Читать книгу The Creative Arts in Counseling - Samuel Gladding T., Samuel T. Gladding - Страница 50

What were your favorite musical groups when you were a teenager? How did their music affect you? What messages did you get from it? How is it similar to and different from the music adolescents listen to now?

Most adolescents are deeply involved in music, such as playing a musical instrument, playing in a band, going to concerts, or identifying with major musical figures (Kimbel & Protivnak, 2010). For some, music is quite inspirational because it evokes “images of movies . . . in which movie characters triumphed over adversities” (Gfeller, 1988, p. 41). The fact that the website Spotify (www.spotify.com/us/) and its offspring are largely listened to by an audience younger than 30 years of age (and even the existence of such channels is known only to them) is further evidence of the importance of music in the lives of this age group. In addition, television shows like The Voice, American Idol, and America’s Got Talent and games such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution focus on music and appeal to this age group. Overall, the activities and events just mentioned plus the rhythm and words of Lil Wayne, Rihanna, Lady A, Black Eyed Peas, Drake, Tim McGraw, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga speak to adolescent youth in unique and powerful ways.

For young adolescents, according to Wells (1988), “music therapy is helpful in bridging the gap between nonverbal and talking therapy. It aids in mastery and sublimation of thoughts and feelings, and it helps to facilitate ego development through success-oriented experiences” (p. 47). For older adolescents, participating in music therapy activities gives them a firsthand experience of the relationship between effort made and skill achieved in music performance. Adolescents in juvenile delinquency programs benefit from music therapy activities because they become increasingly aware of the connectedness between hard work and achievement. Their self-esteem and self-expression may increase as well, with a substantial decrease in hostility and disruptive behaviors (Rio & Tenney, 2002). Teens may also realize that playing a socially desirable musical instrument such as the piano or guitar increases their acceptance among peers.

In addition, adolescents are often interested in song writing and may wish to express themselves lyrically (Cheesebrow, 2018). A song is generally considered to be a poem set to music. To foster a preventive and therapeutic process, music therapists and counselors skilled in music can work with adolescents using a number of song-writing techniques, “including changing the words to familiar songs, filling in the blanks of edited familiar songs, vocal improvisation, adding new verses to known songs, parodying familiar songs, and using natural rhythms of speech as a starting point” (Goldstein, 1990, p. 119). Counselors who are musicians themselves may also use original music they have written to help adolescents explore difficult areas such as gender issues and sexuality (Hodas, 1991). In addition, school counselors and counselors who work with adolescents in other settings can use musical interventions such as listening to music and sharing and using music in psychoeducational activities.

One interesting use of music in counseling at-risk youth—in particular, inner-city Black and Latinx adolescents—is transforming rap music into rap therapy (Armstrong & Ricard, 2016). Rap therapy (Elligan, 2004) is rooted in social learning theory and a cognitive behavioral model. Through it, “clients become aware of the association between personal lyric interpretation, their emotions, and at-risk behaviors. This awareness aids in their ability to be reflective and allows them to effectively problem solve” (T. Gonzalez & Hayes, 2009, p. 162). Like in other counseling approaches, assessment is completed and rapport is established before any attempts at change take place. However, once these two stages of counseling are complete, clinicians work to help broaden clients’ appreciation of types of rap other than those that dominate their lives and then, through written exercises, role-play lyrics as well as engage clients to create and interpret their own lyrics. Finally, clients are encouraged to move into positive actions that are maintained through modeling and reinforcement.