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This paper reflects on a music therapy community engagement project that incorporates clinical training, service learning, and community music therapy. Two faculty members and a practicum student in a Midwestern university engaged community members connected to Parkinson's disease to create a music-based program. We offer a conceptual framework that connects approaches situated within community music therapy (CoMT) qualities and community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles. We share project processes, findings, and recommendations, emphasizing all as equal stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music-based programmes have been found to improve well-being and rehabilitation for people in prison and other places of detention, but there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms driving this. This paper seeks to explore how music has the potential to contribute to desistance from crime, specifically in the context of identity transformation. Respondents were ex-detainees in England who had taken part in music-based programmes either in a prison, an Immigration Removal Center, or in the community. Facilitators of music projects also took part in the study. The data comprised of ethnographic observations of three different music sessions, supplemented by two semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis revealed a core concept that music production and consumption were used to construct identity in reaction to the deconstructive effects of incarceration, leading to reported improvements in self-esteem and self-efficacy. Findings are discussed in relation to policy and practice recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the "Coffee House," a community music therapy performance event held biannually at an adolescent mental health treatment facility in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. In this paper, I draw upon techniques and theory from narrative inquiry in order to investigate the experiences and perspectives of 7 adolescent clients and 11 staff members who participated in the event as performers and audience members. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through qualitative coding; the participants' voices are presented here. Building upon a previous article, in which I attribute the Coffee House's success to its participatory ethos, this article examines the impact of performing upon participants' musical and personal identities as well as upon their relationships with others at the facility. The shifts and transformations that took place within youths' identities were interdependent with the relational features of the performance context; expansions in youths' self-identities were indelibly connected to staff members' expanded perspectives on these youths, afforded through witnessing their performances. Participants' narratives validate not only the ways in which identity and relationship intersect, but also the way in which musical performance's impact upon identity and relationship is uniquely musical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges the “intervention-as-solution” approach to health and well-being as commonly practised in the international development sector, and draws on the disciplinary intersections between Community Music Therapy and ethnomusicology in seeking a more negotiated and situationally apposite framework for health engagement. Drawing inspiration from music-based health applications in conflict or post-conflict environments in particular, and focusing on case studies from Lebanon and South Sudan respectively, the paper argues for a re-imagined international development health and well-being framework based on the concept ofdeep listening.Defined by composer Pauline Oliveros as listening which “digs below the surface of what is heard … unlocking layer after layer of imagination, meaning, and memory down to the cellular level of human experience” (Oliveros, 2005), the paper explores the methodological applications of such a dialogic, discursive approach with reference to a range of related listening stances – cultural, social and therapeutic. In so doing, it explores opportunities for multi-levelled and culturally inclusive health and well-being practices relevant to different localities in the world and aimed at the re-integration of self, place and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community music-therapy (CMT) service evaluation in older adults' care home communities is an important process to enhance the quality of therapists' outputs and the development of client-centred approaches to meet the needs of residents and community. However, administrative limitations that could affect therapists' contact time with clients may lead to the underestimation of service evaluation within the system. This study aims to explore community music therapists' perceptions of the impact of their services in older adults' care home communities using a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews. The therapists were asked to reflect on specific aspects of their community music therapy service, potential cognitive-behavioural and physiological effects of therapy, best-practices for assessment in MT and challenges experienced in this particular setting. Participants highlighted the unique value of CMT in care home communities. They demonstrated the ability to detect and assess impacts of CMT using clinical analysis methods, which can improve care plans for the residents. However, certain limitations, such as reduced hours, inadequate funding and a lack of recognition of CMT's benefits by care home staff, were identified. Moreover, the analysis shed light on how COVID-19 impacted the CMT service in this context, emphasizing the need for adaptability and resilience in providing care. The implications of the results in an Italian community context are further analysed and discussed, stressing the importance of supporting CMT as a fundamental service in care home communities for older adults. By addressing the highlighted limitation and embracing the perspectives of community music therapists, care homes can optimize their services and enhance the well-being of their residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual impairment results in a different way of perceiving the world. The consequences of the absence of vision in early childhood determine individual capacities for participation in a sighted world, but, at the same time, possibilities for participation are determined by society. The purpose of this theoretical paper is to explore and develop a critical notion of participation within the context of music therapy and children with visual impairment, and to examine theoretical ideas that are relevant for practice, research, and further theoretical discussion. Music therapy with children with visual impairment appears to be an underdeveloped field where the focus has been on the individual. The frameworks of community music therapy and disability studies provide a theoretical background to link individual capacities such as protomusicality and musicianship with the social and cultural dimension of music. In discussing possibilities and barriers for participation for children with visual impairment, we argue that a values-based and resource-oriented approach to health musicking might allow for mutual participation with context-transforming potential, by providing a space that is shaped by the universal design of instruments, activities, and environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MusicWorks is a non-profit organisation based in Cape Town, South Africa, and offers psycho-social support through music to young people growing up in marginalised communities. In South Africa three hundred years of colonialism paved the way for Apartheid which left a legacy of waste, nepotism, corruption and the oppression of the majority of our country’s citizens. Its impact is still visible today and the consequences of past and current political, social and economic challenges has led to perpetuated patterns of poverty, gangsterism[1], unemployment, and family violence that are endemic to communities such as Lavender Hill where this MusicWorks project is situated. Encouraging and strengthening the resilience of young people within this community can empower them to not only break this cycle but also be part of the solution as they become contributing members of their community and society at large. Ebersöhn’s (2012) generative theory of relationship resourced resilience proposes that when individuals use relationships as a way to access, link, and mobilise resources, an enabling ecology is shaped that can foster positive adjustment in a largely at-risk environment. Drawing on this social-ecological understanding of resilience, this paper outlines the MusicWorks project in Lavender Hill and discusses case vignettes of music work with young people and the broader school community. The aim of the project is to co-create musical spaces where young people and those around them can access resourced relationships. For the purpose of this paper the use of the term “gangsterism” is located firmly within the South African context, were terminology around “gangs” and “gangsterism” refers to a specific grouping of people who are involved in highly structured gangs whose criminal activity revolve mainly around illicit drug trade, with links to local and international organized crime networks ( Chetty, 2015; Goga, 2014; Shaw and Skywalker, 2016; Goga, 2014; Wegner et al., 2018). Several authors have linked the proliferation of gangs, specifically in Cape Town, to the forced removals of people during 1960 to 1980 as part of the Apartheid government’s Group Areas Act ( Chetty, 2015; Goga, 2014; Kinnes, 2017; Steinberg, 2004).

The study explores the theme "stigma" and how it was experienced by participants in MOT82, a music therapy project in the field of mental health aftercare in Norway. The theme is explored through the research questions: How is stigmatisation experienced by participants in a music therapy project in the field of mental health in aftercare? And: Which strategies can be used to prevent stigma in the context of music therapy in mental health aftercare? The method for the study is based on User Interviewing User, a method for evaluation of health services, where the service users are actively involved in the entire research process. The analyses were qualitative processes within a hermeneutic abductive approach highlighting reflexivity as an important part of the research process. The participants in the study expressed MOT82 to be a positive arena that fostered experiences of mastery, personal development, inclusion, and a strong collaborative community. However, the participants also highlighted the theme of stigma, expressed through stories about mechanisms of exclusion; negative processes of labelling; and how stigma could be related to issues concerning illness, health, and treatment. Findings related to the theme of stigma are discussed and illuminated by theory from sociology, music therapy, stigma research and recovery; emphasising the concepts of social capital, performance and the importance of a user perspective. With regards to the matter of destabilising stigma, the message from the participants in MOT82 is clear: Tone down the focus on mental illness, turn up the volume regarding the importance of doing music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the contents of 45 issues of the International Journal of Community Music from 2007 to 2022, noting the type of article, authorship, location by country, participants involved, setting, form of music making and discussions of paramusical issues of community music discourse. Findings suggest that the journal has evolved, expanding its range of content while increasing the proportion of research articles. The authors use their findings to discuss 'What should the journal include?' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed-methods concurrent identical design was implemented to explore the following research question: what are the emotional, social, and practical impacts of group singing for women from a regeneration area? Members of an all-female community choir based in an area of disadvantage participated in a focus group and survey. The most significant quantitative finding was an increase in the overall perceived level of health, which seemed linked to qualitative themes of 'positive emotions', 'redefining and reclaiming identity', 'choir as an extended family' and 'community interaction and impact'. Three themes arose from qualitative data: social impact, health and well-being aspects, and practical issues. Integrating qualitative and quantitative findings identified an overarching concept that 'choir participation may increase emotional and social health and well-being'. Group singing was found beneficial, with a potential to serve as a resource in cultivating resilience in individuals living in areas of disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This theoretical paper demonstrates how music therapy—and more specifically, community music therapy (CoMT)—can contribute to social justice. CoMT is a creative approach that the liberates expression, potentially empowering people of all ages, races, and statuses to build a better society. It also reveals how the leadership literature presents the concept of service in addressing social justice and how the fields of psychology and sociology of music shed some light on the use of music for social justice. Finally, future implications for training music therapists for social justice are explored. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper considers community music therapy discourse and practice by engaging with discourses on communication, collaboration, culture and community. Community music therapy and social worlds are presented as reflexively creating one another, suggesting that music therapists and clients listen to, and together engage with, musical and social resources in the local social context. This is understood as providing resources for community music therapy to become an agent for social health and social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the lived experiences of teenagers in a children's home who participated in a choir that was facilitated from a community music therapy perspective in Pretoria, South Africa. Sixteen weekly choir sessions were held. These included a variety of interactive vocal techniques. A performance marked the end of the process, where songs selected by the teenagers were performed. Qualitative data were collected through fourteen semi-structured individual interviews at the end of the process. All interview transcripts were analysed through utilizing interpretative phenomenological analysis. The study concluded that participation in this community music therapy choir offered the teenagers perceived meaningful intra- and interpersonal experiences. At an intrapersonal level, the participants experienced discovering their musical voices; accessing inner strength to take action both in the here-and-now and in the future; increased self-awareness, self-esteem and self-confidence; as well as expressing and regulating emotions. In terms of interpersonal experiences, the teenagers experienced growth in relationships; improved social skills; and greater connection with the broader community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated a continuing education course in creative music making, initiated to promote the inclusion of young people with intellectual disability in a university setting. Despite organizers' attempts to foster diversity within the student cohort, enrolments were almost exclusively from students who had intellectual disability. Being in the university environment, and in a place of higher learning, seemed to be valued by some. However, students' main focus was on group musicking in a dedicated music room rather than interacting with the wider university community. Those who did not identify as disabled believed it was important to continue to address the barriers to wider inclusion. While acknowledging the risks around mediating the social interactions of young people with intellectual disability, we argue that future courses should include activities specifically designed to bring them to classes with typical students and to the wider activities of the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The therapeutic relationship is central to music therapy practice. In this article, the authors describe an important thread of learning about relationship building that emerged in an action research project with three communities supporting marginalized young people in Melbourne, Australia. Specifically, this article articulates critical considerations about relationship building for music therapists striving for collaboration in their practice. Collaboration and participatory practice are increasingly described in the music therapy literature, reflecting contemporary notions of inclusion and consumer participation worldwide. As music therapy practices continue to evolve in an increasingly diverse range of contexts, it is important that foundational concepts that underpin music therapy are re-examined to avoid tokenism and ensure best practice. In this article, we propose two aspects of relationship building—"hanging out' and 'buying in"—that emerged in this study as essential to music therapy projects with a collaborative orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kodály's concept about music education is worldwide adapted to different cultures. However, the significance of his theoretical framework is almost undiscovered by music therapy. The aim of the present paper is to shed light on the common elements of Commuity Music Therapy and the Kodály Approach by literature-based Research. Kodály was a pioneer establishing a multidisciplinary dialog between musicology, philosophy, sociology and education. The practice and theory he established was a powerful response to his time’s social needs and problems. As a musician an educator he devoted himself to the popularization community music, choral singing and thus building up a better society. As a researcher he studied the therapeutic effects of his method, especially transfer effect with intellectual and social skills. His overall goal to make music accessible to everyone highly resemble with Community Music Therapy. Many of his ideas such us choral singing for social connectedness or agency and empowerment through musical education are a part of the practice of Community Music Therapy. His concept is a fundamental part of music education but music therapy also could profit more from his ideas.

Young people recovering from mental illness may benefit from ongoing musical opportunities in the community following music therapy engagement in mental health services. In this paper I describe the second cycle of a Participatory research project investigating young people’s musical identities in their recovery from mental illness. This cycle explored the types of services needed for young people’s ongoing recovery and compared these against the reality of service provision in the local area. Findings revealed the need for a unique advocacy body to facilitate partnerships between institutions and community-based services and lead to the forming of a Youth Music Action Group to address this unmet need.

Prevention of violence is one of the major social responsibilities of the twenty-first century, requiring effective preventative measures at many levels. Music as a non-verbal and emotive medium provides general and specific means for promoting aggression regulation, social integration and empowerment. Different music therapeutic procedures seem to be useful and the ideas of Community Music Therapy can expand the methodical approaches in German Music Therapy. This article presents a specific music therapy programme for the prevention of violence in school classes, which has been scientifically elaborated upon over the past few years in Germany. After describing the programme, called DrumPower, the article will conclude with the question as to what extent the different approaches can be useful to each other in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though Sound Work was developed in the field of psychiatry, its characteristics proved to comply widely with the philosophical paradigms of community music, a fact that encouraged the development of Community Sound Work as a new interdisciplinary and culturally sensitive concept. Sound Work was developed on the basis of comparative psychiatric case studies identifying four main clinical problems: traumatization and pathological symbolization, psychosomatic loops and somatization, loss of inner balance and social disintegration, energetic maladjustment and inadequate energy expenditure. Clinical application has shown that rhythm and sound are deeply involved with human characteristics and life-determining conditions. This led to various applications of Sound Work in medical, preventive, pedagogical and sociocultural fields. Consequently, the philosophy of community music could benefit greatly from a fresh view of psychiatric Sound Work, because while psychopathological traits require therapy, authentic personality features require empathetic inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author, a board-certified music therapist, and two colleagues, a literacy specialist and a special educator, travelled to Malawi, Africa in 2013 to explore the incidences of disabilities in the schools outside of the capital city of Lilongwe. Preliminary information was collected on the educational system, the types of strategies and supports that were in place for students with special needs, and the use of music as a resource in the classrooms and the communities. A community music therapy framework was employed to contextualize the possibilities available for providing sustainable music resources to facilitate an increase in accessibility for students with disabilities and to empower classroom communities to support the needs of those with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How is music related to adolescent agency and possibilities for various forms of participation in everyday life? This article is based on interviews of 15 adolescents with experiences of their everyday life in the Norwegian child welfare system. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 23 years, and they have all been living in a child welfare institution. They have also been participants in a community music therapy project, with activities such as playing in a band and writing songs. In this article, we focus on the aspects of these adolescents’ experiences of their everyday situation in child welfare and on how they use music as a resource. We analyse and discuss our empirical findings from two theoretical perspectives – a human rights perspective and a sociocultural perspective. The human rights discussion is related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in particular with regard to the concept ofparticipation. The sociocultural perspective highlights conditions that enable participation. The findings suggest that experiences of stigma and lack of constructive dialogue with adults are central to their everyday life experience in child welfare aftercare. Participants in the study were able to use music to structure stories and facilitate dialogue with peers and adults. We discuss these findings in the light of contemporary theories on resources for agency and participation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Just as we care about adapting physical spaces and visual environments for the residences of those with severe disabilities, so we should monitor and design everyday sound environments (which include music and non-music sounds). This imperative is particularly important given that, no matter what their cognitive disabilities, many such residents are both particularly attuned to sounds in their environment (as music therapists well know), and particularly vulnerable to them (as the residents are often captive audiences). But how exactly to adapt and design sound environments has not been systematically thought through. This essay poses the problem and points out that there is no consistent research tradition specific to this goal. It goes on to review the many related disciplines that can be of help in laying the groundwork. Finally, it turns its attention to music therapy, searching for what parts of its theory and practice may be helpful in approaching this project, and poses a gentle challenge to music therapy as a discipline and profession: that it give more sustained attention to the everyday soundscape of the clients and communities it serves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A focus of the emerging discourse on Community Music Therapy (CoMT) has been to discuss its departure from the principles of the 'consensus model' of music therapy. This has helped to define where CoMT begins, but the question of where it ends has been less definitive. The following article addresses this question, drawing on the results of a recent qualitative study that involved a grounded theory analysis of in-depth interviews with Australian music therapists and community musicians. The three main results of this study are discussed in order to suggest new directions for music therapy practices that are simultaneously connected with and delineated from Community Music practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Building space for diversity: Creative music-making project in urban Japanese context," by Hiroko Miyake is presented.