Discourse analysis reframes oncologic music therapy research findings
Section snippets
Postmodernism, discourse, and music therapy
Over the past 30 years, music therapy has become an established discipline in cancer and palliative settings (Munro & Mount, 1978; Rykov & Salmon, 2001). In these settings, music therapy can be defined as the creative and professionally informed use of music in a therapeutic relationship with people identified as needing physical, psychosocial, or spiritual help, or aspiring to experience further self-awareness, enabling increased life satisfaction. Musical “techniques” are offered in
Method of data collection and analysis
In a study on the relevance of music therapy in oncologic inpatient wards (i.e., what did the music therapy do and did it help?), people who both experienced and overheard music therapy sessions in the single and multibed rooms were invited to anonymously write answers to short open-ended questionnaires (O’Callaghan & McDermott, 2004). Criterion sampling, that is, all cases that met selected criteria, was used (Rice & Ezzy, 1999). The first author (music therapist clinician and researcher)
Discourse analysis
Discourse analysis’ social constructivist epistemology is reflected in its focus on how the “social world is constructed and maintained” (Phillips & Hardy, 2002, p. 2). Such analyses have emerged in recent decades in linguistics, sociology, psychology, medicine, and nursing (Georgakopoulos & Goutos, 1997; Gunnersson et al., 1997). Discourse analysis is a “reciprocal and cyclical process” in which one alternates back and forth between the data and the “situated meanings it is attempting to build
Gee's discourse analysis framework applied to oncologic music therapy research findings
1. Semiotic building, that is, using cues or clues to assemble situated meanings about what semiotic (communicative) systems, systems of knowledge, and ways of knowing, are here and now relevant and activated. (Gee, 1999, pp. 85–86)
The findings did not reflect all voices qualified to participate in the study3
Conclusion
Privileging subjective meanings or lay knowledge is “the primary marker of standards in qualitative research” (Popay, Rogers, & Williams, 1998, p. 344). This article delineated how discourse analysis offers a framework for extending investigations on how subjective interpretations about music therapy experiences are constructed. Discourse analysis highlights how personal and socio-historical contexts offer important insights into how research data is created and analysed, and how research
References (54)
Considering the paradigmatic frame: Social science research approaches relevant to research in music therapy
The Arts in Psychotherapy
(1999)Positive psychosocial states and coping with severe stress
Social Science Medicine
(1997)- et al.
Toward a unifying theory of social cognition
Progress in Brain Research
(2006) With listeners in mind: Creating meaning in music therapy dialogues
The Arts in Psychotherapy
(1999)- et al.
Thinking differently about thinking positive: A discursive approach to cancer patients’ talk
Social Science and Medicine
(2000) Denial of impending death: A discourse analysis of the palliative care literature
Social Science & Medicine
(2004)Music therapy as milieu in the hospice and paediatric oncology ward
- et al.
Postmodern theory: Critical interrogations
(1991) The Mozart effect: Tapping the powers of music to heal the body, strengthen the mind, and unlock the creative spirit
(1997)- et al.
Music therapy for mood disturbance during hospitalization for autologous stem cell transplantation
Cancer
(2003)
Making sense of qualitative data: Complimentary research strategies
Humor and laughter in palliative care
Journal of Palliative Care
Medical therapy: A meta-analysis & agenda for future research
Developing and using a computerized database for music therapy in palliative care
Journal of Palliative Care
An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method
Discourse: An introduction
Human behaviour in the social environment: An ecological view
Profiles and critiques on social theory
The spiritual component of palliative care
Palliative Medicine
Insiders, outsiders: Knowing our limits, limiting our knowledge
The World of Music
Introduction: Reflexivity and voice
The effects of music therapy on the quality and length of life of people diagnosed with terminal cancer
Journal of Palliative Care
Hospice and palliative care music therapy: A guide to program development and clinical care
Cited by (6)
Art in cancer care: Exploring the role of visual art-making programs within an Energy Restoration Framework
2017, European Journal of Oncology NursingCitation Excerpt :There is a growing body of research and evaluation literature about the use of various art-forms in cancer care. The most commonly reported arts interventions are music therapy (Aasgaard, 2001; Hilliard, 2006; O'Callaghan and McDermott, 2007; Dvorak, 2011; O'Callaghan et al., 2012) and art therapy (Forzoni et al., 2010; Ando et al., 2013; Wood et al., 2013). The literature demonstrates that on the whole, there are positive associations between engagement in art or music therapy and the improvement of cancer patients' mental health and wellbeing (Geue et al., 2010).
Perception of music therapy by direct care staff of older adults with intellectual disabilities
2019, Music Therapy PerspectivesExpanding perspective on music therapy for symptom management in cancer care
2015, Journal of Music TherapyBehavioural oncology: Psychological, communicative, and social dimensions
2014, Behavioural Oncology: Psychological, Communicative, and Social DimensionsThe Use of Music in Chronic Illness: Evidence and Arguments
2012, Music, Health, and Wellbeing