*This book is downloadable in PDF format and requires a PDF file reader. You can also visit barcelonapublishers.com to purchase a print copy of this book. *
This book explores the theoretical and methodological foundations of improvisational music psychotherapy that have led to the development of the Integrative Improvisational Music Therapy (IIMT) model: a music psychotherapy model that has been found effective in the treatment of depression in adults.
(245 pgs, 2026)
CONTENTS:
About the Author
Introduction
Overview
PART I: A PERSPECTIVE ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CLINICAL IMPROVISATION
1 Music as Art and as Therapy: A Complex Combination
2 The Meaning of the Artistic Quality of Music in Music Therapy
Aesthetic vs. Relational Music Therapy
Aesthetics Beyond Music
3 Improvisation: A Multidimensional Phenomenon
Improvisation as a Platform for Core Human Experiences
Comparison Between Clinical Improvisation and Receptive Techniques
Relational Aspects in Receptive Techniques and in Improvisation
4 Clinical Improvisation in Relation to Traditional Treatment Theories
The Psychoanalytic School and Its Inheritors
The Flexibility of the Psychodynamic Approach Serves Music Therapy
Reforms and Modifications of the Psychodynamic Approach
Key Connections Between the Psychodynamic Approach and Improvisational Music Therapy
Humanistic Psychotherapies
Equality and Non-directiveness
Improvisational Music Therapy and Humanistic Psychotherapy
Brief Psychotherapies
Definitional Challenges
Brief Psychotherapies and Improvisational Music Therapy
Cognitive Psychotherapies
Conclusions on the Relationship Between Improvisational Music Therapy and Essential Psychotherapies
Integrative Psychotherapy and Improvisational Music Psychotherapy
Theoretical Approaches vs. Techniques in Psychotherapy and Music Psychotherapy
Verbal vs. Nonverbal
5 The Three-dimensional Model
Hemispheric Specialization
The Modes of Thinking
Three-dimensional Model in a Nutshell
The Primitive Meaning Level
The Tangible Meaning Level
The Symbolic Meaning Level
6 Specific Extra-musical Qualities of Improvisational Music Therapy
Individuality, Identity, Illness
Music as Self-therapy: Challenges and Opportunities
7 The Relationship Between Language and Music in IMT: The Meaning of Secondary-level Processing
Improvisation with Verbalizing Adults
Improvisation with Clients with Limited Verbal Capacity
Are There Individuals Who May Not Benefit from IMT?
8 A View of the Essential Foundations of the IMT Process
Phase 1: Optimal Basis for Therapy
Extra-musical Aspects
Musical Aspects
Phase 2: Creativity and Expression
Importance and Essence of Creativity in IMT
Fostering Creativity in Clinical Improvisation
Phase 3: The Imagery Process
Beyond the Words
Listening to the Improvisation
Facilitating and Imagery Process with Improvisational Techniques
Concluding Thoughts on Musical Interventions
Phase 4: Verbalizing the Nonverbal
The Relationship Between Improvising and Verbalizing
Verbalizing
The Dialogical Approach
Phase 5: Implementation
Clinical Examples of Changes Outside the Therapy Room
Summing Up the Idea of Implementation in IMT
How Can Musical Behavior Be Analyzed Within the IMT Process?
PART II: A PERSPECTIVE ON THE ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH OF CLINICAL IMPROVISATION
9 Clinical Improvisation Analysis
What to Analyze and Why: Using an Improvisation Analysis Method
Improvisation and Its Analysis: Considering Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory
Differences Between Manual and Computational Methods
The Specific Relationship of Improvisation to Musical Emotion
10 An Example of a Computational Improvisation Analysis Method
Music Therapy Toolbox (MTTB)
Major Research Approaches to Musical Emotion in Light of MTTB
Compilation of Findings in Systematic Musicology in Light of IMT
11 Different Needs and Realities of Improvisation Analysis in Clinical Practice and Research
Possibilities of Computational Improvisation Analysis in Clinical Practice
Developmental Disabilities
Psychiatric Disorders
Where Are We and Where Should We Go?
12 Experience-based Findings on IMT Trial Practices
Is the Clinical Intervention Ready for a Trial?
Flexibility Within Strict Structure
Clinical Supervision and Overall Support to Therapists
The Interrelationship of Music Therapy in Clinical Trials and Clinical Practice
Site, Services, and Facilities
Selected Aspects of Research Strategies and Data Analysis
Publishing
Conclusions
References
Index