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.