"The Full Has Never Been Told": An Arts-Based Narrative Inquiry Into the Academic and Professional Experiences of Black People in American Music Therapy

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Genre
Thesis/Dissertation
Date
2019
Author
Webb, Adenike Ayana
Advisor
Magee, Wendy
Committee member
Brooks, Darlene M.
Dilworth, Rollo A.
Kay, Lisa
Department
Music Therapy
Subject
Music Therapy
Arts-based Research
Black/african-american
Music Therapy
Poetic Inquiry
Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/4020

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DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/4002
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which the academic and professional experiences of Black people in American music therapy reflect current attitudes within the field towards diversity and cultural awareness, and how understanding those experiences can lead to enhanced, culturally sensitive practice. An arts-based narrative inquiry methodology using poetry was employed as a means to understand the experiences of Black people in the field through artistic forms that invite readers to enter the affective worlds of the participants. A total of 10 music therapy students, clinicians and educators participated in open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Transcripts of these interviews were analyzed for thematic material as well as to provide content for poems in the participants’ voices that described their experiences. Additionally, the researcher created poems responding to each participant that reflected on aspects of the interactions, content and sub-text of the interviews. All poems were analyzed for thematic material. That material was compared with previously derived themes out of which seven main themes emerged. Those themes are: things and people are not as they seem; being the only one/one of a few; self-definition versus being defined by others; adding value to the field; dealing with the status quo; calling for greater cultural awareness, acceptance and equality; and importance of support. Findings indicated that participants did not feel as if they fully belonged in the profession and that the music therapy community inconsistently recognized and addressed the need for diversity, cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. Implications for music therapy training and practice, along with recommendations for the field and future research are also presented.
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