Exploring Music Therapist’s Experiences of Sharing Pronouns within Group Therapy

Ambrose, Elizabeth

Ambrose, E. (2024). Exploring Music Therapist’s Experiences of Sharing Pronouns within Group Therapy.

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Title	Exploring Music Therapist’s Experiences of Sharing Pronouns within Group Therapy
Abstract	If music therapists are following the code of ethics, they should be striving to provide inclusive practices. This includes how gender, and its concepts are communicated by therapists. In context of clinical group work, promoting gender inclusivity can be cultivated through disclosure and musical choices. Additionally, there are contextual factors that influence clinical decisions made by the therapist. These factors can impact how gender identity is shared and explored by the therapist and clients in the group setting. There is growing research in the music therapy and counseling field regarding the impact of disclosing gender pronouns as well as how the therapeutic relationship is perceived to be impacted by the act of sharing pronouns with clients. However, minimal research has been curious towards how these decisions are made by the clinicians. This thesis aimed to explore the experiences of music therapists sharing or not sharing their pronouns within group settings, and how pronouns are considered when selecting songs for clinical experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants, who were recruited from social media postings. Through thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the data: 1) potential for harm, 2) culturally affirming practices, 3) context, and 4) musical considerations. The researcher hopes this research will be a useful addition to the growing literature exploring gender-inclusive music therapy practices.
Date	2024

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Title: Exploring Music Therapist’s Experiences of Sharing Pronouns within Group Therapy
Author: Ambrose, Elizabeth
Abstract: If music therapists are following the code of ethics, they should be striving to provide inclusive practices. This includes how gender, and its concepts are communicated by therapists. In context of clinical group work, promoting gender inclusivity can be cultivated through disclosure and musical choices. Additionally, there are contextual factors that influence clinical decisions made by the therapist. These factors can impact how gender identity is shared and explored by the therapist and clients in the group setting. There is growing research in the music therapy and counseling field regarding the impact of disclosing gender pronouns as well as how the therapeutic relationship is perceived to be impacted by the act of sharing pronouns with clients. However, minimal research has been curious towards how these decisions are made by the clinicians. This thesis aimed to explore the experiences of music therapists sharing or not sharing their pronouns within group settings, and how pronouns are considered when selecting songs for clinical experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants, who were recruited from social media postings. Through thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the data: 1) potential for harm, 2) culturally affirming practices, 3) context, and 4) musical considerations. The researcher hopes this research will be a useful addition to the growing literature exploring gender-inclusive music therapy practices.
Advisor: Hadley, Susan
Committee Members: Drozda, Natalie
Gumble, Maevon
Date Issued: 2024
Degree Granting Institution: Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
College of Liberal Arts
Music
Degree Name: Master of Music Therapy (MMT)
Degree Level: Masters Degree
Degree Discipline: Music Therapy
Genre: Dissertation/Thesis
Copyright Statement: The copyright to this item is owned by the author and falls under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)