Involving Minimally Speaking Communicators as Collaborators in Group Music Therapy and Research

Involving Minimally Speaking Communicators as Collaborators in Group Music Therapy retrospectively explores a doctoral study of participatory action research centred around one year of music therapy with six minimally speaking men living within a residential home. Written in an accessible style with key learnings highlighted throughout, readers will learn about the benefits and challenges of involving minimally speaking communicators in both research and practice. The residents participating in the study had a minimum of 40 years’ experience of long-stay institutional care and were significantly affected by this in terms of their relationships, identity and communication. Chapters explore the progress of the study across 12 months and then dive into the specific experiences of each of the six men, making recommendations for best practice when working within creative therapies with individuals with unusual or limited verbal communication. Readers will engage with critically reflexive action research and practice, supporting agency and engagement for people who may otherwise struggle to communicate. The book concludes with recommendations for practice in both music therapy practice and research and explores resonances for other settings and circumstances. This is an essential read for any music therapy practitioner who wants to improve inclusivity and participant engagement within their practice. It will also be interesting to practitioners of arts and expressive therapy more widely, as well as to health and social care professionals, learning disability nurses, and professionals working on the co-production of action research.