Music Therapy and Parent-Infant Bonding

Abstract

Music therapy is an internationally recognized field of professional evidence-based practice. Qualified music therapists use the engaging, non-verbal aspects of music to create relationships in which therapeutic goals can be pursued and needs of clients addressed. This book focuses specifically on the ways that music therapists provide support for the development of the special and necessary bond between parents and their infants, where some vulnerability is experienced. In the book, music therapists from four countries, Australia, Ireland, the UK, and the US describe their practices with reference to contemporary theory and research. Throughout, the chapters are illustrated with case material. The focus in each chapter is on the need for this work, the theoretical underpinnings of the practice, and the music therapy practice itself. The book is arranged in three sections. The first section covers work in therapy sessions with children and their parents. The second section describes programmes where the music therapist leads a group of parents with their infants, such as the renowned Sing & Grow in Australia. The final section presents work with medical patients and their families including in the neonatal intensive care unit, and for cancer patients.