Effects of experiential music therapy education on student's reported empathy and self-esteem: A mixed methods study

Abstract

There has been a limited amount of research on the use of experiential education with music therapy students. Most of the research conducted has focused on the experiences of graduate level students. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand the potential effect of experiential music therapy education on undergraduate and graduate equivalency students' reported empathy and self-esteem. Five undergraduate and five graduate equivalency students were enrolled in a music therapy course in which they were asked to role-play the therapist and the client in mock music therapy sessions. Undergraduate participants completed the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Janis-Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (Janis-Field) as pre and posttest measures. Undergraduates also provided responses to elicited journal questions and participated in a semi-structured telephone interview. Graduate participants completed the IRI and the Janis-Field as a posttest measure after the completion of the semester, provided responses to elicited journal questions, and participated in a semi-structured telephone interview. There were no significant changes from pretest to posttest for undergraduate students and no significant relationships between the posttest scores of undergraduate and graduate participants. Qualitative data analysis for undergraduate and graduate students indicated that participants were able to identify changes in their own empathy and self-esteem as a result of the role-playing experiences. Implications for further research are discussed.