The next Australian Music & Psychology Society seminar will be held in the School of Music and Music Education (Webster Bldg, Room G18) at the University of NSW Friday April 7 at 5 pm:

Friday APRIL 7, 5.00-6.30 pm
The Art of Intersubjectivity: Music Therapy with Hospitalised Infants
Stephen Malloch1 (presenter), Helen Shoemark2. Carol Newnham3, Campbell Paul4, Margot Prior5, Denis Burnham1
1MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney; 2Music Therapy Unit, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne; Murdoch Children's Research Institute; 3Victorian Infant Brain Study, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne; 4Mental Health Service, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne; 5Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne.
Abstract:
The presence of contingency appears to be vital for a healthy caregiver-infant relationship, and for the well-being of the infant. A problem exists in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - while the highly technological, noisy and interventionist environment maximises chances of the physical survival of the infant, it also minimises opportunities for sympathetic, contingent relationships. In this environment, the music therapist, with her training in listening and observing through time and making available appropriately modulated interaction, provides a setting where the infant has his communicative skills met and nurtured (Trevarthen & Malloch, 2000). We will report results of a three year study that assessed the impact of an improvised music therapy intervention (Shoemark, 1999) carried out at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The aims were to examine the efficacy of the Music Therapy protocol, and to examine the nature of the interaction between therapist and infant.

See you there!

Kate

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Associate Professor Kate Stevens
School of Psychology and MARCS Auditory Laboratories
University of Western Sydney - Bankstown

Post: Locked Bag 1797 South Penrith 1797 Australia
Street: Bldg 1 Rm G.56, Bullecourt Ave, Milperra
Phone: +612 9772 6324; Fax: +612 9772 6040

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