Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the current diagnostic label for children and adults presenting with significant problems with attention, impulsivity and excessive activity is one of the most prevalent childhood psychiatric disorders (Barkley, 2014:3). This qualitative research study, situated at a school for children with ADHD, explores how involvement in Group Creative Music Therapy can promote social skills in six and seven year old children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Four weekly music therapy sessions were conducted with one class consisting of 10 students in the second grade. The class teacher was interviewed prior to and after the music therapy process and attended all music therapy sessions. An interesting component of this research was that the teacher was a music teacher who already had a wealth of experience of using music in her own life and with her classroom. The research data included interviews as well as video excerpts showing interaction between the children during music therapy sessions. The findings from the qualitative analysis of interview transcripts and video excerpts indicate firstly the value of music itself as a tool for promoting social skills. There were also many similarities between how the teacher and music therapist used music to benefit children socially, such as exposing the children to music from different cultures or using turn-taking or movement activities to encourage the children to work together. Secondly, this study also highlights the differences between the work of music therapists and music educators. The main differences include the distinctive aims, particularly in this study where the music therapist’s aim was the development of social skills and the teacher’s aim was music education - with social influences as an added benefit to the educational process. Based on their aims, music therapists and music teachers use alternate methods and ways of managing and drawing children in. The findings show how music therapy can influence the development of social skills in children with ADHD - as the music therapist uses specific clinical skills to help children engage freely and spontaneously with others, while also offering them new experiences of themselves and one another. Therefore, the findings also show helpful complementary relationships between music therapists and teachers, as music therapists can help teachers use tools and techniques from music therapy in their classes and teachers can also suggest certain music for therapists to utilise in therapy sessions. This study strongly advocates for both music education and music therapy, as the findings indicate that both fields are beneficial for this client group. / Mini Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

This dissertation is a qualitative interview study conducted with staff and residents at Sparrow Rainbow Village, an HIV/AIDS community. The purpose of this research was to explore the perception of the role of music held by members for their community, and specifically its role in creating a sense of community, as well as to investigate the implications these perceptions might have for setting up a community music therapy project. The interviews revealed a struggle with establishing a community identity that embraced health, as well as feeling isolated from the greater community. Music was seen as a means of bringing people together both within the community and serving to bridge the gap with the wider community and in so doing, empowering both communities simultaneously. / Dissertation (MMus (Music Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Music / unrestricted

This study explored the process of negotiating music therapy in a community based setting known as The Potter’s House. The Potter’s House was established fourteen years ago as the first non-racial shelter for battered and destitute women and their children in the city of Pretoria. Furthermore, the study considers Community Music Therapy as a possible frame for music therapy practice in South Africa. The study was conducted according to a qualitative research paradigm. Three data collection sources were used to gather information about the way in which music therapy was negotiated at The Potter’s House. Data collection was in the form of interviews (conducted with the manager of The Potter’s House and the music therapy participants) as well as clinical session notes. The aim of the interviews was to explore members’ experiences and views of the music therapy process. The clinical session notes include significant information that relates to my own reflections and experiences of the music therapy process. This study seems to highlight certain factors that appear prominent in the process of negotiating music therapy in this specific shelter for battered women and their children. These factors and how they were negotiated seem to emphasize the value of a Community Music Therapy framework in the shelter context. The study further suggests that Community Music Therapy could be utilized more broadly in the South African context. / Mini Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted