Symbol and Structure: Music Therapy for the Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient

Abstract

Explores the ability of music therapy to assist adolescent psychiatric inpatients in the development of ego strength, identity formation, and impulse control. Important symbolic and structural elements of the musical activities, the session's verbal content, and the therapeutic relationship are analyzed as they relate specifically to the needs of this population. The author's exploration is based on psychoanalytic perspectives of personality development and pathology: the stages of ego development, and the concepts of identity crisis, transitional phenomena, and peer group relevance. Case illustrations from the author's work experience with 5 patients (aged 12–28 yrs) are presented to demonstrate patients' utilization of symbol and structure and to exemplify the author's theoretical orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)