Project 5
Team Research Project at the Nordoff Robbins London Centre (completed 2004)
Title: Parents & Children: a team research investigation of parental involvement in their children’s music therapy
Principal Investigator: Simon Procter
Research Team: Nordoff Robbins London Centre Saturday team of music therapists
Project Outline: This two-year project evolved as a piece of collaborative research between Simon Procter (Research Assistant) and the Saturday clinical team at the Nordoff Robbins London Centre. The project originated from clinical questions that the team wanted to explore from a research perspective: that is, how music therapists reconcile the need to provide aspects of confidentiality to children in therapy with the need to involve and inform parents.
Presentations:
- June 2004: Nordoff Robbins Inset Meeting (Simon Procter & Nicky O’Neill)
- June 2004: European Congress of Music Therapy, Finland (Simon Procter & Nicky O’Neill)
- January 2004: APMT/BSMT Joint Annual Conference (Simon Procter & Nicky O’Neill)
Publications:
Simon Procter: ‘Parents, Children & their Therapists: A collaborative research project examining therapist-parent interactions in a music therapy clinic’. British Journal of Music Therapy, Vol.19, No.2 (2005)
Other Outcomes:This project was a form of ‘action research’, and as a consequence a working-party was set up at Nordoff Robbins to look at the practical implications of the research in terms of current working practices. As a result of this process, changes have been made to routine working practice.
The presentations and publication of this research led to Greenwich TPCT Music Therapy Dept commissioning the Nordoff Robbins Research Dept to formulate a preparatory proposal to do similar research on parental involvement in music therapy in the clinical venues of their music therapy service. This project was successful in its funding application and has led to a £10,000 commissioned project currently underway.