Back to Search
Start Over
A Qualitative Inquiry of the Lived Experiences of Music Therapists Who Have Survived Cancer Who Are Working with Medical and Hospice Patients
- Source :
- Frontiers in Psychology, Vol 7 (2016), Frontiers in Psychology
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Frontiers Media S.A., 2016.
-
Abstract
- Cancer is a debilitating illness that affects more than one in every three Americans at sometime in their life time regardless of their social, cultural, ethnic, religious, or economic status. A few studies in the psychotherapy literature have investigated the impact of cancer on the personal and professional lives of psychotherapists. However, such investigations are yet unknown in medical or music therapy literature. In this descriptive phenomenological study, the researcher interviewed five American music therapists who have survived cancer and also work with patients in medical hospitals or hospice settings. The purpose of this study was to fully describe their lived experience of surviving cancer and examine how the cancer experience affected their clinical work thereafter. The data was analyzed using an open coding method from grounded theory which identified four major themes: (a) personal significance; (b) relational significance; (c) musical significance and (d) professional significance. The descriptions provided by these participants of their cancer experience as patients, survivors, and cancer surviving therapists, have revealed various psychosocial and physical issues encountered, and numerous coping methods they employed, and poignantly explained how their clinical approach evolved and expanded due to the personal experience of cancer. Specific issues in relation to countertransference, self-disclosure, and ways of developing empathic approaches without having such personal experience were discussed in addition to suggestions for future research.
- Subjects :
- descriptive phenomenology
Psychotherapist
Music therapy
lcsh:BF1-990
Ethnic group
countertransference (psychology)
Grounded theory
experience of cancer
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Psychology
Countertransference
Socioeconomic status
General Psychology
Original Research
music therapist
05 social sciences
050301 education
lcsh:Psychology
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Self-disclosure
self-disclosure
Personal experience
0503 education
Psychosocial
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16641078
- Volume :
- 7
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5503118d1504ab3a3366ad839833f17f
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01840