Meaning-Making Processes in Music Therapy Clinical Improvisation: An Arts-Informed Qualitative Research Synthesis

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Arts-Based Research and Interdisciplinarity

Abstract

Although clinical improvisation continues to be an important focus of music therapy (Aigen, 2014), little attention has been given to integrating qualitative research in this area. As a result, the knowledge base is diffuse and contained within specific areas of practice. This Qualitative Research Synthesis is the first study of its kind to synthesize qualitative research evidence authored by music therapists regarding meaning making in clinical improvisation. Further, as a conduit for broadening dialogues and sharing our response to the analysis and interpretation of the data, an Arts-Informed re-presentation of the synthesis is offered. This artistic portrayal provides a means of communicating the creative aesthetic, to maximize dissemination and scholarship as a necessary and reflexive component of research and practice.

Authors

• Katherine Wimpenny, Coventry University

• Anthony Meadows, Shenandoah University