In the past 20 years music therapy has been used extensively for trauma treatment. Most of the described methods of music therapy in trauma treatment deal with war veterans and victims of maltreatment or sexual abuse (Austin, 2002; Bonny, 1986). Music therapists connected to War Child, an organization working with children in war zones or in post-war environments, describe their experiences with music therapy in situations in which they have to deal with cultural differences and stress-inducing factors. They describe clinical examples and major themes emerging from the ways in which the clients experience their music therapy (Lang & McInerney, 2002).
However, a clear methodical account of music therapy in the treatment of traumatized refugees, with special attention to social and cultural aspects such as differences in musical interpretation and perception, in language, and stress inducing aspects caused by their present situation, seems to be lacking.
As music therapists now deal more often with traumatized refugees, and the demand for documentation, research, and a methodical description has grown, in this article I would like to make a contribution to the development of a methodology in music therapy with traumatized refugees.
Various methods used by music therapists in trauma treatment will be described. An overview of the development of a set of methods at Phoenix, a highly specialized inpatient treatment facility for refugees and asylum seekers, will be presented and I will focus on four approaches I developed in my work with traumatized refugees.