Relationship Exploration through Music: Treatment Considerations for Adolescents with Attachment Trauma

Relationship Exploration through Music: Treatment Considerations for Adolescents with Attachment Trauma

Presenter(s)

Jaylee A. Sowders

Comments

Presentation: 2:20-2:40, Kennedy Union 311

Description

Interpersonal relationships are key to navigating our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world. However, our ability to form and maintain healthy relationships depends greatly on our experiences as children. Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, suggests that our initial relationships and their characteristics can impact our sense of comfort and safety in later attachments (Bretherton, 1992). Challenges and trauma in attachment at a young age may hinder a child’s development into adulthood where interpersonal relationships are key to navigating our academic, professional, and personal environments. If left unaddressed, these challenges can become exacerbated in adolescence as teenagers form more concrete understandings of themselves and the world (Dubois-Comtois, et al., 2013). Understanding the lasting psychological impact of attachment trauma is necessary to discovering appropriate and effective ways of addressing these struggles.With a focus on equity and accessibility in mental healthcare, this study is centered in music therapy assessment and treatment with teenage clients facing attachment trauma and the role of music as a communicative resource and symbolic object for attachment. This presentation will feature the findings of an undergraduate honors thesis project, supplemented by research at the University of Oxford, that will include a review of attachment theory and music therapy literature and qualitative research and thematic content analysis of interviews with credentialed music therapists working with this client group. This study aims to analyze the affordances, risks, and challenges of music therapy experiences in helping adolescents with attachment trauma to explore their internal patterns of attachment and develop strategies to form healthier future attachments.

Publication Date

4-17-2024

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

Joy M. Willenbrink-Conte

Primary Advisor's Department

Music

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship; Diversity

Relationship Exploration through Music: Treatment Considerations for Adolescents with Attachment Trauma

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