY: Basic Books.