Playlist Assignment - Music Therapy
Learning objective: Identify and select appropriate music repertoire to facilitate therapeutic music listening experiences
This assignment utilises the material you have learned and practised regarding the use of music playlists to support physical and mental health goals. You will need to design a playlist of pre-recorded music for exercise based on the clinical scenario provided and offer a 1000-word rationale for how this playlist meets the health needs of this person.
Taylor is a 16-year-old young person who sustained a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car when training for a running competition. She was rushed to hospital and spent 2 weeks in intensive care before being transferred to a specialist acquired brain injury rehabilitation unit. In addition to physical injuries to her body, Taylor’s brain injury caused impairments in movement on one side of her body (referred to as a hemiplegic gait pattern).
During her 4-month stay in hospital, Taylor participated in music therapy with goals for her to use music to support her physical rehabilitation and emotional adjustment. After being discharged, Taylor starts attending 6 weeks of community-based rehabilitation, where she continues to attend physiotherapy and music therapy to achieve her walking goals. One of Taylor’s outpatient rehabilitation goals is to walk for 30 minutes per day.
Taylor is a quiet and introverted adolescent who lives at home with her parents and 2 younger brothers aged 4 and 7 years. She is a dedicated student at school, with a strong network of friends. As a long-distance runner prior to her accident, Taylor previously enjoyed being out in nature and exercising. However, since her accident she has experienced high anxiety about exercising outside and fears being injured again.
She loves listening to music, particularly Top 40’s popular music, but also hears the music of her parents and younger siblings being played at home. Taylor’s school friends also love pop music, and they often share newly discovered songs and artists with each other. Her music listening habits included listening to music when studying, exercising, when she feels sad, and when she wants to energise herself to go out with her friends.
Assignment instructions:
Design a playlist of 8-10 pre-recorded songs designed to support Taylor to engage in walking as part of her physical rehabilitation and acknowledge her physical, emotional, and social background and needs.
Provide a YouTube link to the playlist of song or some other way to share the playlist (please note if your links do not work or are not made accessible for the marker, an automatic penalty shall be applied, equivalent to one day late, ie. 10% of the maximum mark for that assignment).
Provide a rationale for why the selected songs would provide suitable musical support to address Taylor’s needs (400 words).
Describe the therapeutic process you would undertake with Taylor to discover the music that is meaningful and engaging to her. Describe your approach to using counselling techniques that could be supportive in the context of this therapeutic conversation and reflect on potential challenges you might experience and ways you could address these (600 words).
The 1000 word limit for the rationale can be 10% over or under and is not inclusive of your song list and references.
Assessment criteria:
Song selection incorporates relevant key theories
Incorporates reflection on patient’s personal qualities and identification of areas to focus on
Demonstrates understanding of approaches used to guide therapeutic conversation, and insightful personal reflection on use of these skills
Clarity of essay structure and expression of ideas
Skillful integration of at least 3 references (books/articles) and accurate referencing (according to the American Psychological Association style manual, 7th edition).
References
Receptive Music Therapy, 2nd Edition : Techniques, Clinical Applications and New Perspectives chapters 1 and 8
Clark, I.N. & Tamplin, J. (2016). How music can influence the body: A critical...