Eileen Niemiera dissertation

Institute for Clinical Social Work

The Impact of Portable Music on the Internal World of Young Adults

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

By

Eileen A. Niemiera

Chicago, Illinois February 21, 2017

Copyright 2017 by Eileen A. Niemiera All rights reserved

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Abstract

The current population of young adults known as the Millennial Generation is the first generation in the United States who have always had access to listening to music via portable music players. This study was designed to explore and understand how listening to music in this mode may influence, change, and shape their internal worlds, in ways which may be of value to those psychotherapists who work with young adults. Research was conducted in two phases. In Phase One, quantitative data was gathered from 30, 18 to 22 year-olds who were recruited to participate in an online survey. Once this data was collected and analyzed, five participants were chosen to participate in an in-depth interview for Phase Two. These participants were asked several open-ended questions designed to further explore their personal experiences of listening to music via a portable music player. The findings of this study suggest that young adults’ portable music players can indeed function as transitional objects which not only assist them with emotional regulation, but also appear to serve them in other psychologically significant ways. The potential benefits of exploring the music clients listen to appears to be supported by recent research in several interdisciplinary fields and the idea was also unanimously endorsed by Phase Two participants. As a result of the widespread use of portable music players, especially among this generation, young adults now have the opportunity to share their experiences of listening to music, with their therapists, in the immediacy of the clinical setting.

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For my parents Timothy and Kathleen (O’Connor) Foley

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“The trees are coming into leaf. Like something almost being said.� ~ Philip Larkin - The Trees

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my committee members; John Ridings, PhD, my chair, for his genuine interest in my research topic and his intuitive understanding of just how to guide me through this complicated process, Karen Bloomberg, PhD, for her consistent support and encouragement, Constance Goldberg, MS, for her much appreciated enthusiasm for the subject matter of my study, Carol Ganzer, PhD, for guiding me through a theoretical maze of possibilities, and to Karen Baker, MSW, for her excellent suggestions of books and articles.

There are also countless others who have inspired and encouraged me throughout my time at The Institute for Clinical Social Work. I could not have reached this goal without their help, and I would like to acknowledge a few of those people here; the late Marilyn Silin, LCSW, who helped me develop my initial ideas for this study, Michelle Sweet, PhD, for the many hours she spent helping me prepare for my formal case presentation, Joe Palombo, MSW, for sparking my interest in neuropsychology, and finally, I would like to thank Judith Newman, LCSW, for guiding me through places in my own internal world.

EAN

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Table of Contents

Page Abstract.............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................vi List of Tables.....................................................................................................................xi Chapter I.

Introduction.....................................................................................................1 General Statement of Purpose Significance of the Study for Clinical Social Work Statement of the Problem and Specific Objectives to Be Achieved Research Questions to Be Explored Theoretical and Operational Definitions of Major Concepts Statement of Assumptions Epistemological Foundation of Project Foregrounding Summary

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Table of Contents--Continued

Chapter II.

Page Literature Review..........................................................................................44 Introduction Developmental Goals and Challenges of Young Adulthood The Historical Uses of Music The Findings of Recent, Relevant Research The Progression of Psychodynamic Theories Summary

III.

Methods.........................................................................................................135 Introduction Rationale for Mixed Methods Research Design Rationale for a Phenomenological Explanatory Sequential Design Research Sample Research Design Data Collection Plan for Data Analysis Ethical Considerations Issues of Trustworthiness Limitations and Delimitation Summary

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Table of Contents--Continued

Chapter

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IV. Results...............................................................................................................157 Introduction to Results Phase One Sample Phase Two Sample Summary of Phase Two Interviews Emerging Themes Themes from Phase Two Mixed Methods Results Summary V. Findings, Discussion and Implications........................................................231 Introduction Phase One Findings and Discussion Phase Two Findings and Discussion Mixed Methods Findings and Discussion Revisiting Assumptions from Chapter I Summary of Interpretation of Findings

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Table of Contents--Continued

Chapter

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VI. Conclusion and Recommendations..............................................................304 Introduction Theoretical and Clinical Implications Implications for Clinical Social Work Social Implications Validity and Limitations Future Research Researcher Reflections Summary Appendices A.

Copy of Recruiting Email for Phase One..................................................323

B.

Informed Consent for Phase One...............................................................325

C.

Survey Questions..........................................................................................329

D.

Copy of Recruiting Email for Phase Two..................................................332

E.

Informed Consent for Phase Two...............................................................334

F.

Interview Questions/Guide..........................................................................338

References.............................................................................................................340

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List of Tables

Table

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1. Phase One Participant Criteria.............................................................................159 2. Participant Demographics....................................................................................161 3. Participant Survey Results...................................................................................166 4. Phase Two Participant Demographics.................................................................173 5. Participants’ Importance and Uses of Music Summary.......................................174

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Chapter I

Introduction General Statement of Purpose This study will seek to explore and understand how the development and widespread use of portable music players may influence, change and shape the internal world of young adults. The term young adults will refer to those between the ages of 18 and 22 years of age and the term internal world will be generally defined as the objects, unconscious fantasies, illusions, conflicts, experiences, thoughts, emotions, traumatic events and relational patterns which remain unformulated and therefore unintegrated into an individual’s conscious organization and development of self. A phenomenological sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design will be used and it will involve collecting quantitative data first and then explaining the quantitative results with in-depth qualitative data. In the first quantitative phase of the study, survey data will be collected from young adults attending both a two-year community college and a four-year university to test a psychodynamic concept from object relations theory which was developed by D. W. Winnicott (1953). The concept of transitional object attachment will be used to assess whether portable music players (PMP’s) serve as a transitional object which is used by young adults to assist them in the regulation of their emotions. The second qualitative phase of the study will be conducted as a follow up to the quantitative

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results to help explain the quantitative results using the lens of a psychodynamic perspective. In this exploratory follow-up, the tentative plan is to investigate how young adults might use PMPs as a transitional object in ways which augment their ability to get in touch with, understand and shape their internal worlds. At this stage of the research, a transitional object will be generally defined as a physical object with which the individual develops a very personal relationship and subsequently uses this object in various ways to regulate their emotions. For example, as a defense against anxiety the transitional object can provide one with a reliable dose of comfort. It is also proposed that listening to music via a portable music player may also serve a self organizing selfobject function for the listener due to the increased personal control and privacy it provides over his or her use(s) of music.

Portable music players have some unique capacities which give the user much greater power, control and choice over their musical listening experience. The PMP has allowed the listener to have a unique ownership over their music; now listening to music can be an even more deeply personal experience than ever before. For example, how might the ability to choose, order, repeat and delete songs on one’s personal playlists change the type and variety of music listened to? Might one become more deliberate and purposeful in their song choices and uses of music? Purchasing songs is also relatively inexpensive and in many instances music can be downloaded for free. One can download an extensive library of songs, put them in any order they would like, have separate lists of music to match their mood or an occasion, have a most listened to list or perhaps even a hide-out from someone playlist, and a single song can be played repeatedly until the listener chooses to move on.

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Significance of the Study for Clinical Social Work Understanding the internal world of young adults is an essential and ongoing objective for therapists who work with this population. Since Freud’s time, psychotherapy has been based upon the theoretical position that putting words to emotions and painful past experiences would free clients from being interminably bound to their past. However brilliant and innovative Freud’s theories and techniques were, many therapists have continued to be frustrated by the limitations of using a primarily talk therapy approach, in allowing them access to the internal worlds of their clients. This appears to be particularly true when working with clients who have experienced early relational trauma. Music has been defined as the universal language, or the language of the unconscious by many, including Nicola Perrottti, who used the latter as the title of a paper she published more than 70 years ago. (Sterba, 1965) If this is true, that music speaks to human beings in the language of the unconscious and that mindfulness involves being aware of our experience while we are experiencing it, then certainly for those clients who say music is an integral or important part of their lives, listening to music may help them become aware of and get in touch with the contents of their’ unconscious internal worlds.

Many, if not all, therapists have had clients who intellectually understood their difficulties only to remain incapable of realizing much positive or lasting change, due to an inability to (safely) access and understand their unconscious emotional worlds. However, there have been countless elaborations of Freud’s theories since his death in 1939 and in just the last decade, research has produced an abundance of information in the

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interdisciplinary fields of neuroscience, attachment, trauma and relational theories which emphasize the primacy of right-brain emotional processes in interpersonal relationships. According to Allan Schore, the result of this research has been a paradigm shift “both clinicians and researchers are now shifting focus from left-brain, explicit conscious cognition to right brain implicit unconscious emotional and relational functions” (Schore, 2014, p.388). This current study is timely and may be valuable, because making changes to accommodate this paradigm shift in clinical work will necessitate the development of new, more innovative and affective methods for both accessing and understanding clients’ unconscious emotional lives. As Schore says, “We need to move the focus from convergent thinking – finding a single solution to a problem – to divergent thinking – generating more ideas and many possible solutions” (Voran, n.d., p.6).

Schore coined the term relational trauma and distinguishes between what he calls “Big T trauma (which) is abuse and neglect in infancy and of course has enduring negative effects on the brain. Little t trauma may not be as obvious, but it also compromises brain development. This is when the mother and infant may often be misattuned in their interactions and not in sync” (Voran, n.d., p.8). While keeping the negative consequences of mis-attunement by parents and therapists in mind, considerable support was found for Schore’s ideas among others in the field. For example, Kradin and Cozzolino express the potential hazards of working with clients, who have an early history of trauma, in more traditional psychoanalytically abstinent ways. They believe this can foster projections but it “may also contribute to the domain of informational absence and is too close to the informational void that the patient experienced early in life. Silence is an ambiguous stimulus that activates systems of implicit memory . . . and

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using a left brain interpretational approach is not only an inadequate way of working, but also actually unhelpful for such patients whose early affective distress is enacted again” (Wilkinson, 2010, pp 70-71).

Guntrip so clearly captured the essence of this issue in a paper he wrote more than 40 years ago, in which he describes the different experiences he had with his two analysts, Fairbairn and Winnicott. Fairbairn was more formal and less capable of spontaneity and natural relating, as Winnicott was and clinically, he was also much more of a conformist than he was theoretically. Winnicott was friendlier, more open and engaging and also more innovative in practice than in theory. “With me he (Fairbairn) was more of a ‘technical interpreter’ than he thought he was, or than I expected . . . the negative transference in sessions was, I feel, fostered by his very intellectually precise interpretations” (Guntrip, 1975, p.146). With Winnicott however, Guntrip had a very different experience. At the end of his very first session with him, Winnicott made it clear he understood the inherent dangers in remaining abstinent and silent with Guntrip.

“Near the end of the session he said: I’ve nothing particular to say yet, but if I don’t say something, you may begin to feel I’m not here . . . Winnicott’s profound intuitive insights into the very infancy period I so needed to get down to . . . (and by) becoming the good mother, freeing me to be alive and creative . . . in a way that was to enable me to resolve that trauma” (Guntrip, 1975, p.152). Although Guntrip states that Fairbairn was unable to “take the strains of severely regressing patients . . . gradually falling back on the ‘classical analyst’ with an ‘interpretive technique’” (p.146) and Winnicott was more capable and comfortable while working with him as he regressed to the level of the severe traumas of his infancy, he makes it clear that he respected and benefitted from his

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work with both analysts. The main point of Guntrip’s paper appears to support one of the aims of the current study, which is to highlight the importance of clinicians remaining open to changing and improving theories and techniques based upon their clinical experiences with clients.

Statement of the Problem and Specific Objectives to Be Achieved Although music has long been used by music therapists as a method for helping individuals with a history of problems concerning emotional regulation, the latest clinical and research findings by Wilkinson and others (2010) on the primacy of right brain functions in psychotherapy, would appear to support the possibility that a more widespread use of music by a broader spectrum of clinicians may be useful. Due to the prevalence and widespread use of PMPs, music can now be utilized by a much wider range of therapists as a portal for accessing, understanding and processing the content of clients’ internal worlds. Simply put, there has never been another time in history in which music has been so readily accessible to the listener and young adults have been taking full advantage of this opportunity. Portable music players and their privacy may have not only altered the way(s) people use music, but they may also allow therapists to learn, to see and to have access to the internal world of clients in a mode that hasn’t been so readily available to them before, like the way high-speed cameras showed clinicians so much more about the attachment process in infant-mother relationships.

By studying individuals’ playlists and asking questions about the particular songs they listen to, in the same way one might analyze a dream a client presents, this researcher expects to develop a deeper understanding of the ways individuals may use

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music to help give meaning to their lives. Guntrip discussed the value of analyzing dreams because he believed that, So far as psychopathological material is concerned, dreaming expresses our endopsychic structure. It is a way of experiencing on the fringes of consciousness, our internalized conflicts, our memories of struggles originally in our outer world and then as memories and fantasies of conflicts that have become our inner reality, to keep our object relations alive (1975, p.155).

Might we discover, by analyzing the music our clients listen to, that music functions in much the same way as dreams? Because the music one listens to is also once removed as dreams are, it may make it easier for emotionally unaware or guarded clients to express and get in touch with split-off or unformulated experiences and memories. If one adheres to both Freud’s belief that the primary or ultimate goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious and that dream analysis is a way to accomplish that, then this study may indeed have significance for the field of social work.

Object Relations Theory defines a self-object as “a loss of boundaries, where what is self and object are blurred and the distinction between self and external object is not clear” (Daniels, 2007, p.1). Winnicott said that early in life “the infant is almost oblivious to the mother as a person; she brings the world to the infant and is the invisible agent of his needs” (Mitchell, 1988, p.32). Author Margaret Atwood captures this Winnicottian concept beautifully in her poem Variation on the Word Sleep, “I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary” (Atwood, 1987). These self-objects are not felt as having aims and activities separate from oneself and are primarily useful in supporting the integrity and

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aliveness of the self. Years later Heinz Kohut also used the term selfobject (one word) to describe this concept. In Kohut’s “self-psychological view, a selfobject refers to any object that is (a) not felt as having intentionality and agency separate from oneself, and (b) primarily useful in supporting the cohesion and vitality of the self” (Akhtar, 2009, p.259). Recently on the show Nightline, musician Keith Urban may have unknowingly described music as providing him with a selfobject function, “Music was always a great outlet for me, cathartic, it helped me to articulate feelings that otherwise I mightn’t have been able to” (Nightline, 2013). The need for these, and other, selfobject experiences is lifelong and human beings continue to seek them out throughout their lives.

Is the use of portable music players giving rise to listeners becoming more conscious of the multiple ways they use music intra-psychically? “Does music by its very nature define human beings? Does it tell listeners who they are and who they might become?” (Mannes, 2009) Might it help therapists better understand how human beings process emotions? Could it provide the listener some adjunct capacities? For example, how might this particular technology shape, inform, guide or organize an individual’s sense of self? In other words might a PMP provide a self organizing selfobject function for listeners? Perrotti alluded to this possibility when she discussed the impact of music on the listener’s affective processes, “An essential feature of music is that it organizes the ‘cauldron of seething excitement’ of unconscious energies into an orderly, balanced and unified Gestalt” (Sterba, 1965, p.105).

There are numerous articles which have been written about our culture’s obsession with new technology and portable devices which can be used to listen to music.

Archer (2013) wrote an article in Psychology Today titled “Smartphone Addiction,

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Nomophobia – fear of being without your smartphone – affects 40% of the population” and a Time Mobility Poll in 2012 found “nine in ten adults carry a mobile phone and . . . three quarters of 25-29 year-olds sleep with their phones” (Gibbs, 2014). Are portable music players utilized by some young adults as a grown-ups’ version of a transitional object that they cannot do without? Much like a child who takes a teddy bear everywhere with them? It can be held onto, grasped and is their constant companion which provides emotional and psychological comfort and a crisis ensues if it is lost? “The transitional object represents a real paradox in that it is not an internal object; it is a possession yet it is not simply an external object either” (Encyclopedia.com, 2015). Winnicott defined a transitional object as “the infant’s first not me possession. It is the equivalent of the space between the infant’s subjective experience and the mother – the beginnings of symbolic capacity” (1953, p.232).

Difficulties with mood regulation are among the most frequently cited presenting problems for those seeking therapy and ones’ sense of self is intimately connected to his or her emotions. Schore (2003) stated, “The core of the self is nonverbal and unconscious, and lies in patterns of affect regulation” (p. 46). In order for therapists to help their clients learn how to gain more control over their emotions, they first need to gain access to these patterns of affect regulation. The connection between music and emotion has long been known along with the ability of music to influence both mental and physical health. The healing effects of music are recognized worldwide and may provide an avenue for the therapist to explore and better understand their clients’ emotional lives. Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle all wrote about how music affects health and behavior and in 400BC Hippocrates was using music to calm mental patients.

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Aboriginal tribes from all over the world have also used music as part of their healing arts (Music Therapy | Health Services - University of New Hampshire www.unh.edu/healthservices).

In the United States, the official use of music therapy began after World War II when musicians visited Veteran’s Hospitals to play for the veterans who were suffering from both the physical and emotional traumas of war. Today, there is an organization called “Songwriting with Soldiers” (SWS) and it utilizes songwriting as a catalyst for helping soldiers to open up emotionally and share their feelings with others. (Yurco, 2014) In SWS workshops, service members are paired with award winning professional songwriters to write songs about their combat experiences and what it is like for them when they return home. Today, more than ever before, the idea of using music to help ones’ clients who are struggling to access, understand and regulate their feeling states seems both appealing and promising.

Perhaps exploring an individual’s most listened to songs can facilitate our understanding not only of their patterns of affect regulation and dysregulation, but may also provide a deeper understanding of their core self. Might this study also determine this technology is already being used by some individuals to understand, alter and/or improve their ability to regulate their affective states through music? For example, might one listen to a particular song repeatedly to achieve an experience of emotional constancy? Emotional constancy is a term which this researcher created and defines as: a need for an other who reliably provides an individual with the type of emotional support they are seeking and in need of experiencing. For example, if one needs to be comforted or reassured that everything will be alright or that they are loved etc. For many people

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who have experienced early developmental or little t trauma, they may never have experienced a caretaker who was emotionally consistent or reliable themselves. “The essential experience for the development of self-regulation is the baby’s communication of emotion to the mother and the mother’s regulation of this emotion. The mother regulates both positive and negative states for her baby . . . the mother is not just regulating the infant’s behavior; she’s first regulating the infant’s emotion and arousal states – the infant’s internal state of being” (Voran, n.d., p.4). Might listening repeatedly to a calm, soothing song provide the listener with a much needed experience of an emotionally reliable other?

The goals of this research will be to study the various ways young adults utilize portable music players, how the use of a PMP might increase or alter the ways they use music due to its portability, privacy and the increased control it gives the listener over choosing not only what they listen to, but where and when they can listen and to determine if there might be significant benefits in using this technology as a therapeutic tool.

Although people from all age groups use portable music players today, the young adult population was chosen specifically for this study, because their generation has never experienced a world in which they did not have access to listening to music via a portable device, whereas middle aged and older adults would have first experienced listening to music via a PMP at a later stage of development and therefore their experiences are likely to be different in some significant ways. In the 1980’s the Walkman was one of the first portable music players which played cassette tapes and radio stations, but it was much larger in size than today’s PMPs and nowhere near as

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widely used. To give the reader a clearer perspective on these differences, the Walkman weighed 14 oz. versus the i-Pod Touch’s 4.05 oz. and the Walkman could hold up to 36 songs (on a cassette tape) whereas the i-pod has the capacity to store 7,000 songs (32GB model). As for the difference in sales of the Walkman versus the i-Pod, I will paraphrase the findings of Santhanam and others (2012), in a thirty year span from 1979 through 2009 there were two hundred million Walkman’s sold worldwide, but in one-third of that time span from December 2001 through September 2012 over one and three-quarter billion i-Pods and i-Phones were sold worldwide.

This study will also be investigating the possibility that the use of PMPs as a transitional object, may also provide the user with the transitional space necessary in order to explore their inner worlds. Bridges calls this transitional space “a neutral zone which we have to inhabit on the journey between the ending of our previous state and the beginnings of our new state. It can be a strange and confusing place but also one with great potential and latent creativity . . . people can become innovative . . . creativity can be boosted by stepping back and asking key questions” (Green, 2012, p.1). There have been other studies which looked at both of these phenomena, and this current study hopes to expand upon some of these earlier findings. The results of a psychological survey given to Walkman users in the early 1990’s by Moebius and Michel-Annen (as cited in Elliott, 1996) indicated that users listened to music to increase their internal repertoire of affective states, and in their opinion listening to music via the Walkman “promoted the intensification of inner life as filtered through music” (p. 147). Kristovich, looked at the concept of transitional space in the context of adolescents’ use of rock music and found “music allows one to recapture lost feelings, to grieve what is past . . . and as a pre-

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representational form it provides transitional space for new symbolic gestures to emerge . . . it creates a space for adolescents to reinstate primitive feelings in their attempt to go back and rework their identities . . . music offers an opportunity for interaction with an ‘other’ without the risk of an unwanted response from the other” ( 2001, p.6).

Music Therapists use music with their clients to help them access and process previously unexpressed or unconscious emotions, so using music in therapy is not new.

As stated previously music has and continues to be used with veterans and more recently it has been implemented in the treatment of a wide array of individuals such as those with dementia. “Music therapists who work with Alzheimer’s patients describe seeing people wake up when the sounds of loved and familiar music fills their heads . . . they begin to talk again . . . become more social . . . Some even do what Alzheimer’s patients often cannot do as their disease worsens: they remember who they are” (AARP Bulletin, JulyAugust 2015, p.30). However today, it is not only music therapists who can employ music to help their patients, a much broader range of therapists can now make use of music in their clinical work. They can access the music their clients listen to and explore the meanings of those songs with their clients, in much the same way they would analyze their dreams. The last decade or so of research in the fields of neuroscience, traumatology and attachment, have led Schore (2014) and others to highlight several findings: the limitations of using a primarily left brain conscious, rational approach with clients; the primacy of the right brain unconscious, emotional processes in the therapeutic relationship; and the necessity of finding and implementing more novel and affective methods for accessing and processing the contents of clients’ internal worlds.

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This problem is of interest for several reasons. First, the majority of the psychological disorders and symptoms which prompt people to initially seek therapy involve varying degrees of difficulty with accessing, processing and/or regulating their emotions and much of this is related to having experienced some kind of traumatic experience(s). Currently, there is a clear recognition among many psychotherapists that trauma is not only widespread in our society, it is also subjective and one does not have to have been a victim of overt physical or psychological trauma in order to suffer from severe anxiety, depression, dissociation or post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD).

Second, the prevalence of clients with a history of early developmental trauma and neglect has also been identified and the challenges inherent in achieving successful treatment outcomes with these populations are well-defined by Wilkinson and others (2010). In response to the APA’s rejection of a request to add a Developmental Trauma Disorder diagnosis to the DSM, in May of 2011, Teicher reported: Research on the effects of early maltreatment tells a different story: that early maltreatment has enduring negative effects on brain development. Our brains are sculpted by our early experiences. Maltreatment is a chisel that shapes a brain to contend with strife, but at the cost of deep, enduring wounds. Childhood abuse isn’t something you ‘get over’. It is an evil that we must acknowledge and confront if we aim to do anything about the unchecked cycle of violence in this country” (Van Der Kolk, 2014, p.149).

Third, the basis of psychoanalytic work is the belief in the unconscious determinants of behavior and the influence of one’s past on their present experiences and music seems particularly well suited for accessing the unconscious emotional life of

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trauma survivors. As Rose says, “when the ego’s integrative function is deficient . . . as in the case of traumatic stress, the arts may act as prosthetic devices to lend support where deficiencies exist” (Rose, 2004, p.119). Utilizing a method which can more readily access an individual’s emotions makes good sense, as a deeper understanding of the ways in which an individual uses music may be of significant benefit to therapists.

According to Austin, in her work with clients, It is a method that has proven effective in creating an opportunity for a safe, therapeutic regression in which dissociated and/or unconscious feelings, memories and sensations can gradually be accessed, experienced, understood and integrated. This musical approach often constellates the intense transference and countertransference reactions that are essential in repairing arrests in development (2002, p.240).

Finally, this study is also aimed at addressing what this researcher perceives as an unnecessary division between music therapists and psychodynamic therapists in general.

Although several psychoanalysts throughout the last century (see Van der Chijs, Mosonyi, Reik, Kohut et. al. in literature review) have written about the benefits of analyzing the music one listens to, this practice doesn’t appear to have ever caught on among mainstream psychodynamic therapists. The literature which addresses this issue was scarce and one can only speculate what the reasons are for this divide, such as Freud’s emphasis on interpretations, dream analysis, and his well-known antipathy towards music. He explains this in his 1914 paper The Moses of Michelangelo, as being due to his inability to apprehend or account for the effects of music on him. Fifty years later, Sterba discusses the role Freud’s dismissal of music may have played in

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psychoanalysis’ lack of attention to the significance of music in human beings lives, “It is a very peculiar phenomenon that psychoanalysis which contributed so much to our understanding of the dynamic processes effective in the works of art, has done so little for our understanding of the artistic activity which plays a greater role in our lives than any other, namely music” (Sterba, 1965, p.96). In the 50 years since Sterba’s paper was published many others have echoed his sentiments and recognize how (many of) Freud’s opinions have influenced successive generations of psychotherapists.

This study is not meant to diminish or denigrate the work that those specifically trained as music therapists do, nor to replace the type of therapeutic work they do, which is more exclusively focused on using a variety of musical techniques with clients.

Methods such as dancing, songwriting, playing musical instruments together, improvisation, guided imagery with music etc. have all been used to treat people of all ages and with a wide array of disorders or diagnoses such as developmental disorders, neurological disorders, heart disease and psychiatric disorders. This research is designed to offer all interested psychotherapists just one more avenue to explore with their clients who show an interest themselves in analyzing the music they listen to.

It does not require any special training in addition to the training they already have, to be interested in and inquire about a client’s uses of music, particularly via a portable music player. After all, psychotherapists are already well trained phenomenological researchers, in that they listen closely to what their clients are expressing, reflect on the potential meanings, develop a hypothesis, and continue to determine if it is accurate, needs to be altered or needs to be ruled out (Finlay, 2011).

Maybe, as Maddux suggests, about the use of poetry in therapy, the only thing a therapist

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needs is to employ ‘an aesthetic sensibility’. Such a sensibility allows us to reach more deeply into the within and the between of our patients – and ourselves . . . This sensibility privileges the personal lyric and other ‘language games’” (Maddux, 2016, p.2). The analysis of dreams is very prevalent among psychotherapists and it is used for the same reasons the current proposal is suggesting, that psychotherapists analyze the songs their clients are listening to, in order to gain access to their’ internal worlds. Freud said the interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind and this researcher believes the analysis of the music one’s clients listen to has the potential to become yet another well-travelled road to the unconscious.

This study is focused on exploring young adults’ uses of music and therefore it is visually imagined as being positioned directly in the midst of the current left-brain versus right-brain debate. Psychodynamic therapy has traditionally been more focused on the left brains’ explicit, conscious, cognitive and verbal processing of memories. However, as a result of the last decade or so of research, the primacy of right brain processes in psychotherapy has been brought to light and this new information is inspiring many psychotherapists to also focus more of their attention on the right brains’, implicit, unconscious, emotional, sensory processing of memories. The therapeutic relationship “a relationship of care, can alter more than the left-lateralized conscious mind; it can also influence the growth and development of the unconscious ‘right mind’. . . It is undoubtedly true that both brain hemispheres contribute to effective therapeutic treatment, but in light of the current trend that emphasizes ‘the primacy of affect’, the right brain, the social, emotional brain is dominant in all forms of psychotherapy” (Schore, 2014, p.395). The experience of listening to music typically involves the

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processing of both lyrics and melodies, so the listener is simultaneously using both the left and right hemispheres of their brain. Therefore, these findings which Schore discusses appear to confirm the proposal that exploring clients’ uses of music in therapy may be very rewarding particularly when one of the therapist’s tasks involves helping a client integrate left and right brain processes.

To paraphrase Schore (2014), during traumatic events or the re-triggering/reexperiencing of them in therapy (enactments) or elsewhere, the balance between the right and left brain hemispheres changes and other areas of the brain which are involved in the storage and integration of incoming data are disconnected. This results in these experiences being organized not as clear, coherent memories but in disjointed sensory and emotional traces. Perhaps the utilization of music to both access these fragmented memories in the right hemisphere and to act as a bridge, would help clients to formulate and connect these disparate sensory and emotional memories to the logical, verbal left hemisphere.

More than 100 years ago Claparde, a French physician, carried out a rather impromptu experiment with a female patient who appeared to be incapable of forming new memories. Each time Claparde met with his patient, he would shake her hand and reintroduce himself to her. One day he had the idea of concealing a tack in his hand while shaking the patient’s hand. From that day forward, although the patient still did not appear to remember who Claparede was when he entered her room, she absolutely refused to shake his hand. Although she was unable to verbalize her reasons for refusing to shake Clarparede’s hand, the woman clearly had associated shaking his hand with something unpleasant. This early experiment demonstrated that human beings have more

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than one memory system (see literature review for more information on Claparede’s experiment). More recent and related research literature from neuroscience, attachment, and traumatology (see Schore (2014), Van der Kolk (2014), Wallin (2007), and Wilkinson (2010)) also appears to support the importance and value to therapists and ultimately their clients in recognizing and acknowledging the functions of these different memory systems in their clinical work, by shifting more of their attention to accessing, understanding and addressing their clients’ right-brain processes during therapy.

Interestingly, Van der Kolk’s most recent book is titled The Body Keeps the Score (2014), and it focuses the reader’s attention on memories, like that of Claparede’s patient, which are stored in nonverbal memory systems and therefore not readily accessible when using traditional talk therapy methods. He also discusses several scientifically informed, nonverbal approaches for working with clients who have a history of trauma.

An example of one nonverbal method which is currently being used by some clinicians was discussed recently during a seminar which addressed working with traumatized clients. Lutz talked about Daniel Siegel’s use of breath awareness when working with traumatized clients. Siegel believes that “it stabilizes the mind and trains it to be embodied and relational, allowing more insight into one’s own and others internal states, and that it helps the brain to regulate and reorganize, promoting neural integration” (Lutz, 2016, p14). Music also has a tempo which listeners may sync their breathing and/or other physiological functions to. Allan Schore is a writer, researcher and a psychoanalytically oriented clinician. He is also an advocate for a clinical paradigm shift away from using methods which emphasize a predominantly left-brain approach toward

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one which values the right-brain processes of clients and incorporates methods which address these nonverbal processes.

The knowledge accumulated in the field of attachment theory since Bowlby’s time has resulted in the theory becoming even more widely embraced by therapists today.

Present day attachment theory is currently the most influential theory of emotional development in human beings due to the relevance of early developmental and affective processes, and how attachment styles formed during the first years of life with caretakers tend to persist throughout our lives and are repeated with significant others, including one,s psychotherapist. According to Schore: My studies in attachment neurobiology indicate that mother-infant relational communications operate rapidly, beneath levels of conscious awareness, while my research in developmental neuropsychoanalysis describes the early evolution of a ‘relational unconscious’ and a right lateralized ‘social brain’ that represents the biological substrate of the human unconscious. . . Regulation theory thus strongly supports currently evolving psychodynamic models of psychotherapy, especially in the treatment of early forming attachment trauma (2014, p.388).

In the therapeutic setting these attachment styles are activated in both the client and therapist, so developing an understanding of how and why these patterns are formed and of one’s own unique patterns of relating to others is an essential component of psychotherapy. As Wallin says, “We are the tools of our trade” (2007, p.171).

Bessel van der Kolk is one of the first and most prominent figures in the field of trauma research and treatment. He has worked for decades with soldiers diagnosed with PTSD and others who have a history of trauma. A few of the issues he highlights from

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his experience of working with traumatized individuals are: the persistence and resistance to change of these traumatic memories, the limitations of relying more exclusively on traditional talk therapy when working with this population due to the inadequacies of insight in changing these emotional and relational patterns, and how silence and abstinence on the part of a therapist may actually be too ambiguous for the client (however unintentional) and trigger a re-experiencing of the trauma, which results in their being re-traumatized rather than being helped. Van der Kolk, also describes some ways of working with these clients which appear to hold more promise for attaining positive long-term outcomes such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and somatic or bodily-based therapies.

In an October 15, 2014 Webinar, Dr. Stephen Porges, a research professor well known for his Polyvagal Theory which provides an approach for understanding the mechanisms and processes which allow music to improve social engagement behaviors and to augment the regulation of bodily and behavioral states, discussed the potential benefits of incorporating music into therapy. He described the importance of clients feeling safe and how a therapists’ vocal tone and prosody can be purposefully used to help a client relax. Porges said, Feeling safe is the treatment. Listening is very special – listening is a portal to trigger the entire social engagement system . . . if you use prosodic intonation of voices – the tone is moving back and forth – it triggers in the nervous system a neuroception of safety . . . certain types of music also trigger a sense of safety.

(October, 2014) [Webinar] Nicabm.

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Therapists know how important it is for their clients to experience a feeling of safety in order for them to be able to open up in therapy, but this information may help them to be aware of what they can do to facilitate this process for their clients.

Due to the prevalence of these contemporary views, this study is timely and the results may be helpful for therapists with whom this research has resonated and who are also interested in focusing more of their attention on right-brain processes in their clinical work. Clinicians and neuroscientists have combined forces in order to attain a better understanding not only of the causes of pathological brain development, but also to explore the potential of psychotherapy to alter the neural structures involved in pathology. “There is no longer any doubt that psychotherapy can result in detectable changes in the brain� (Etkin, Pittenger, Polan, & Kandel, 2005, p.157). There are common beliefs which are held about human beings by most psychotherapists, but my focus is primarily on psychodynamically-oriented therapists. A few of these beliefs are as follows: human behavior is largely determined by the psyche, human beings interact and relate to each other at various levels of conscious awareness, all human beings develop distinctive ways of interacting and relating which are based on past relationships, early experiences with primary caretakers and members of their family-of-origin etc., and they use these patterns of relating throughout their lives. And finally, both client and therapist bring their own unique relational patterns into the therapeutic relationship and these patterns are brought to life in the transference and countertransference.

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Research questions to Be Explored The central research question is “Does listening to music via a portable music player influence and shape the internal worlds of young adults and if so, in what ways?�

There are no specific hypotheses because this is an exploratory study which seeks to explain how the use of portable music influences young adults. Because this study will utilize a mixed-methods design, it will include quantitative, qualitative and mixedmethods questions.

Quantitative.

1. What are the demographic and social characteristics of young adults who use portable music players?

2. What type(s) of portable music player do young adults use?

3. Which portable music player do they use most frequently and why?

4. How do young adults use their portable music players? (How frequently? For how long a period of time? While doing what? In what settings?)

5. What genres of music do young adults listen to and what are their listening styles?

6. Are young adults aware of ways in which they use music to regulate their emotions?

7. Does object relation theory explain the relationship between PMP usage and emotional regulation?

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Qualitative.

The primary qualitative question is, “How do young adults describe the multiple experiences they have when using a portable music player?� In addition, the following eight sub-questions will be explored: 1. How do young adults describe the personal significance their portable music players hold for them?

2. What are some of the reasons they prefer listening to music via a PMP versus other modes of listening? (e.g. stereo, radio) 3. How might the experience of listening to music via a portable music player alter their use(s) of music?

4. How might listening to music via a PMP provide the transitional space for young adults to get in touch with their inner worlds?

5. How do young adults describe the various emotions and memories the music evokes in them?

6. Does portable music help them to become more consciously aware of what they are feeling?

7. Does it help them to recognize their own and others unique relational patterns?

8. How might listening to music through a portable music player provide young adults with various intra-psychic experiences? (e.g. transference experiences, object experiences)

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Mixed methods.

1. To what extent and in what ways do the measurement scores from the survey data help to identify the young adults who can be interviewed to further an understanding of the use of PMPs to help access, understand and regulate one’s emotions?

2. To what extent and in what ways do the qualitative interviews with young adults serve to contribute to a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the use of portable music players to provide a self organizing selfobject function for the listener?

3. To what extent and in what ways do concepts from Self Psychology, Object Relations, and Contemporary Relational Theories explain how listening to music via a portable music player facilitates the listeners’ access to the contents of their internal worlds?

Theoretical and Operational Definitions of Major Concepts This study will investigate young adults’ uses of music via a portable music player and explore potentially beneficial ways the information gathered may be utilized by all psychotherapists, but perhaps psychodynamically-oriented clinicians in particular, who work with this population. The study assumes that a reliance on more traditional verbal modes of communication provides limited access to the internal worlds of individuals and that complementary modes of communication, such as exploring clients’ use(s) of music may result in increased access to their internal worlds. In order for the

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reader to have a clear understanding of the concepts discussed throughout this proposal, the definitions of the major theoretical and operational concepts follow:

Auditory mirroring .

For the purposes of this study, this researcher created the term auditory mirroring which combines the auditory experience of listening to a singer’s voice and lyrics, with aspects of Kohut’s concept of the mirroring transference. It is proposed that this process may take place while listening to a song, in that the singing of the other functions as an auditory mirror for the listening subject. When a singer’s words and/or emotions resonate with the listener, he hears himself being echoed or reflected in the music. If he does not hear himself, he has a not-me experience. The music listener has a psychological need to find and experience an other who understands him - who knows what he is feeling and going through. It is reassuring for the listener to know that there is someone out there who actually gets them, someone who is reliable and someone who they can return to, as many times as necessary to be reassured that they are not alone.

This is very much like the mirroring interactions which occur between infants and their mothers. When looking at the mother the infant sometimes sees her own self when the mother is reflecting what the infant is experiencing, but when the mother is not, the infant sees the not-me object. “In the mirroring transferences, the analyst becomes the figure around whom constancy, in the narcissistic realm is established. The listening, echoing presence of the analyst reinforces the psychological forces that maintain the cohesiveness of the self. Disruptions in the mirror transference lead to fragmentation of the bodymind-self and focus on isolated body-mind functions and actions” (Siegel, 1996, p.89).

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Countertransference.

For the purposes of this study, countertransference will be operationally defined as the unconscious reactions of the therapist to the client, significant people in the client’s life, or his or her ideation and transference.

Emotional constancy.

For the purposes of this study, the researcher created the term emotional constancy to describe an experience one may seek out when they are in need of comfort, support or some other emotional need. An individual can choose and listen to a song repeatedly, which reliably provides them with a risk-free means for meeting a particular intrapsychic need. This concept is based upon the researcher’s speculation that, during childhood, many individuals are not able to internalize the presence of an emotionally consistent other who can then be experienced by them intra-psychically. This other can perform functions for them such as reassurance, solace and tension reduction. There are many reasons why this internalization of an emotionally consistent other may not occur during childhood, such as: the absence, loss or extended illness of a parent(s), chronic emotional neglect and/or lack of attunement by caregivers etc. Also, the functions this internalized other performs do not become obvious to the individual until the relationship with the internal object is disturbed or broken

Empathy.

For the purposes of this study, empathy is operationally defined as the ego’s capacity to transiently identify with someone else in order to grasp their subjective

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experience. This is the primary way one can learn about the internal experiences of another, as for example when an infant’s caretaker has the ability to be attuned to the infant’s needs. A therapist also uses empathy to investigate the inner world of a client, and to frame the working alliance. (Siegel, 1996)

Identification.

For the purposes of this study, identification is operationally defined as “a psychological process by which the subject assimilates a property, attribute, or roleoriented aspects of significant others and is transformed, wholly or partially, by the model the other provides. It is by means of a series of identifications that the personality is constituted and specified” (Akhtar, 2009, p.150).

Internal world.

For the purposes of this study, one’s internal world will be described as the objects, phantasies, illusions, conflicts, experiences, thoughts, emotions, traumatic events and relational patterns etc. which have been split-off from consciousness and therefore remain unformulated and unintegrated into an individual’s organization and development of self. (Stern, 1995)

Intersubjectivity.

For the purposes of this study, intersubjectivity will be defined as the capacity to recognize another as a separate center of subjectivity with whom a subjective state can be

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shared. This includes mutual recognition and regulation in the therapeutic relationship.

(Safran & Muran, 2000)

Mutuality.

For the purposes of this study mutuality refers to what we have in common.

“Mutuality implies reciprocation, community, and unity through interchange. Lack of mutuality, by contrast, connotes difference and separateness, a lack of sharing” (Mitchell & Aron, 1999, p.266).

Object.

For the purposes of this study, an object will refer to a person - especially the significant person that is the object or target of one’s feelings and intentions, parts of persons or symbols of one of these. An object is that to which a subject relates. Drives such as those for sex, hunger and affection have objects.

Bad object.

A bad object does not satisfy one’s needs and desires.

External object.

Is an actual person place or thing that a person has invested with emotional energy.

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Good object.

A good object satisfies one’s needs and desires

Internal object.

For the purposes of this study, an internal object will be operationally defined as a person’s representation of an external person (mother), place (home) or thing (portable music player), it can be a memory, idea or fantasy about that person, place or thing. An internal object is experienced intra-psychically by an individual, and it performs functions for them such as comforting, soothing or reducing tension. The function the internal object performs does not become clear to the individual until the relationship with the internal object is disturbed or broken. The need for this type of experience is not limited to our childhood years, it continues throughout the entire lifespan.

Object constancy.

For the purposes of this study, object constancy will refer to the maintenance of a lasting relationship with a specific object such as the mother, or rejecting any substitute for that object, for example, rejecting mothering from anyone except one’s own mother.

Once object constancy is achieved a child no longer needs the mother to be consistently present, and functions previously performed by the mother are taken into the self and made one’s own. For example, the child’s gradual ability to perform soothing and tension regulating functions in the absence of her mother. This idea is similar to the mourning process Freud described in which the lost object is preserved in memory and some of the qualities of the lost object become a part of the individual’s personality.

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Selfobject.

For the purposes of this study, a selfobject (one word) is defined as: “Originally, the caretaker during childhood that fulfills the function of meeting psychologically essential selfobject needs. Objects that provide the selfobject needs are experienced in terms of their need-fulfilling function rather than as entities in their own right. Originally hyphenated, Kohut decided to remove the hyphen from the term self-object in 1977 (Cocks, 1994). He did this to convey the sense that the object is not experienced as being separate from the self in terms of the psychological function it provides” (Siegel, 1996, p.206). A selfobject is any object that is (a) not felt as having intentionality and agency separate from oneself, and (b) is primarily useful in supporting the cohesion and vitality of the self. Wolf categorized ‘selfobjects’ into mirroring, idealizable, alter-ego, and adversarial types. All of them help to sustain the vitality of the self though by the differing means of affirmation offering glory to bask in, twinship, and invigorating opposition, respectively” (Akhtar, 2009, p.259).

Self organizing selfobject.

For the purposes of this study, a self organizing selfobject is a term the researcher created to describe the intrapsychic functions a portable music player may provide for the listener which assist them with organizing the self. It is conceptualized as a particular type of Kohut’s selfobject which primarily functions to support the cohesiveness and vitality of the self. The selfobject here is the portable music player and together with the music listened to via it – it is believed that it has the potential to provide its users with several self organizing functions. Due to the multiple options today’s PMP offers the

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listener such as the ability to: choose, order and repeat songs; to create playlists to match their moods or an occasion; and to listen to their music in complete privacy – even when they are surrounded by others, it has provided the listener with a selfobject they can utilize to assist them with categorizing their core drives, intrapsychic needs and emotional self-states, into a unified whole.

Transference.

For the purposes of this study, transference refers to the unconscious and archaic images and feelings, which a client places on the therapist. Transference may also include some of the client’s present day understandings, expectations and experiences of their therapist.

Transitional object.

For the purposes of this study, transitional object is operationally defined as an item such as a lucky charm, a picture of a loved one, music, or other items which the individual has attached personal meanings to. This is Donald Winnicott’s term for the universal experience of children who find an “object to carry affectionately, cuddle, excitedly mutilate, and to maintain unchangingly an attitude of personal ownership, even friendship with it. It is a symbol of a journey, a trusty companion to hold onto which establishes a bridge between the old and known and the new and unknown. The infant’s first ‘not me’ possession. It is the symbolic equivalent of the space between the infant’s subjective experience and the mother – the beginnings of symbolic capacity” (Winnicott, 1971, p.4). Winnicott sees the transitional object as the fundamental element of culture,

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the way into the worlds of creativity, including the arts. The use of transitional objects also may persist throughout one’s life.

Transitional phenomena.

For the purposes of this study transitional phenomena will be defined as experiences that occur in the mental space, or zone, between our subjective and objective selves. This space is permeable, and there is constant traffic moving both in and out of this zone. Activities such as listening to music, contemplating a work of art, thinking about a religious parable, imagining or envisioning an event or meditating may all be considered transitional phenomena. Much like an infant’s babbling or the ways an older child may repeat songs or rhymes while preparing for sleep, these activities fall within the intermediate area known as transitional phenomena. Winnicott’s term for “those affective and perceptual psychic experiences that are largely subjectively ‘created’, experienced, and enjoyed” (Winnicott, 1953, p.90).

Transitional space.

For the purposes of this study, Transitional Space is defined as, an intermediate area of experience between inner and outer reality in which to explore feelings. The space within which one can explore and contemplate changes in one’s life. A holding environment within which those people wanting to initiate change or going through change can take the time and space to understand where they are and experiment with who they might want to be or what they may want to do. So, transitional space is the place between the inner and outer, the subjective and the objective, reflection and action,

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stimulus and response. “This ‘intermediate area of experience’ to which inner reality and external life both contribute. It is where imagination is born and paradox reigns supreme.

It contains the space for creativity and play, and, thus, forms the ‘location of cultural experience’ at large” (Akhtar, 2009, p.293).

Twinship experience.

For the purposes of this study, a twinship experience will be operationally defined as an occurrence in which an individual has a need to find, or connect with another person whom they believe is like them in some significant way(s) and they achieve this by listening to a song in which the vocalist expresses similar qualities or beliefs to those which the listener possesses. This experience is closely related to Kohut’s concept of the twinship transference which he described as “Clinically, the therapist is experienced as being similar to or like the grandiose self and the patient assumes that the therapist is very much like him or her” (Siegel, 1996, p.88).

Unformulated experience.

For the purposes of this study, unformulated experience will be operationally defined as the thoughts we have not yet thought, the connections we have not yet made, and the memories we do not yet have the resources or the willingness to construct. These are hidden inner processes which need to be formulated if we want to escape the pull of the past and live up to our full potential. Donnel Stern describes unformulated experience, or mentation as that which is “characterized by a lack of clarity and

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differentiation it rests on the idea that unconscious experience and meaning cannot be grasped fully in words” (1995, p.126).

Statement of Assumptions 1. My primary assumption is that a portable music player serves a self organizing selfobject function for the listener due to the increased personal control and privacy it provides over his or her use(s) of music.

2. That the portable music player can function as a transitional object.

3. That listening to music via a portable music player enhances some listeners’ ability to get in touch with their internal worlds and the music itself functions as a transitional space or an intermediate area of experience between inner and outer reality for the listener to explore their feelings and contemplate possibilities for change and growth.

4. Repeated listening to a particular song or songs may provide the listener with several important psychological experiences such as twinship, auditory mirroring and emotional constancy. This may be accomplished by utilizing the repeat function and playing the same song over and over again until satisfied.

5. That similar to dreams the music young adults are drawn to – their favorite or most listened to songs – will reflect certain aspects of their inner worlds, such as unconscious conflicts and experiences (the latent content) and their external worlds, such as present-day concerns or events (manifest content).

6. Due to the current proliferation of portable music players and the ever-increasing percentage of the population who use them, it follows that a significant number of the clients who present for therapy also listen to music via a portable music player.

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7. This proliferation of portable music players and their use gives therapists access to a mode in which they can explore and analyze their clients’ uses of music which may potentially result in an increased understanding of their clients’ internal worlds.

Epistemological Foundation of the Project A pragmatic worldview has been chosen for my study because it is primarily concerned with determining what works and finding solutions to problems. The research problem is key and the researcher uses all potential methodologies in order to better understand it. Additionally, the pragmatic worldview considers multiple viewpoints, perspectives and positions in both qualitative and quantitative research and does not abide by the idea that one particular viewpoint is correct. It is understood that both qualitative and quantitative studies have plusses and minuses of their own. “For the mixed methods researcher, pragmatism opens the door to multiple methods, different worldviews, and different assumptions, as well as different forms of data collection and analysis” (Creswell, 2014, p.11).

The problem of finding viable avenues to access the internal worlds of clients has always been a primary aim of psychotherapists and using a pragmatic worldview to explore the phenomenon being studied is an appropriate choice to maximize the potential of the data to have more value and meaning. The pragmatic approach is key in opening the door to multiple methods that add insight to each other (i.e. quantitative and qualitative investigations of the multiple meanings of individuals’ experiences) and it also increases the likelihood the data results will contribute something of value to inform further research and to the development of a theory.

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The purpose of this study is to extend our understanding of the multiple ways in which young adults use music via a portable music player which may be of value to psychotherapists who are interested in implementing new, promising approaches to deepening their work with this population. This study will focus on both the subjects’ process of listening to music via a PMP and the multiple functions it affords them. An interdisciplinary phenomenological approach will be used to inform the research design and methodology because phenomenology focuses on the ordinary, the actual lived world, in ways that expose the complexity, richness and depth of human experience.

“The strength of the method lies in its ability to bring to life the richness of existence through description of what may appear at first sight to be ordinary, mundane living. The magic comes when we focus so deeply on aspects of individuals’ ordinary lives we see that what is revealed is, invariably, something special; something more. What is revealed is actually quite extra-ordinary” (Finlay, 2011, p.26)

Foregrounding “I resort to the poets because they seem to me to say something in a way which is beyond my powers and yet to be in a way which I myself would choose if I had the capacity. The unconscious – for want of a better word – seems to me to show the way ‘down to descend,’ its realms have an awe-inspiring quality.” ~Wilfred Bion, (as cited in Maddux, 2016, p.7) I have long believed that many poets and song writers are actually therapists at heart, who simply use a different and frequently more beautiful mode of communication to share their understanding of human beings and the depth and breadth of our emotional

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lives. I have also been interested in the reasons human beings listen to music and the meanings they attach to specific songs they listen to for as far back as I can remember.

As a young child, I wondered what the music my father listened to meant to him? I would lie in bed on Saturday mornings listening to him whistling and tapping to the music of Jerry Vale, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole and others and wonder what the songs meant to him? I felt closer to him, as if I knew and understood him better by listening to the music he enjoyed. My own love and appreciation of music and the emotional impact some songs could have on me and others continued to grow from there.

In high school, I thought I would like to become a professional talent scout and discover new bands that had the potential to really touch people emotionally with their music.

My undergraduate research project (26 years ago) focused on music, emotions and instincts. Because I had noticed many of the most popular songs of the time featured vocals in which the singers wailed mournfully, I thought perhaps human beings had an instinct to howl that had evolved into a subsequent expression of powerful emotions thru song? Although my research results did not prove my hypothesis, I was gratified recently when I came across an article which cited a 1935 paper by Desiderius Mosonyi in which he considers pain the original source of music and he explains the transformation of the pain-scream into music by the act of imitation. He believed “the songs of primitives are originally mourning songs that is pain expression and discharge� (Sterba, 1965, p.100).

He also attributes the taming of the original instinct to rhythm. My interest in the ways music can reach the listener and evoke powerful memories and feelings in them has continued to be of significant interest to me.

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Upon graduation, my first position in the field of counseling was in a partial hospitalization program (PHP) where I worked with adolescents who had initially been hospitalized for (primarily) either suicidal ideation or actual suicide attempts. The music they listened to was frequently discussed in our group and individual sessions. This focus on their music unfolded quite naturally in my work with them and I found it to be quite helpful in not only building the rapport between us, but also in illuminating the emotions and conflicts they were currently struggling with.

I have also spent several years working at a domestic violence agency working with women who were either currently or previously involved in an abusive relationship.

Once again, without any prompting on my part I found many of these women turned to music for understanding, solace and hope. One of my very first clients told me about a Melissa Etheridge song she had been listening to entitled “Enough of Me.” My client’s focus was on the lyrics which expressed a woman’s frustration after giving everything she had to someone, yet it still was not enough. However, I was most drawn to the opening lyrics of the song which are: “We were all wounded in some domestic war, I found you to settle my score. You looked like father. You felt like mother. My mind told my heart there is no other.” Just this one experience, for me, captures the essence of what I believe this current study has to offer psychotherapists in their work with clients, namely another avenue which can be used to explore, understand, deepen and enrich a treatment.

I have been in private practice now for approximately 13 years and I have continued to appreciate the value of exploring the music many of my clients listen to. Of course, as with all interests of human beings including dream work, some clients are

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more interested in and talk more about the music they listen to than others and I have never expected all, or even most, of my clients to bring the music they listen to into our sessions. I had an experience several years ago which underscored the possible reasons for, and the significance of, these individual differences. I was experiencing some substantial vision problems and at times I actually needed to park my car, get out and stand underneath a street sign in order to read it. I realized how dependent I had become upon my global positioning system (GPS). For most drivers their GPS is a helpful device which streamlines the process of reaching their destination, but for me my GPS was virtually essential if I needed to find an unfamiliar address. While contemplating the value of this navigational system, my mind immediately jumped to another navigational system; the portable music player and this study. I have found that for some people listening to music provides far more than simply a pleasant or enjoyable backdrop to whatever it is that they are doing. I think for some listeners music, particularly when listened to via a PMP, provides essential functions for them which they cannot (yet) provide for themselves. Might the PMP serve as a quasi-navigational system for the internal worlds of listeners? The ability of music to reach my clients and to be used by them in a number of beneficial ways, including giving them the words to express, share and potentially understand their feelings has been very rewarding. Hans Loewald believed in the significance of primary process (the uninhibited and unconscious flow of psychic energy) because it contains essential elements of experience. He said that primary process, must not be sacrificed at the expense of secondary process – or verbalization.

Loewald speaks to the ‘essential condition of words’ – their power to bring things

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and experiences to life. Words for him, particularly those of poetry and creative prose, carry with them an elemental quality of being-in-the-world. In the word, Loewald writes, primary and secondary process are reconciled (Maddux, 2016, p.2).

The initial idea for this study came to me about 11 years ago (2006) while driving my youngest daughter and her friends to the mall. The girls were all 12 to 13 years of age at the time, and my daughter informed me she wanted to be in control of the music they listened to during the trip to and from the mall. She played a CD of songs she had burned from her MP3 player (my car did not have a port for her MP3). My daughter would play one song all the way through, but then suddenly when the following song began to play she would quickly hit the skip button and play a different song. It became clear to me that she did not want me to hear some of the songs on the CD and I realized that, unlike her older siblings who did not have MP3 players when they were her age, my youngest daughter had always listened to music on an MP3.

How did this change her experience of listening to music? She could listen to music in complete privacy without any family members being aware of what she was listening to, therefore getting no input from us. She could also download songs directly from internet sites, which required neither our approval nor our money to purchase them.

I wondered how this solitary and private experience of listening to music under the radar and without the input or scrutiny of significant others in adolescents’ lives such as parents and siblings, altered their experience?

My interest in exploring this idea further took hold as I learned more about psychodynamic concepts, processes and therapy in my classes at The Institute for

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Clinical Social Work and I decided it would be the topic of my dissertation. The emphasis on the various contents of the unconscious, the differing types of transference, transitional phenomena, self-psychology, object relations, relational psychotherapy, and especially Kohut and Winnicott’s writings all seemed to hold the potential to allow me to both explore and better understand the internal worlds of young adults. As I read some of the latest research in related areas of study, I was also drawn to the fields of neuroscience (particularly the research on right brain vs. left brain processes), attachment theory, traumatology, (including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and early relational/developmental trauma). The idea of exploring the ways young adults use music via a portable music player appeared to be a potentially valuable research topic, based upon an increasing belief among researchers that a paradigm shift from a focus on the primarily left-brain, cognitive processes of clients, to one which includes more attention to their right-brain, emotional processes was imminent. Music, because of the myriad emotions it evokes, seems to hold a lot of potential as a mode of exploring these right-brain processes.

Summary Chapter I covers a problem psychotherapists have grappled with since Freud’s time, namely the inherent limitations of using a primarily verbal approach to address the problems many clients struggle with in therapy. Although most, if not all, psychotherapists today do focus on other aspects of their clients’ communications, the main limitation of using a primarily talk therapy approach has been its insufficiency in helping, not only the therapist but some of their clients to access, understand and use their

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unconscious, emotional processes to effect long lasting, positive change. I presented an overview of the results of recent research in many fields of inquiry which have all, in some ways, emphasized the primacy of right-brain functions in psychotherapy. This research also highlights the necessity of finding and implementing therapeutic techniques which more readily allow psychotherapists access to their clients’ right-brain processes.

Since it has long been established that music has the ability to evoke emotional responses in the listener, the results of this study which explores young adults’ uses of music via portable music players, may provide therapists with a useful technique to access their clients’ inner worlds. I have also discussed my assumptions surrounding the various aspects of my research topic, my reasons for choosing a mixed method study and finally the roots of my personal interest in the various ways human beings use music.

My literature review will be organized by covering relevant aspects of young adult development, the history of music therapy, the results of more recent research in neuroscience which highlights the significance of right brain processes in psychotherapy, the evolution of psychodynamic theories since Freud’s time and ultimately the criteria for encouraging all interested psychotherapists to include music analysis in their clinical work.

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Chapter II

Literature Review Introduction This research study will focus on exploring the multiple ways the development and widespread use of portable music players may now provide psychotherapists with a new avenue for exploration with clients. How might listening to music via a PMP influence not only the ways young adults listens to music but also alter and shape their internal worlds in psychologically significant ways? The literature review will concentrate on four main subject areas: the developmental goals and challenges of young adulthood, the historical uses of music by human beings with an emphasis on the history of music therapy, the findings of neuroscientific and other research throughout the last 15 years or so which has focused on early brain development, traumatic experiences and particularly findings which highlight the right-brain’s dominance in unconscious emotional processes and interpersonal relationships, and finally the progression of psychodynamic theories since Freud’s time, which will include addressing the limitations of relying more exclusively on a traditional talk therapy approach with clients.

The goal of the literature review will be to provide the reader with a detailed backdrop for understanding the aims of this study and its potential benefit to the field of social work. A funneling method will be used to organize the material in each of

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the four categories listed above. The conclusion will link together the four previous sections through a discussion of the contemporary challenges facing therapists who work with young adults, the current prevalence and use of portable music players, the benefit from the discoveries of recent neuroscientific research to clinicians and an argument for integrating the exploration and analysis of clients’ uses of music into one’s clinical work.

The intended audience for this literature review is all those who work in the helping professions, but it is particularly aimed at psychodynamic psychotherapists who are interested in investigating both the psychodynamic and neurobiological rational for incorporating the analysis of music into their work, especially but not necessarily exclusively, with the young adult population.

Developmental Goals and Challenges of Young Adulthood I have chosen the young adult population for this study for multiple reasons. As stated earlier this generation has always had access to listening to music via a portable device and therefore their development and experiences with music have always been shaped in some ways which are unique to their generation. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 22 also make up a significant percentage of the generation called millennials. In a recent Pew Research article, the author states that there are currently 75.3 million millennials in the United States (compared to 74.9 million Baby Boomers) which means that currently they comprise the largest segment of our society. Millennials are a racially diverse, economically stressed, politically liberal group and most significantly for this study, eighty percent of millennials also listen to music via their cell

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phones, which is a considerably higher percentage than that of any other generation.

(Gao, 2015) Finally, this population may also be the generation which would most benefit from having a successful therapy as so many of the important life decisions and relationships they will be forming lie ahead of them. Although I have been using the term ‘young adults’ to identify the 18-22 year old population I am studying, I want to clarify that in spite of 18 being the designated age of majority in the United States (meaning that one is no longer considered a child and now assumes legal control over their persons, actions and decisions) at least half of those in this age group are still considered to be in late adolescence and therefore much of the material in this section of the literature review will focus on issues which begin in adolescence but continue to be prominent in young adulthood.

Young adulthood is a stage in life which is marked by significant exploration and frequent changes in all domains of one’s life: family, friends, romantic relationships, education, career etc. The process of becoming an adult today is generally a lengthier one than for past generations and this is likely related to the reality that currently achieving both psychological and economic autonomy may also be a more complicated process. In order to accomplish this, young adults need to develop a sense of their own identity separate from their parents, adopt a personal value system, cultivate a sense of belonging to a group in the larger world (i.e. an ethno-cultural identity), make decisions regarding their education and future professional life and meet the demands of increasing roles and responsibilities. All of these developmental tasks can produce a significant amount of stress in their lives and symptoms of anxiety, depression and narcissism are on

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the rise in this age group which makes the task of finding and implementing more effective methods to help them even more vital.

Blos illuminates some of the issues involved in the second individuation process such as the process of loosening infantile object ties in order to truly become an adult.

He believed that adolescence did not officially end until one’s self and object representations became stable and had firm boundaries, meaning that they would be resilient enough to resist cathectic shifts to their previous infantile objects (i.e. their parents). “The disengagement from internalized objects – love and hate objects – opens the way in adolescence to the finding of external and extrafamilial love and hate objects” (Blos, 1967, p.162). This emotional disengagement from old, internal object ties is believed to be necessary in order for an adolescent to find new love objects in the outer world and to experience a corresponding maturation of the ego. “The reverse is equally true, namely, that adolescent inadequacy or impairment of ego functions is symptomatic of drive fixations and infantile object dependencies” (p.164). Today this infantile dependency might be called an obstinate attachment to the mother and/or father.

There is a lot we can learn from those late adolescents and young adults who have not successfully made the transition from old object ties to new love objects. “Ego disturbances apparent in acting out due to learning disorders, in lack of purpose, in procrastination, in moodiness and negativism are frequently the symptomatic signs of a failure in the disengagement from infantile objects and consequently they represent a failure of individuation itself” (Blos, 1967, p.165). This information is helpful to therapists who work with this age group when trying to understand why a client may be using drugs, being promiscuous, failing in school etc. These are all possible signs that

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the client might be fighting an urge to regress back to infantile dependency, and these behaviors allow them to stay in a holding pattern until they are ready to renounce these old object ties. Blos puts it this way, “We might say the individual is “doing the wrong thing for the right reasons” (p.166).

Every generation has its own particular ways of distinguishing itself from the previous generation, and the music the younger generation listens to is certainly one of the ways the separation of generations has been achieved historically. Blos calls these distinctions epiphenomena and says that in the individuation process they always oppose the established order in some way. Today, we could say we are in the midst of a technological epoch which has placed a multi-layered division between the generations.

The focus of this study is to look at the multitude of ways young adults use just one of these technological marvels - portable music players – how can older generations of therapists bridge this division or gap? Hopefully one way will be by utilizing the research findings from neuroscience, attachment, traumatology and the findings from this current study to provide them with an aural bridge to access the contents of young adults’ inner worlds. These inner worlds contain fantasies, coping strategies, defensive organizations etc., and if Blos was correct therapists will need to find ways to access and reanimate these infantile emotional patterns in order to help their clients free themselves from these archaic internal objects.

Given the decline in two-parent homes, the ever-rising costs of a college education and the instability of the job market, it is not surprising that today’s young adults are dealing with significant levels of stress (www.pewresearch.org., 2015).

Millennials’ high rates of anxiety and depression and a suicide rate that makes it the

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second leading cause of death in this age group, are all reasons why it is important for psychotherapists to work with this population in ways that offer greater opportunities for understanding and reaching them (www.nami.org., 2015). In their book, At the Threshold, Feldman and Elliott discuss what they see as conspicuously missing from the plethora of literature on adolescent development.

Most notably missing is the adolescent voice. Too little, still, is known about the internal life of the individual teenager . . . Interestingly, little is known yet about how young people become aware of and begin to try to deal with emotions, despite the obvious importance of affect in all aspects of life (2000, p.254).

These are also the tasks of psychotherapists, to help their young adult clients to become more aware of and understand the source(s) of their stress and their myriad emotions, and to provide them a space to explore and give voice to them.

Presently, there has been a lot of debate about whether or not there is a narcissistic epidemic occurring in the United States and particularly within the millennial generation.

Because narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and narcissistic traits are clinically relevant concerns, some of the information and statistics on this topic are included.

However, it is also important to keep in mind Feldman and Elliott’s observation that “most noticeably missing is the adolescent voice” so there will also be the words of some Millennials themselves included with these statistics. “On a reality TV show, a girl planning her Sweet Sixteen wants a major road blocked off so a marching band can precede her grand entrance on a red carpet. . . High school students physically attack classmates and post YouTube videos of the beatings to get attention” (Twenge & Campbell, 2009, p.1). We have all likely heard or have seen some version of these two

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examples of narcissistic behavior. The authors of “The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement” explore what they refer to as the relentless rise of narcissism and some of its causes.

The authors tell the reader that while they were in the process of writing the foreword to their book, one of them received an e-mail from their daughter’s preschool announcing “For next week our themes will be: All About Me and I am Special” (Foreword, p. XII). They discuss a few reasons for the prevalence of these types of school themes, such as our hyper-individualistic culture and the obliviousness of most parents and teachers to the narcissistic messages these themes are giving their children, and that these themes are likely doing children more harm than good. Researchers say the difference between a child with healthy self-esteem and a child who is narcissistic is: “I am special = narcissism. I am just as special as everyone else = healthy self-esteem” (Lell, 2015, p.2). So what is it that adolescents and young adults need in order to develop a healthy sense of self? There are many suggestions, but narrowed down the advice is that they need to acquire a healthy capacity for empathy for others, to know they are loved for themselves warts and all, but also a clear message that they are not the center of the universe.

In one study of more than 37,000 college students “narcissistic personality traits rose just as fast as obesity from the 1980’s to the present . . . By 2006, one out of four college students agreed with the majority of the items on a standard measure of narcissistic traits. Nearly one out of ten Americans in their twenties . . . have experienced symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder” (Twenge & Campbell, 2009, p.2). Some of the traits related to narcissism have also increased, such as: “extrinsic values,

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unrealistic expectations, low empathy, agentic (but not communal) self-views, self-focus, choosing more unique names for children, less concern for others etc.” (Twenge, 2013, p.2). Relevant to this study, Twenge also mentions changes in pronoun use in books and song lyrics as a sign of this emphasis on the individual over the group in our culture.

However, individualism has also been linked to millennials’ support of equal rights for all, so we must remain mindful of the continuum of all traits, and especially with young adults who are still in the midst of the process of individuation. We want to avoid pathologizing what may be signs of healthy narcissism.

Other psychologists agree that there has been a sharp increase in narcissism in the United States, and “research from the NIH suggests young people in their twenties are three times more likely than older people to report having symptoms . . . that qualify as diagnosable narcissistic personality disorder” (Dill, 2013, p.1). Some of the reasons Dill cites for these increases are technological advances and social media (see Muchnick & Buirski 2016), reality TV and permissive parenting, but he then goes on to explain why parents may be getting hanged in the wrong. After interviewing 100 parents from all over the country he discovered that the majority of parents not only wanted their children to follow their own dreams and think for themselves. They wanted their children to do the right thing and develop an internalized strong moral compass.

Interestingly, the parents then said they wanted their children to get that moral compass from them!

In the parents’ minds, if their children were appropriately thinking for themselves, they will have thoroughly internalized the parents’ moral framework. This kind of conformity may be a long way from the stated goals of independent thinking.

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Although we say we want our kids to think for themselves, most of us really want them to think like we do. (Dill, 2013, p.2) If late adolescents or young adults were to do this, it is exactly the opposite of what Blos says is necessary for them to achieve true individuation from their parents. It would appear that some parents today, may be just as uninformed about the tasks their children need to accomplish in order to become well-adjusted adults as their parents were back in 1967 when Blos wrote his article.

Other frequently cited causes of the (real or perceived) narcissism epidemic are socioeconomic changes such as: a tough job market for new college grads, a loss of fulltime jobs, a shift from blue collar to white collar jobs and a wider gap between the haves and the have-nots. A 2014 story in the Chicago Tribune cited the results of a study which asked for the views of some professionals regarding their experiences with millennials in the workforce: The results of a study in which 20,000 HR professionals were asked what they thought of millennials in the workplace . . . They spoke of job applicants who flaked out on interviews, were reluctant to travel, and tended to switch jobs frequently. ‘Millennials’ sense of entitlement is frustrating,’ the author wrote. ‘As one HR professional noted, the younger employees feel that they are owed more respect, opportunity and pay than their experience, ability or knowledge merit.’

Similarly, millennials’ work ethic is lacking, some said, ‘Besides wanting to work remotely from Starbucks, millennials are often unwilling to put in more than 40 hours a week.’ (O’Neil, 2015, p.3)

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So what do the millennials have to say about all of this? Well first of all, they don’t appreciate being called narcissistic and their rebuttal to several of the criticisms listed above makes a lot of sense. They say that they are looking for something different and that job flexibility is not only important to them, they are more productive when they are allowed to work outside of an office. They also prioritize a work-life balance, they want more time for themselves, and they want the respect of their employers. Much of what millennials say is supported by studies such as one conducted by The National Bureau of Economic Research which found that “job-hopping is actually correlated with higher incomes, because people have found better matches – their true calling” (O’Neil, p.8). So, taking a statement from journalist and counter culture figure Hunter S. Thompson’s 1970 campaign slogan, O’Neil says in solidarity with his generation, “There is some shit we won’t eat” (p.8). Millennials are also proud of their willingness to express their views and fight for social justice issues, such as: gay-marriage, transgender rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.

This rebuttal not only serves as a reminder to the reader that there are always at least two sides to every story, it also provides them with a picture of a generation that isn’t really all that different from past generations of young adults. To paraphrase a quote in the book The Teenage Brain, the truth of the matter is adolescents and young adults are not an alien species, just a misunderstood one. (Jensen & Nutt, 2015) Their passion and rebellious opposition to the old ways of doing things have always been prominent in young adults. This way of thinking about young adults is similar to that cited in an article at the end of this section of the literature review, in which another author explores some of the ways psychotherapists’ may be inclined to negatively react to some of the beliefs

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and behaviors of young adults, particularly when they involve their use of technology. If there is any group which needs to keep an open mind when working with younger generations, it is certainly the psychotherapists who work with them. Having some knowledge of how the adolescent brain is different from an adult’s brain and the parental, societal, economic, and technological influences this current generation of young adults have been exposed to, is important in order to be able to identify with and have empathy for their struggles.

The recent White House announcement that Malia Obama will take a gap year before attending Harvard in the fall of 2017, drew quick responses on social media and it has also highlighted some of the education and career issues facing millennials. The author of an article on Linked In is titled “The Solution to Millennial College Dropouts?

More High-School Seniors Should Follow Malia Obama and Take a Gap Year.”

Although many posts on social media about Malia’s decision to take a gap year before starting college were negative, stating that it is simply a move to delay adulthood or that this is only an option for wealthy kids, the author’s argument is basically that a high percentage of high school graduates have no idea what they want to do career-wise and wind up wasting their parents money, their own time and that many ultimately drop out with no degree and no work experience to show potential employers.

If young adults are to succeed eventually in the job market, they need environments where they can explore for a while before they settle. . . The gap year – or a more aptly named “bridge year,” “launch year,” or “transition year” – provides such space to explore careers, work and earn money, and learn new skills. (Selingo, J., 2016, p.1)

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Taking a year off may result in a student having more certainty about their career path, feeling more serious and motivated and may even save money, because “four out of ten students who start at four-year colleges don’t earn a degree after 6 years” (p.2).

There are several gap year options currently available such as working in a developing country through the organization Global Citizen Year or working with AmeriCorps. In Baltimore a program called BridgeEDU combines college coursework with work and career internships, and the Franklin Project led by General McChrystal hopes to create one million civilian national-service positions for young adults. All of these options or possibilities may help to alleviate some of the stress and pressure millennials may experience when trying to meet the increasing demands placed upon them by their families and society.

Another significant developmental process which takes place during adolescence and young adulthood occurs in relationships with peers and romantic partners.

Relationships are a complex aspect of both our personal and social lives because they influence how we see ourselves and how we perceive our own value and worth to others.

Relationships with peers and romantic partners may be reshaped and redefined several times throughout this process. The tone of young adult peer and romantic relationships may prove the axiom the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Some studies have shown that the quality of one’s relationships with peers during childhood is predictive of future peer relationships. If one has exhibited good social skills and had positive relationships early in life, ones in which they were accepted by others, they are likely to continue to find acceptance by others during adolescence and young adulthood.

The opposite is also true.

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Studies suggesting a link between problematic childhood peer relationships and adult maladjustment have accumulated slowly but more or less continuously since the early 1930’s. However, widespread acceptance of the premise that lowaccepted children are at risk is relatively recent and accompanies a rise in theoretical and empirical interest in children’s peer relationships. An emergent theme in this broader literature is the conviction that peer interaction plays indispensable multiple casual roles in the socialization of social competence.

(Parker & Asher, 1987, p.357) Young adults who have had a difficult time being accepted by peers earlier in their lives are more likely to drop out of school and engage in criminal activities. Psychopathology is also associated with early aggressiveness and low acceptance by peers.

Clearly, acceptance by others and feeling a sense of belonging during adolescence and young adulthood are of primary importance, and efforts to both distinguish oneself from others while simultaneously belonging to a group can produce a significant amount of anxiety and stress for the individual.

The egocentrism and exhibitionistic longings typical of early adolescence . . . are compounded by the physical changes brought on by puberty, considerable selfconsciousness, and the awareness of the body self. The preoccupation with appearances, whether in the direction of obsessive slovenliness or of studied casual ‘preppiness,’ is not only dictated by group norms but also driven by the desire to be distinguishable from others and, hence to be recognized. To be perceived is to have one’s existence acknowledged; not to have one’s existence acknowledged is equivalent to having one’s sense of self negated. The latter can

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lead to feelings of dissolution or fragmentation. The adolescent feels caught between the embarrassment of openly desiring direct praise and the fear of being flooded by those longings. . . The peer-group’s responses are of greater importance. Within the group, praise can take the form of teasing or ridicule, both of which satisfy the longings while enabling adolescents to avoid embarrassment. (Palombo, 2001, pp. 108-109) Adolescents also pursue a sense of belonging in the larger world and desire a connection to the customs that came before them and will continue long after them. This cultural setting or environment can provide them with feelings of comfort and safety which are evoked by the familiar; such as the language, foods, smells or rituals of early life.

Winnicott sees culture as “the potential space between the individual and the environment” and Mishne adds something she sees as critical “the environmental factor, culture, is internally represented” (1986, p.135).

The United States is a nation of many races and ethnicities, and the millennial generation represents a compilation of all of these groups. Each individual will identify themselves as belonging to a smaller ethno-cultural group within this whole. Some combination of factors such as one’s religion, class, ethnicity, national origin, geographical location and sexual orientation will be utilized to form each individual’s ethno-cultural group identity. Identifying oneself as an Irish Catholic, mid-westerner for example, gives one an important framework for organizing their later adult life and identity. “To move out successfully from the family home, literally and figuratively, the adolescent needs to feel a sense of belonging to some defined sociocultural group” (Mishne, 1986, p.132).

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There are also countless people in the lives of adolescents and young adults who have an influence on their developing sense of self: their parents, siblings, older peers, peers and other adults such as teachers, coaches or employers all may play a role in this process. The concerns that go along with trying to figure out who they are, who they want to be, whom they admire and where they are going etc. are prominent. Mishne describes her relationship with a student who admired her and used her “as a way of bolstering her commitment to her own hopes and dreams. If I could do it, perhaps she could as well. Our relationship became a vehicle for her to further define her own aims” (Mishne, 1986, p. 107). Integration or synthesis is essential to late adolescent development.

Erik Erikson (1956), for instance, sees “ego synthesis” as a critical accomplishment of this time. In late adolescence, the achievements of middle adolescence in the realm of gender and sexuality must be integrated into the “self’. This means that there must be representations of experiences in these realms that feel integral to the adolescent. These are internally bonded in a way that feels coherent with the rest of what is experienced as self. This is the beginning of the “integration” processes that constitute an “identity. (Mishne, 1986, p.108) Adolescents’ family and peer relationships were also examined to determine if they are linked to the quality of their romantic relationships later on in young adulthood.

Only the relationship with parents proved to significantly impact later romantic relationships. High school students in grades 10-12 were given self-reports to measure the quality of their relationships with family and peers. Then, 7 years later subjects were

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interviewed about the quality of their current romantic relationships. They were asked about these measures: connectedness, discord, and the conflict tactics used by both partners in their current romantic relationships. It was found that the quality of family relationships in adolescence were predictive of the levels of these individual measures.

“The consistency across studies is noteworthy, especially in light of the diverse aspects of romantic relationships assessed, the different samples used, and the distinct measures employed” (Crockett & Randall, 2006, pp. 761-775).

There are varying statistics regarding the percentage of late adolescents and young adults who have had sexual intercourse but it appears clear that a majority are sexually active.

Beginning with early fantasies and the passion of first crushes, “The

attachment can command complete attention and devotion. This first bond is a test of how important and desirable the boy or girl is, and the course of the relationship frequently ‘leaves an indelible impression that may fester in the psyche well into adulthood’” (Mishne, 1986, p.264). These fantasies and crushes are also important steps in the development of an adolescent’s sexual identity. In early and mid-adolescence, romantic relationships are more likely to be exclusive whereas in late adolescence and young adulthood relationships are marked by less exclusivity and less commitment, and many couples decide to live together without having any plans to marry.

The movement toward a mature consolidated sexual self is marked by uncertainties, self-doubt, anxiety and too frequently a lack of information or understanding of the potential risks inherent in sexual activity. Some of these risks are: HIV infections, which increased by 21% among adolescents and young adults ages 13-29 in just a three year span from 2006 to 2009 (Conklin, 2012), other STD’s, unintended

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pregnancy (i.e. 39% of high school students did not use a condom the last time they had intercourse) and sexual abuse. Today, there is also concern among parents, teachers, police and others in the criminal justice system, who are involved in the lives of adolescents and young adults, regarding the potential use of technology in ways that can and have been detrimental. For example, dating sites, sexting, posting sexually explicit pictures of oneself or others on social media sites and the massive amount of online porn that is so easily accessible. “For youth with expectations of attending college full-time, and among youth who actually do, sexual risk behaviors (as well as use of alcohol/other drugs) often increase in late adolescence and early adulthood” (Conklin, 2012, p.3).

However, having a positive view of one’s future appears to reduce risky sexual behavior and the “youths with the most positive life, college, and marriage certainty also had the highest levels of sexual knowledge” (Conklin, 2012. p.4).

One of the most prevalent and persistent problems which often begins during adolescence and young adulthood, is drug abuse and addiction. What are some of the more prominent reasons adolescents and young adults are drawn to using drugs? One reason is that their friends or the cool kids are doing it, so in order to fit in and increase one’s social connections or sense of belonging to a group an adolescent may begin to smoke, drink or use marijuana. Or, curiosity to see what it feels like may entice an adolescent to experiment with drugs. “As the drive to explore new ways of experiencing reality emerge during adolescence, the use of drugs that alter brain function can be very intriguing” (Siegel, 2015, p.262). To self-medicate, is another reason to use drugs and many adolescents may begin to use because of anxiety, self-consciousness or lack of

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social skills, and the drug(s) is used to help or allow them to relax enough to get through social gatherings.

Of course eventual addiction to a drug(s) is also a reason an adolescent continues to use and abuse drugs. “Add in peer pressure and the fact that teens spend so much time in social situations and are also more likely to drink in groups, and you have a recipe for alcohol abuse� (Jensen & Nutt, 2015, pp. 129-130). It is unsettling to read the statistics which all report that full-time college students, male and female, have very high rates of alcohol use and report more binge drinking than non-college young adults. The males in both groups drink more than their female counterparts. And, white males and females drink significantly more than their African American and Hispanic counterparts. (p.3) “Daily marijuana use among college-aged adults is at its highest since 1980 surpassing daily cigarette smoking for the first time in 2014� (NIDA, 2014, p1).

The consequences of drug abuse are acute on both a personal and a societal level.

For the developing young adult, drug and alcohol abuse undermines motivation, interferes with cognitive processes, contributes to debilitating mood disorders, and increases risk of accidental injury or death (Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992, p.64).

All of these adolescent and young adult developmental issues (and their roots in their past) are also ones that are prominent themes in the music they listen to and may be easier to identify and shine a spotlight on in therapy, if therapists are willing to inquire about the music their clients listen to.

It is well known that excessive or chronic stress may also be a factor in emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression, and the stress levels for many young adults

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today are high enough to be of real concern. A relatively recent Time magazine article covered some of the serious consequences of untreated stress and cited the results from a recent National Stress in America survey, . . . young adults . . . reported the highest average level of stress at 5.4, meaning they may have to bear the brunt of the long-term effects of stress throughout their lives. Thirty-nine percent of this younger generation reported that their stress level had increased in the past year . . . These young adults also admitted to feeling the least equipped to manage their stress well (Sifferlin, 2013, p.2).

Some of the reasons cited for these elevated stress levels among millennials are that their generation has been more sheltered in many ways and given high expectations for what they should achieve, making their own individual failures harder to accept.

If we want to reach some clients, particularly those in younger generations, we may need to become more open to using different modes of communication with them.

The following three articles cited are applicable to this study. A recent series of papers published in the “Journal of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy” explored several ways therapists’ acceptance and use of technology with adolescents was clinically useful. In the first vignette, a reluctant teenage girl who refused to talk or engage with her therapist but texted her friends during their sessions instead, was eventually able to connect with her therapist and open up after the therapist texted her during a session.

I picked up my phone, which Chloe did not see because she was texting her friend, and I texted “Hi, how are you doing?” I listened as her phone buzzed incoming. Then I watched her surprise as she read my text. She burst out in laughter, looked at me, and asked me why I texted her. I said that I thought we

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could communicate by texting, if she liked. The act of my texting her, began a productive treatment where she talked – not texted – about meaningful, personally important issues for the next 3 years. I merely needed to meet her on her own ground using her own language before she was willing to use my language (Lepisto, 2013, p.35).

The therapist believed that Chloe’s initial resistance was a result of her struggles with separation and individuation. Her own parents had been distant, insensitive and critical of her and she feared her therapist may be too. When the therapist let Chloe know that she not only wanted a connection to her, she was willing to use her language to accomplish it, Chloe opened up. Lepisto says, “We psychotherapists and psychoanalysts who treat children and adolescents, are in the best position to study the meaning of technology on intrapsychic development, relationships, and dynamic motivations” (p.37).

This therapist’s encounter with a defensive adolescent girl, and her conclusions about the experience are equally relevant and supportive of the aims of this research.

In the second article in the series, the author discusses how technology became a part of two treatments and also how it contributed positively to the therapeutic process.

He shares how he initially believed the research for his paper would reveal the negative impact iPods, cell phones and laptops might have on the psychological and relational processes of adolescents in therapy, but he “was surprised to find that the only clinical cases that I had to write about in which these machines had figured importantly in treatment were ones in which these media had a role in advancing and supporting the psychotherapy rather than interfering with it” (Grayson, 2013, p.38). He describes a client whose cell phone use was explored in the therapy. He eventually understood how

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it functioned as a transitional object as a means of “protection against the narcissistic injury of anticipated rejection and criticism . . . (until) he experienced the interactions with me as something safe and reliable and as an experience that was manageable.” (p.40).

Another adolescent client brought his iPod into a session and asked Grayson to listen to a song he had just been listening to and then later he would bring in a laptop so that they could listen to his music together. The client’s parents had divorced 5 years earlier, and he had become increasingly more depressed up until the time he entered therapy.

Brian had become increasingly passive, disorganized, and disinterested in almost all activities . . . He had never been very comfortable in interactions with peers, and he had become more and more isolated as time went on after the divorce . . .

When Brian was thirteen he was hospitalized for three weeks because he was planning to kill himself . . . he really had been serious about finding escape through suicide (Grayson, 2013, p.40).

This adolescent said he had no social skills and he would become disorganized and anxious as he struggled to speak and would panic and withdraw from his peers. He feared that he was falling apart, feeling frozen and confused. “He wondered if he had a brain tumor” (p.41). It is clear from this statement and Grayson’s description, that this young man was thoroughly frightened by what he was experiencing but did not understand. He wanted to be recognized, understood, supported and validated. When he began to share his music with him Grayson saw it as “a unique opportunity he offered me to enter his world in a new fashion. He had brought this music in with the partly

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conscious and partly unconscious intention that he would share something more about himself with me (p.41).

Brian’s music helped both of them to get in touch with and understand the anger beneath his fears and frustration. The lyrics of the songs also provided them with a common language to put words to his unconscious fantasies and wishes of being able to be a protector and save his family.

As we followed his and my associations we recognized that he had a welldeveloped but heretofore unarticulated and unrecognized fantasy of saving his family . . . from disintegrating or might (even) bring his parents back together . . . and if he had allowed himself to progress (previously) that this would indicate that he accepted the divorce and its consequences. This would constitute a betrayal of his family (p.43).

Using the music this client listened to and shared with his therapist to get in touch with and better understand what he was unable to verbalize himself, is exactly what this research proposal has suggested is possible for all interested therapists to try with their clients.

Grayson discusses several of the ways he thought introducing music into the therapy was beneficial such as: moving the therapeutic process along more quickly, facilitating a more spontaneous sharing, making more room for unconscious influences, moving the client closer to a free associative experience, helping the client get in touch with his frozen feelings and the images and affective associations enabled integration and some resolution of conflict etc. He also tells the reader how exploring Brian’s music helped them to “create a certain sense of mutuality by having the stimulus of songs for

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both of us to explore. The activity of listening to and contemplating the music enhanced the development of an analytic space and a play space for our work and our relationship” (Grayson, 2013, p.44). He clearly states that if not for the vehicle of the songs they would never have gotten at these issues as quickly as they did. Given the current state of affairs in the insurance industry and the pressure put upon therapists to reduce the number of sessions they have with clients, the potential benefits of utilizing technology clinically, particularly by investigating clients’ portable music player use - which is so beautifully described here - is difficult to ignore.

The third article in this series explores another aim of this research, which is to encourage therapists to examine and work through any forms of resistance they may have to experimenting with this mode of working with young adult clients in their practice. In “Therapists’ Resistance to Understanding the Importance of Technology for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy,” Dauphin acknowledges the numerous concerns which have been voiced about the potentially negative effects of technology on the young, but he encourages therapists to pay attention to their own resistances and concerns about that.

He discusses a therapist’s hypothetical fear(s) of losing power in his relationships with younger clients. Negative views of modern technology along with negative views of the young, can get in the way of our understanding the multiple meanings of technology for our younger clients. He cites an APA statistic that jumped out at him: The average age of Division 39 members is 62 years old, and the average age of an APA member is 50 . . . adults invest a great deal . . . in attempting to remain youthful . . . Nonetheless, we implicitly and explicitly understand that the young

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are gaining on us fast, especially when it comes to mastery of technology (Dauphin, 2013, p.46).

He also points out the differences in the ways the young and old learn about technology.

For the young it is typically through play, but for the 62 year old it is often at work and or under pressure. We also joke about how the young people in our lives have to show us or teach us how to use technology. He says, “These jokes reveal and conceal an important shift in the dynamics of power relations between young and old. . . It is worth considering that this power shift frightens us to some degree if we are willing to acknowledge it” (p.47). If we don’t, we are more likely to adopt several defensive strategies such as banning the use of technology in therapy sessions or interpreting the use of it as resistance or a potentially troublesome form of enactment. Dauphin’s observations are illuminating and certainly worth considering.

There have been countless studies which have explored the efficacy of using music to address physical, cognitive, social and emotional problems. One recent study, “The effects of sedative and stimulative music on stress reduction depend on music preference” found that stress reduction was dependent upon using music that participants preferred and provided strong support for the beneficial effects of listening to music based upon one’s own preferences. (Jiang, 2013) So, it would appear that the music one chooses to listen to, the specific times they listen and the mode and contexts of their listening experiences etc. are all potential areas of exploration for young adults, particularly in a safe environment with their therapist. What might therapist and client, together, discover and understand about the internal life of the client by following this avenue of investigation?

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. . . the idea that music can function as an environmental scaffolding supporting the development of various experiences and embodied practices that would otherwise remain inaccessible . . . I argue that one of the central ways we use music, as a material resource, is to manipulate social space – and in so doing, manipulate our emotions (Krueger, 2015).

Music is an active not passive process. Particularly today, using a personal portable music player which allows the individual to choose; where they will be when listening, the genre of music to listen to, the specific tracks, volume levels, the timing of use and the length of each listening experience etc. all make each occurrence a very subjective and intimate experience, which may be shared with their therapist with the hope of exploring and better understanding his or her unique psychic terrain.

The Historical Uses of Music “You can use music as an escape from a chaotic world. The important thing about listening to music is that what you want is an emotional reaction. It can be sad, it can be joy, it can be uplifting, it can make you think about your own personal things. I mean music is abstract, so it allows for a lot of interpretation and personal reflection, but for me the point is you want to feel! That’s what makes me feel alive – just feeling things.

Nothing can go straight to your emotions better than music” – Martin Goldsmith [television series] (2014, June 06).

The relationship between music and emotions is well documented. Although no one is sure when man first began to use music, many theorists believe rudimentary forms

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of music and song may have preceded language. Darwin wondered if early human communication may have been a mixture of music and language, and Rousseau believed that early languages “were chanted; they were melodic and poetic, rather than prosaic and practical” (Ready, 2012, p.7). Musical instruments such as ancient bone flutes, which have been determined to be more than 50,000 years old, are some of the oldest human relics ever discovered. There is no culture in which some form of music has not played a role in the lives of its members. “That music is a fundamental part of human-ness is also apparent in the fact that while there are many cultures without written language, many without advanced technologies, and a few with very minimal decorative or visual art, there are apparently no human cultures without some form of music and dance” (Blum, 2013, p.123). Music is a universal phenomenon, and therefore it is believed to be the expression of some deeply felt basic human need. Swallow says, “Evolution would suggest that man has also inherited a capacity for processing music and the relatively recent discipline of ethnomusicology has confirmed that music has been of importance throughout history, and in all societies” (Sutton, 2002, p.42).

Theoretical and research literature on music is plentiful, and documents the significance of music in the lives of people and describes the infinite number of ways in which human beings have used music to enrich their lives. Although everyone is not necessarily musically talented, the majority of people do experience some pleasure while listening to music, perhaps even prior to birth. A 2001 study by Lamont found that a fetus can hear music while in the womb, and a year after their birth (without having listened to the music since birth) the child was able to recognize and prefer the music they had listened to in utero. “It appears that for music even prenatal experience is

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encoded in memory, and can be accessed in the absence of language or explicit awareness of the memory” (Levitin, 2008, p.225). This research is particularly relevant to the current study because it supports both the idea that listening to music via a portable music player may provide many functions for the listener, and that analyzing the music a client prefers really does have the potential to access the unconscious, archaic memories and emotions in their internal worlds. “Lamont’s results are important because they show that the prenatal and newborn brain are able to store memories and retrieve them over long periods of time . . . and can effect a child’s development and preferences. So the seeds of musical preference are sown in the womb” (Levitin, 2008, pp. 223-227).

So if a one-year old baby is able to remember and prefer the music he listened to while in his mother’s womb, it makes sense that after birth an infant can immediately begin to develop his own ways of enjoying and using music.

Psychobiologist, Trevarthen has proposed that babies are born with a musical readiness that makes them able to respond to rhythmically presented facial and body movements. In fact, infants are biologically prone to seek the mutual coordination of dynamic mental states with their caregivers . . . He refers to playful non-verbal, exchange of gestures, facial expressions, coos, squawks and other musical sounds between baby and caregiver as ‘communicative musicality (Ready, 2012, p.21).

It is a very common experience to see a baby who is crying and waving his arms and legs around, but quickly stops and quiets down when they are held and sung to. Why does this happen? According to researchers, it happens because the song brings some order to the infant’s overloaded, stimuli saturated, and chaotic world. When a lullaby is sung to a

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baby, they certainly do not understand the words, rather it is the melody that calms them.

Schore (1994) and Damasio (1999) believe that the quasi-musical and empathic characteristics of early communication with caregivers is foundational and stays with one throughout their life. “Music used in the way of contact is a strong way of touching somebody on a symbolic level, sometimes with the same effects as physical touching.

This leads back to the earliest dialogues of the child” (Eschen, 2002, p.101).

In 1950 Kohut and Levarie also wrote about infants and music in “On the Enjoyment of Listening to music,” and state that exposure to auditory stimuli is the infant’s first experience of the outside world and that music removes the original threat of chaotic sounds due to its organization and patterns. “Mother’s voice is associated with feeding, and mother’s lullaby with drowsy satisfaction after feeding, rocking and rhythm become associated with and are developed into the pattern of musical experience” (Sterba, 1965, p.106). In a later paper “The Psychological Function of Music” (1957) Kohut attempts to investigate the functions of music for the id, ego and superego: . . . Emotional catharsis for repressed wishes, playful mastery of the threats of trauma, and enjoyable submission to rules. Catharsis, mastery, and submission are experienced in a nonverbal medium . . . The significance of musical activity for earlier psychological organizations is derived from its capacity to allow subtle regression via extraverbal modes of psychic function. It appears to contribute to the relief of primitive, preverbal tensions that have found little psychological representation and it may provide for the maintenance of archaic object cathexes by virtue of its relationship to an archaic, emotional form of communication (Sterba, 1965, p.109).

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So, Kohut believed in the capacity of music to organize mental activity without the benefit of words, and that this organization took place prior to an infant’s ability to separate their inside and outside worlds. This would appear to raise the possibility that music may also hold a potential key for the listener to reach back and access the most primitive contents or the very origins of his or her internal world.

This regressive pleasure, narcissistic, primary and basic as the one that underlies magical thinking and acting, is at the same organized in music by the highest synthetic functions of the ego. This is a safeguard against a regression of a massive and holistic kind which would be disturbing and dangerous. The combination of and interaction between deepest regression and highly developed organization makes music a unique experience (Sterba, 1965, p.110).

Music therapy is also among the oldest known forms of therapy. In 400 B.C. Hippocrates is said to have used music to calm people with mental illnesses, and Plato believed teaching children music was most important, because the patterns in music held the keys to learning. Music has continued to be used since Hippocrates’ and Plato’s time to help people suffering from a variety of issues such as anxiety and stress reduction, developmental disorders, PTSD, addictions, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Some of the ways music works is by changing brain waves.

Research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm, meditative state . . . with these alterations, come changes in other bodily functions. Those governed by the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing and heartrate . . . and an

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activation of the relaxation response . . . (which) can help counteract or prevent damaging effects of chronic stress” (Scott, n.d., p.1).

Being more alert, when needed, to study or write a paper, and then being able to calm down and relax afterwards, are two beneficial uses of listening to music which the young adult, college students in this current study are very likely to report as ways that they utilize their portable music players.

As stated throughout this proposal, there are significant differences between the ways I am suggesting the general population of psychotherapists can utilize music in their clinical work, and the ways therapists, specifically trained as music therapists, do, so I thought I would include a definition of music therapy from the American Music Therapy Association for the reader: “Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program” (AMTA, 2015). Today, there are countless books outlining the methods used by music therapists with their patients, such as: improvisation, performing, song writing, and listening to music. “In music therapy, the relationship field is used to include transference and counter-transference, to, and in, the music. Parts of the self can also be projected onto the voice, the music and the musical instrument” (Sutton, 2002, p234).

This quote brought George Harrison’s song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” to mind.

Music also has a long history of use by clinicians who work with patients who have alexithymia, which means they have difficulty identifying, regulating and naming their emotions, and this is particularly true when working with clients who have experienced trauma early in their lives. This is due to the fact that we cannot verbalize

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what we do not consciously remember, but what stirs us musically may - particularly in the presence of one’s therapist – help us to put words to our internal, unconscious experiences. “Early life experiences and events which structured our developing subjectivity and historical contexts which we, as adults, no longer have direct access to, have left traces however, in how we listen to music” (Schwarz, 1997, p.4). Shurin echoes this understanding, “Music therapy enables people to sometimes put words together in ways that are hard for them to do otherwise . . . The music seems to get through to the patient and in many ways it enables (the patient) to get through to us which (may be) very hard to do with any other modality” (AMTA, 2016). Early life experiences are relevant to this research because, as stated in Chapter I, it is abundantly clear today that early developmental trauma is ubiquitous and many therapists believe that almost every psychiatric disorder reflects some disruption in the developmental processes. Therefore, a significant percentage of each therapist’s caseload will be made up of those seeking help with working through some early developmental problem or trauma.

It also appears that music is particularly well known and used, to help access the unconscious emotional life of trauma survivors. Julie Nagel’s book invites the reader to take a journey with her to explore music and emotion, and their links to the unconscious.

She calls this a journey on an aural and oral road. She also discusses the ways musical and psychoanalytic concepts can enlighten each other by showing us the means by which music provides an incomparable non-verbal portal to our emotions. By combining music with psychoanalytic wisdom, we are given a diagram for understanding the complexity of a client’s inner world as that world relates to his social milieu. As one reviewer puts it, “The book seeks to bridge the intellectual gap between musicians and psychoanalysts and

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to demonstrate the contribution that music, as well as words, can play in the therapist’s clinical repertoire” (Esman, 2013, p.1). Nagel’s book supports this researcher’s belief that the analysis of the music clients listen to via PMP’s can enhance therapists’ work with their clients.

Diane Austin says music therapy, “is a method that has proven effective in creating an opportunity for a safe, therapeutic regression in which dissociated and/or unconscious feelings, memories and sensations can gradually be accessed, experienced, understood and integrated. This musical approach often constellates the intense transference and countertransference reactions that are essential in repairing arrests in development” (Sutton, 2002 p.240). This is one of the areas of interest in the current study, and it validates the relevance of music in giving meaning to the events of one’s life and the potential usefulness of music as an integral component of therapy with certain individuals. Of particular relevance to all interested psychotherapists, “Bion stressed the need to move beyond the language barrier so as to approximate experience before language. He felt that words limit experience and rob it of its meaning. Thus he describes the arts as a superior way to understanding a client’s inner state” (Grotstein, 1985, pp.293-309).

In his book Between Couch and Piano, Rose covers many of the concepts this researcher is interested in exploring, such as music itself being a witnessing presence for the listener and how it facilitates further affect responsiveness, how it can prompt selfrecognition and self-soothing, music in connection with wholeness and a sense of identity, the ability of music to ignite normal feelings, what one takes from the musical piece is what is most consonant for them, music in relation to the trauma of loss and

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theories of the therapeutic efficacy of music. He uses titles such as: Whence the feelings from art: communication or concordance? The birth of music in the context of loss: music and affect regulation, and between words and music. (Rose, 2004) These chapters are full of vignettes which illustrate the various theories of psychoanalysts, the findings of neurologists who study the ways music is used by individuals, and the ways it can be utilized to help clients who suffer from various forms of pathology. This information is all relevant to the current study and it also contains a wealth of background information which is expected to be useful when analyzing the research results.

While reading Rose’s book, this researcher also became very interested in the ways human beings have used music, and was particularly interested in a passage which stated: Music enables a person to recognize and feel what had been unformed, and therefore inexpressible, as if by a responsive empathic presence, it helps repair the loss or damage to a reflective inner ‘other’. Like mourning it facilitates internalization. By enhancing mindfulness it helps to create symbolic representations of past traumatic experiences better to tame the associated terror and desomatize the memories and reunite the self . . . music as a prosthesis or prosthetic device which lends support where deficiencies exist (2004, p.121).

Another area of interest for the aims of this study, is to look at how music can provide a transitional space for the listener. Winnicott defined transitional space as “an intermediate area of experience between inner and outer reality in which to explore feelings” (Winnicott, 1971, p.4). Thirty years later, Kristovich looked at transitional space in the context of adolescents’ use of rock music (this was before the proliferation of

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PMP’s). Might listening to music via a portable music player enhance the use of music as transitional space by young adults? Some of the findings in Kristovich’s study were: “music allows one to recapture lost feelings, to grieve what is past . . . and as a prerepresentational form it provides transitional space for new symbolic gestures to emerge . . . it creates a space for adolescents to reinstate primitive feelings in their attempt to go back and rework their identities . . . music offers an opportunity for interaction with an ‘other’ without the risk of an unwanted response from the other” (2001 p.65).

After reading Kristovich’s dissertation this researcher became interested in the idea of a portable music player functioning as a transitional object. I discovered that others have had the same ideas about the functions a transitional object may provide its owner, and that a portable music player may serve as a transitional object.

The creation and use of a transitional object is many things, including an attempt to find comfort, to define self and other, to influence the environment, to deal with separation, and to elaborate an imaginative world. The transitional object is a product of the development of memory, and at the same time suggests that memory is not fully developed, its creation indicating that the image of the parent is not fully internalized and available (Blum, 2013, p.122).

An interesting psychological survey carried out by Moebius and Michel-Annen in the 1980’s expands upon this idea and they suggest that “Walkman users listen to music to increase their internal repertoire of affective states. In their view the prime importance of the Walkman lies not in the direction of social escapism, but rather in a technology that promotes the intensification of inner life as filtered through music.” (Elliott, 1996 p.147).

Moebius and Michel-Annen also found that intentional thinking recedes and,

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emotions grow in importance, feelings are intensified, there is an increase of impressions . . . such ecstasy appears to have its emotional roots in the resuming of contact with disowned feelings that music, when heard in a mobile context , in some part promotes. . . . Furthermore, it is in this sense that Moebius and MichelAnnen suggest that the Walkman functions as a transitional object, the creative bridging of inner and outer worlds, identity and difference. The Walkman, they conclude, recommends itself as an expedient against emotional emptiness (Elliott, 1996 p.147).

In his book The Haunting Melody, Theodor Reik also describes the power of music to get in touch with the contents of our emotions and internal worlds. He says, “The intangible that is invisible as well as untouchable can still be audible. It can announce its presence and effect in tunes, faintly heard inside you” (Reik, 1953, p.12).

He describes an internal experience he had after having been informed that his former analyst, and friend, Karl Abraham had died. Initially he felt intense shock, but after just a few minutes he felt numb. He decided to go for a walk up a road he walked daily, and enjoyed, but now it seemed unfamiliar, darker and more menacing to him. As he walked he found himself humming a melody he did not recognize at first, but which continued to haunt him over the next several weeks and months. Reik struggled with understanding the meanings of the melody and how they were related to his feelings about himself and the death of his friend. He made some connections at the time, but eventually lets it go.

Twenty-seven years later, he revisits his analysis of the haunting melody and says, “When one looks back on an experience after a few decades, it is as if it were not a part of one’s own life, but that of another person . . . Little else makes you realize so clearly

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that you have changed and become another person as the recollection of how you felt, of what you wished and feared many years before” (Reik, 1953, p.219).

The point Reik makes regarding this personal experience is just how much information can be gleaned from analyzing the meanings of a melody or song which we suddenly realize is haunting us either by running through our minds, or finding ourselves humming, whistling or singing it. Reik says, “We look back at the everyday incident of a haunting melody – how many significant impulses and emotions were compressed and condensed in such a trifling occurrence! A single and apparently trivial incident of this kind followed up to its origin and psychoanalytically examined, can reveal the most vital secrets of a person’s inner life” (Reik, 1953, p.304). Reik’s example is relevant to the current study not only because it highlights the wealth of information which can be gleaned from analyzing the music clients listen to, but it also supports the proposal that listening to music via a PMP, with all the control it offers the listener such as the repeat function, may enhance the listener’s ability to formulate the unformulated – hopefully without a 27 year wait.

In the paper, Psychoanalysis and Music Sterba elucidates the development of an analytic interest in, and understanding of, music by giving the reader a chronological list of the papers written on the subject. He begins with a paper written in 1917 by Frieda Teller “Enjoyment of music and Phantasy” and ends with a paper written in 1957 by Heinz Kohut, “The Psychological Function of Music.” He tells us that in 1926 a Dr. A. Van der Chijs published a paper about the psychoanalysis of music, in which he asserts that it should be possible to find a latent content in music, like in a dream. This is one of

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the propositions of this current study, that therapists can analyze clients’ music in much the same way they analyze their dreams.

In 1935 Mosonyi also drew a parallel between music and dream work saying, Dream and music are both irrational, unbound, unproportional and thus correspond to an infantile type of reaction . . . The condensation in dreams is supposed to parallel the compression of different motives, the simultaneity of different melodies, and the syncopated rhythm. Music is a compromise formation like the dream, the myth and the slip-action (Sterba, 1965, p.101).

So, manifest and latent contents, compression, affects, and compromise formations are all familiar aspects of dream analysis for therapists, which they may now choose to employ in the analysis of their clients’ music. Misonyi goes on to describe how he believes the creation of a composition occurs, In the unconscious there is present a still confused, dreamlike musical hallucination, which originates from an awakened affective complex. The musical representatives of the complex are allowed to transgress the threshold of the preconscious after connecting themselves with well-known musical formula and thus are capable of becoming conscious. The affective charge comes from the unconscious . . . The creative musician and his empathetic listener conjure up the lost paradise of the narcissistic happiness of the earliest phase of existence which is free from wish and consciousness (Sterba, 1965, pp.102-103).

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This idea of unconscious material being moved into the preconscious, and then becoming capable of becoming conscious, through the vehicle of music, is also one of the possibilities this current study hopes to find evidence for in the subjects’ uses of music.

Sterba cites Coriat’s beliefs that music is an instinctual experience which reaches the unconscious with little extraneous resistance and that it allows one to work off the repetition compulsion. These ideas are of interest to the aims of this particular study, in light of the researcher’s expectations that music provides therapists a portal to the unconscious worlds of their clients, and that the repeat function on a PMP may be used in the service of working through some intrapsychic conflict or obstacle. I remember watching a television show several years ago which featured a story about King George I, and how he enjoyed Handel’s water music so much that he ordered the royal orchestra to replay it at least three times as they sailed on the Thames. That was in the year 1717, a time when perhaps only kings had access to a repeat function!

Hegel is also cited for his focus on our emotional surrender to the tones of music by saying, This emotional surrender to the tones abolishes the flow of intentional processes and leads to an abandonment of the outside world and a submission to a hallucinatory regression in the form of phantasies and memories. Music thus brings about an overcoming of the repressive forces and a cathartic experience.

This is why the ancient Greeks put music in the service of the healing arts. Music like dreams, slip-actions, and neurotic symptoms are expressions of the mentally suppressed (Sterba, 1965, p.97).

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All of these ideas, written 51 years ago, suggest that several of the effects of music, on human beings, would be of interest to psychotherapists.

Perotti believed that the psychic force within the composer, when converted into musical movement, resulted in a transference of the same energies in the listener. “This current of energy adds itself to the personal emotional elements in the listener and intensifies the affective tonality already present in the listener. In this way the illusion is created that the music produces the affective state which is felt while listening, when it is really only mobilized and enforced by the music” (Sterba, 1965, p.105). So when a client reports having had a particularly strong emotional reaction when listening to a particular song, or piece of music, the therapist may be able to apprehend something about what has been mobilized in that client’s internal world.

Iain McGilchrist, the author of “The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World” was asked by poet Ange Mlinko if he had poets in mind when he was writing his book? He replies that he did not, because they already know that metaphors are the only way to understand things . . . The nature of poetry is to be hidden – as perhaps is all truth . . . subtlety and depth require tact, time, and sheer hard work . . . the right brain is responsible for our ability to see things in their totality, to make metaphorical connections, to fuse ideas and disciplines (i.e. science and poetry) (Mlinko, 2010, pp. 37-38).

Some meanings in poetry may be more hidden than those in contemporary song lyrics, but analyzing the associations and meanings a client has attached to either art form is what therapy is all about; sensitively seeking out the hidden truths lurking in the depths of our clients’ internal worlds.

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Kohut said, “Psychoanalysis has taught us that phenomena in adult life which are seemingly unintelligible and indefinable take on new meaning when understood in terms of chronologically early experiences. Hence it seems that the investigation of a phenomenon so widespread and at the same time so hard to describe in the language of the adult as is musical enjoyment should lead us back to the primitive and archaic – in short, to infantile organization” (Kohut & Levarie, 1950, p.65). Unfortunately, it has taken psychoanalysis a long time to recognize and embrace the potential value of using music to help us access and understand psychological processes, and this is one of several reasons interdisciplinary or applied psychoanalysis has been inclined to direct its attention to the visual and literary arts, while overlooking music as a subject for serious investigation. Since Freud’s study of Leonardo da Vinci there have been several pathographies (a biography that focuses on a person’s illnesses, misfortunes or failures) written where people have associated artists and their creativity with emotional illness.

Rubin said that psychoanalytic investigations of art and creativity were frequently; characterized by reductionism and a penchant for pathologization, treating it mostly as a matter of mastering trauma or escaping from reality . . . While art can fuel neurosis, can it not also be adaptive, aiding the artist (or the audience) in processing, working through, mastering, and even healing disturbing realities” (Rubin, 2003, p.362)? Still a number of musically trained analysts and analytically trained musicians have ventured into this territory (Esman, 2013, p.1).

This study will be focused on exploring and describing the potentially beneficial ways young adults’ use music to process, work through, master and perhaps even begin to heal some of their own disturbing realities.

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On music and metaphors: Meaning exists when the perception of an object or an event summons up something in the mind other than the object itself. The link between music and the images or metaphors it arouses has been of immense interest to both science and the arts for a long time. In Briefe II, Jung (1972/1992) detected a connection between music, image and the unconscious. Jung wrote: “music has to do with the collective unconscious . . . Music expresses in tones the same as the images in fantasies or in visions . . . music states the movement, the development, and the transformation of the motives in the collective unconscious:” (Ready, 2012, p.23). Dreifuss (2001) brought these ideas into more modern language and expression when he noted “music is preverbal . . . it can inspire musical feelings that can elevate the soul to experience such emotions as joy, happiness (allegro, vivace) . . . melancholy, or inner peace (largo, adagio)” (Ready, 2012, p.24).

Jungian musical therapist, Bonny Warja (1994), appears to have experienced some of the same responses to music as Jung. She said: Music is seen as a vibrational current that works on the tissues of the body and ‘massages’ the cells. Images are formed during the influence of music.

Experiences belonging to the non-verbal, the primordial, the archaic, can find expression through the imagery process. Music is a shaper and bender of time.

(Ready, 2012, p.24) Warja also thought music holds and contains feelings which allow the client to move toward, and experience, emotional areas otherwise evaded. “She defined images as anything experienced by the senses such as ‘thoughts, feelings, mental images or pictures, colors, memories, body sensations, and olfactory and auditory images” (p.25).

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She viewed music as a faster more efficient way to help clients free bottled up or inhibited emotions and memories.

Jung was initially skeptical of music therapy, until Margaret Tilly, a concert pianist and therapist, gave him a suitable introduction to music therapy. Tilly (1956/1977) recounted that Jung told her, “I feel that from now on music should be an essential part of every analysis” as music was able to reach deep archetypal material that he felt was often unavailable in analysis with patients” (Ready, 2012, p.25). Today, nearly 60 years after Jung’s death, it appears his wish may be closer to becoming a reality.

Rubin viewed art (music included) as a potentially important source of deepening knowledge for psychoanalysis. Thankfully, today there are many musically trained analysts, researchers and clinicians who are discussing music and its potential value in allowing us to learn more about psychological processes. Julie Jaffe is a musically trained analyst and she believes what earlier writers, such as Ehrenzweig said, He “implied that words are necessary to communicate on a secondary-process level about nonverbal, primary-process aspects of music, but – and perhaps most important – his observations also lead to the more inclusive suggestion that both the oral and aural roads form connecting pathways to mental life, rendering an either/or explanation reductionistic” (Jaffe-Nagel, 2013, p.19). Neuroscientist, Stephen Porges expands upon some of these ideas in his latest book which has yet to be released.

Music is intertwined with emotions, affect regulation, and interpersonal social behavior and other psychological processes that describe human experiences in response to environmental, interpersonal, and even intrapersonal challenges.

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These psychological processes shape our sense of self, contribute to our abilities to form relationships, and determine whether we feel safe in various contexts or with specific people. Although these processes can be objectively observed and subjectively described, they represent a complex interplay between our psychological experience and our physiology (Porges, in press).

Continuing along this line of thought, I would like to use a quote from Lombardi’s paper which is very similar to and supportive of my earlier, (see Chapter I) thought that perhaps music, like string theory, has the ability to connect two essential functions that oppose each other at times. He says, This simultaneous presence of two modes of being, one characterized by boundlessness or infinity, the other by a finite spatiotemporal order, is what Matte Blanco (1988) calls a bimodal structure, a form of mental functioning that reconciles two antithetical modes: ‘the realm of the illogical’ (Freud, 1940), of infinite affects and the unconscious, and the orderly logic of consciousness and thought (2008, p.1224).

The implementation of this bimodality is crucial in the daily work of psychoanalytically informed therapists and exploring and analyzing the music young adult clients listen to, may hold the potential for giving therapists a way of working with their clients that can lead to the necessary integration of these two modes of experience and being.

Musician and neuroscientist, Daniel J. Levitin’s book This Is Your Brain on Music, is both interesting, and full of information about the ways human beings use music, and much of the material he discusses is also relevant to this current research. Just a handful of the more significant (to this study) topics he covers are: how listening to

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music activates and coordinates many different areas of the brain, that the goal of musical performance is to unite the artist and the audience in a common experience, how music is significant in shaping our lives, human beings physiological, psychological and social relationship with music, and the music instinct. Levitin describes the many areas of the brain which are activated while one is listening to music, and the myriad benefits it affords human beings. One of the examples I found most interesting in the chapter, the music instinct, was a discussion of the evolutionary origins of music and how a study of the differences in the brains of individuals with disorders such as Williams syndrome (WS) and Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), supports the theory of music’s critical role in human evolution. I thought this was relevant to the current study because it illustrates not only the role our brains can play in our experience of music but also the benefits for therapists, of keeping up with current research in neuroscience.

People with WS are intellectually impaired, but are also very musical, outgoing and social, whereas individuals with ASD who are also intellectually impaired, are not very musical and due to their difficulties with understanding emotions and empathizing with others, they are more unsociable.

Allan Reiss has shown that the neo-cerebellum, the oldest part of the cerebellum, is larger than normal in WS, and smaller than normal in ASD. Because we already know the important role played by the cerebellum in music cognition, this is not surprising . . . This, in turn, leads to abnormal development of musical behaviors that in one case are enhanced and the other are diminished� (Levitin, 2008, Pp. 259-260).

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Levitin also discusses some of the ways music effects the brain development of infants and children. He says music for the developing brain is a form of play which initiates higher-level integrative processes involved in generative language development. This research is significant because it helps us understand how the emotional centers of the brain – the amygdala and cerebellum – are activated while listening to music and are also connected to one’s ability to empathize and engage socially with others. This is due to the listener’s emotional resonance with the singer/songwriter which enhances communication skills, and invokes integrative processes, which are all significant functions of music. All of these research findings also appear to support the further investigation of these areas during the current study.

A recent article by Minister Carol Schweitzer, who is a pastor, not a music therapist, examines the power of music to transform suffering. She cites music theorist David Schwarz as he describes listening to music as a process of retrospective fantasy and as a type of transference experience. “If how we listen to music is shaped by traces of past experiences, then music as a resource . . . has the potential to assist ministers in the process of guiding their parishioners to re-trace painful experiences in ways that ‘resound’ with thoughts and feelings which have become an impediment to healing” (Schweitzer, 2011, p.311). Priests, ministers, pastors etc. are frequently called upon by their parishioners to counsel them. Today it is quite likely that they also have a degree in counseling or social work. The author goes on to discuss how she has thought about the use of music in her work with parishioners. She says she has thought of her role as being primarily a listener, and the role of the parishioner is that of the speaker. She says when music is used in the process, the roles of speaker and listener are reversed.

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It may, in fact, be music which helps a person seeking care to become more in touch with the internal voices that need to be heard in order for a healing process to begin; music may assist all of us to sharpen our ability to listen. . . music does not always rely on words to express emotion. As Daniel Levitin (2008) has observed: ‘The development of the artistic (poetic, musical, dancing and painting) brain allowed for the metaphorical communication of passion and emotion.

Metaphor allows us to explain things to people in indirect ways, sometimes avoiding confrontation, sometimes helping another to see that which she has difficulty understanding. (p.312) Individuals tend to seek out ministers . . . when they are struggling to find meaning in their suffering . . . The music of the church as well as a person’s own musical preferences are, I suggest, underdeveloped resources for helping individuals to become more perceptive of the inner life of their emotions because it is an indirect form of metaphorical communication that touches upon our deepest feelings” (Schweitzer, 2011, p.312). She also talks about the prevalence of portable music players, and how conversations about individual’s playlists can reveal a lot about their emotional life. So Schweitzer’s ideas are pertinent to several of the aims of this study, such as listening to music via a PMP holds the potential for accessing individuals’ internal worlds and may deepen both the therapist’s and client’s understanding, and naming of, otherwise unformulated, and therefore unavailable, information. These ideas are all very relevant to the focus of this research including the fact that one does not need to be specifically trained as a music therapist in order to reap the rewards of using music in their work.

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Levitin also gives support to this growing understanding that music can be more effective than language, at times clinically, due to its ability to help clients access their emotions. He says, Music invokes far more than language, music taps into primitive brain structures involved with motivation, reward and emotion . . . Our response to effective music (groove) is largely pre- or unconscious because it goes through the cerebellum rather than the frontal lobes. The story of your brain on music is the story of an exquisite orchestration of brain regions, involving both the oldest and newest parts of the human brain . . . When we love a piece of music, it reminds us of other music we have heard, and it activates memory traces of emotional times in our lives .. . it’s all about connections (Levitin, 2008, Pp. 191-192).

When the Walkman (the first portable music player) became popular, cultural critics saw it primarily as another example of the ways technology cuts human-beings off from others, and that its’ use was “a defensive rejection of the social world in favour of private, aesthetic intensity” (Elliot, 1996 p.147). Elliot believed that this was an insufficient assessment, and cites a 1994 psychological survey that Moebius and MichelAnnen carried out to study the effects of Walkman use on the listener. They found that the Walkman gave the listener a never before intensity of hearing. Everyday sounds and environmental noises were suppressed, and users felt the music as if it were inside of them. Moebius and Annen suggested that Walkman users actually listened to music to increase their internal range of affective states and to amplify their inner lives as streamed through music, rather than social escapism. They also thought that the use of a Walkman

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actually resulted in a resuming of contact with one’s disowned feelings and that music, when listened to in a mobile context, in some ways promotes (Elliot, 1996 p.147). These differing views of the potentially positive or negative effects of technology use, and specifically the use of portable music players, continues to be of interest to researchers in the social sciences. This is one of the issues which will require the researcher to consciously remain as unbiased as possible when analyzing the results of the current study.

Music may help us understand complex emotions without succumbing to them, and it may also facilitate a more objective examination of one’s own emotions and those of others around them. One researcher’s study looked at this phenomenon, among others, with patients in a psychiatric facility. Among other problems these patients struggled with, they had a compromised ability to identify and describe their emotions (alexithymia) and those of others, which contributed to their feeling isolated. “There is a growing trend in music research toward participant-selected pieces. What’s important is that participant selected research acknowledges the participant’s existing relationship to music, including musical taste” (Ready, 2012, p.280). After initially giving eight patients iPods, filled with classical music which was chosen by the researcher, and having them voice their displeasure, the researcher allowed the patients to choose their own music to listen to. The patients chose a variety of music with artists such as Suzanne Vega, Eminem and Lil Wayne, which they then also listened to and talked about with her, during ten, thirty minute sessions. Many of these findings below are relevant to this current study, even though the current study is not focused on psychiatric patients.

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The researcher, Ready, found that listening to music via an iPod not only served a therapeutic function of emotional containment for the subjects, but also as a container for the self. “The iPod served as a symbolic container of music, as well as an accepted culturally relevant container of self or identity” (p.284). Today, for many, especially adolescents and young adults, it is a widely accepted belief that we are what, and who, we listen to, and that our portable music players are self-defining. However even more significantly related to several of the premises and aims of this study, Ready, Came to understand the extent to which the impact of trauma and its accompanying emotional complexes are alienating and isolating. A feeling of being ‘other’ is the state of being on the outside of belonging . . . (and) music, as an auxiliary object, could help with repair of repeated experiences of neglect . . . when there is an auxiliary object . . . it also activates areas of the brain (i.e. right inferior parietal lobe, and the fronto-polar cortex) that help integrate the left brain’s narratives with the right brain’s sensory, emotional informationprocessing: in other words it could help with reality testing. This would allow for an enhanced right-brain (non-verbal) connection to the patient essential for therapy . . . (and) in helping to bypass defenses and denial in working with patients (2012, pp. 292-294).

One of Ready’s recommendations for future use and research was to provide all hospitalized psychiatric patients with portable music players filled with a variety of music and recordings. This would also allow them to personalize the iPod by creating playlists of the music they prefer. She says, “The music player could serve as an inexpensive interpersonal mediator, an affect modulator, a mobile aesthetic environmental enhancer,

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an equalizer, and an object of self-representation, integration, and transition” (2012, p.

295). The findings of Ready’s study do clearly validate the benefits of analyzing the music client’s listen to, and it supports the potential benefits of this current research to clinical social work.

Much less research and attention has been given to determining how lyrics in music influence emotional expression but some research has shown that lyrics enhanced listeners’ emotions when listening to sad or angry music (Ready, p2012). In the book Your Playlist Can Change Your Life, the authors have several chapters with titles such as: How to use music to feel happier, how music can organize your brain and how to use music to improve your mood. In the ‘how to use music to feel happier’ chapter, the authors make these suggestions for putting together a playlist: First pick songs you like a lot, pay attention to when a certain song works and when it doesn’t, ingrain songs in your memory, make a playlist that is task oriented, train your brain with your assembled playlist, look for new and old songs, use guided imagery, use a song’s beats per minute (BPM) to help you organize your playlist, use your emotional connection to songs and use your brain’s reward system (Mindlin et al., 2012, p.111).

They then encourage the reader to pick a feeling and think about what it means to them, then choose a song that they associate with that feeling, and visual memories of times when they felt that way, i.e. happy, secure, etc. Then the reader is told to play the song repeatedly and keep pairing their images of times they felt this way with the music in order to reinforce the songs effectiveness in the future. Although this is not what this

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research proposal is suggesting therapists do with their clients, it may be of interest to some.

In the chapter on organizing your brain, the reader is told, “Music can facilitate more organized and clearer thinking, and as such, it can improve your ability to perform at very high level. It is a powerful intervention for disorganized brain activity, and when combined with the organizational power of imagery and meaningful interpretation of lyrics, it is possible to use it to drive key brain systems that facilitate a stable state of improved focus and organization” (p.117). The chapter about using music to improve your mood, tells us “you can use your favorite songs to get you in a mood or out of a mood, to improve your mood and to sustain a mood. This all must start, however, with developing an awareness of how individual tunes influence your feelings and what you think about and how you tend to behave when you hear them” (pp. 161-162). These uses of music, as described by Mindlin et al., would likely be of interest to young adults, and are also uses of music which this study will further explore with participants in both the quantitative and qualitative sections of the research.

Today more young listeners stream their music from sites like Pandora and Spotify, rather than buying music. “Interviews with college-age music fans suggest that more and more are choosing to stream music instead of downloading it. After all, why pay for music when you can summon almost anything? The last time I bought a CD was probably in middle school, and I can’t even remember what it was, said Sean Wilson, 21, of Atlanta, Georgia. Ninety percent of my friends stream music. To be honest, I haven’t seen someone use iTunes in a really long time” (Imam, 2012, p.3). Users can choose any song in Spotify’s database to listen to, or they can create their own playlists. Pandora has

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an app you can download for free on your iPhone and it is like an online radio station that streams music twenty-four hours a day for free, however if the listener does not want to be interrupted with advertisements, they do have to pay a fee. The portability of music is also very important to users. “Recent Georgia Institute of Technology graduate McCall King, 23, says she needs her music accessible all the time. ‘If I could reliably stream music for free to all of my portable devices I would use streaming sites exclusively’.

King says she prefers streaming because it allows her to access a large variety of music” (Imam, 2012, p.5).

To give the reader an idea of some of the music todays’ young adults are likely listening to, I am including a top ten list of songs found on Spotify, one of the most popular sites for streaming music. If some, or many, of the songs are unfamiliar to the reader, take heart and remember that every dream a client brings into therapy is also being heard for the first time, so don’t let the unfamiliarity of a particular song dampen your interest or deter you.

Top 10 Most Streamed Songs on Spotify Ever December 23, 2015 1.

Major Lazer & DJ Snakes - “Lean On”

2. Ed Sheerin – “Thinking out Loud” 3. OMI – “Cheerleader” 4. Mark Ronson (with Bruno Mars) – “Uptown Funk” 5. Hozier – “Take Me to Church” 6. Wiz Khalifa – “See You Again” 7. Sam Smith – “Stay with Me”

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8. Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You do” 9. Clean Bandit – “Rather Be” 10. Imagine Dragon – “Radioactive” Ready, also cites the work of other scientists and ethnomusicologists who have explored some of the potential uses of music which are pertinent to this current study, particularly the idea of the PMP serving a self organizing function: Another area of recent music-based research has explored the importance of emotion in the musical experience of modern listeners (Juslin & Sloboda, 2001), and how music can be used as a way of regulating mood in daily life (Denora, 1999; Sloboda & O’Neill, 2002) . . . In addition, scientists and ethnomusicologists have demonstrated that music can help construct (versus express) a sense of identity (Becker, 2001; Denora,, 2001; Seeger, 1981). Music can change one’s psychological space and allow the listener to be – within the container of the musical piece – another kind of person than the everyday self (Becker, 2001).

(Ready, 2012, p.22) Also the relationship between music and identity in Western culture may be illuminated by studying the process of identity formation in adolescents. One study of British boys showed that they listened to music to create a desired impression on others. Patel (2008) proposed that songs with language and music together are probably more powerful in this regard than instrumental music. Since clearly from the top ten list above, most adolescents and young adults listen to a significant amount of music which includes lyrics. Patel’s research is also germane to the current study.

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Some potential research for the future has also been proposed by Ready who says, “Further research about perception of emotional expression in music will be essential . . . in order to draw more empirically based parallels between how music and speech similarly influence affect . . . listening to and discussing expressive music might have the potential to help psychiatric patients decode emotional communications” (Ready, 2012, p.21).

In ending this musical section of the literature review I would like to encourage the reader to think about what both Nagel and Mancia encourage psychotherapists to do: “We can use our curiosity about affects and their latent meanings as they may be related to object relationships . . . expressed through extraordinary nonverbal – or musical – pathways to develop creative ways to think about psychoanalytic and musical theory, applied psychoananlysis, and clinical practice” (Nagel, 2013, p.29). In his chapter “Psychoanalysis and Music,” Mancia says, Seeing that psychoanalysis is an anthropological method that studies emotions and their symbolic representations and also a clinical practice in which significant forms of the analysand’s feelings are grasped intuitively as courntertransferential feelings, we can legitimately ask to what extent the analytic experience is analogous to the musical experience and whether it can rightly be included in a general meditation on music and the more specific question of the relation between verbal and musical languages. (Mancia, 1993, p. 148)

The Findings of Recent, Relevant Research

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Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who is widely known as the father of psychoanalysis. Freud began his career researching cerebral anatomy and aphasia, however his work in an asylum sparked his interest in clinical work and eventually led him to enter private practice as a specialist in nervous disorders. He tried to link psychological phenomena to neurological functioning and eventually, after the death of his father in 1896, Freud began to develop the theories and practice of psychoanalysis.

He did not have the technology necessary, at that time, in order to prove some of his theories, but 120 years later we do, and some of Freud’s ideas about the mind-brain connection have been shown to be true.

In 2000 Eric Kandel won a Nobel Prize in physiology for his research on the physiobiological basis of memory storage in neurons. He had studied psychoanalysis and wanted to understand how memory works. His findings led to the development of neuropsychoanalysis, which is an integration of psychodynamic and neuropsychobiological concepts. Since that time, there has been an explosion of research in the field of neuroscience which has informed psychoanalytic theory and clinical work.

Why is neuroscience relevant to clinical practice? There are many reasons neuroscience is relevant to clinical practice. However, I believe the primary reason it is relevant is because it provides clinicians with essential information about their clients’ disorders which they couldn’t possibly know, intuit or otherwise understand. There are several psychiatric disorders that psychoanalysis has been presented with, which cannot be explained by psychoanalytic theory such as: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), autism, learning disorders etc. For example, in one study researchers used an emotional version of the classic Stroop test and administered it

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to a group of subjects repeatedly. The Stroop test is the test that shows subjects cards with words written on them, in either a different color (i.e. a card with the letters R E D written in purple ink), or the same color (i.e. a card with the letters R E D written in red ink). The test measures speed of processing and attention, and two of the findings are that we are faster at word recognition than color recognition because it requires more attention to get the color correct, and that different pathways in the brain are developed for different tasks – some pathways are stronger than others.

One of the findings of the research using the emotional version of the Stroop, was that “unlike healthy subjects, patients with GAD failed to adapt to emotional conflict” (Etkin, 2011. P.43). This is just one example of a psychiatric disorder that can neither be explained by psychoanalytic theory, nor is it cured by using some of the methods of traditional talk therapy such as empathy, interpretations and insight. Although today there is clear evidence of the efficacy of psychoanalytic psychotherapy (both empirical and clinical), there are brain differences, or abnormalities that are not altered by traditional psychoanalytic methods and that is why psychotherapists need neuroscience to help them better understand and treat their clients. As Ginot says, “using the accumulating neuropsychological knowledge, we need to better understand the elements that may impede structural change as well as the ones that enhance and sustain it. It is not that neuropsychology can provide us with the only answers we need to gain a better understanding . . . for the origins, and all-encompassing brain/mind processes . . . but it can only help us understand what we are dealing with” (2015, p.165).

Another potential problem for psychodynamic psychotherapists would be if they were to ignore the neurobiological issues of patients. For example if they do not refer a

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client for a medication evaluation when it is indicated. This poses a potentially dangerous problem for some patients, such as those who are suffering with the symptoms of PTSD, GAD, or clinical depression. “By looking inward, we gain a subjective impression of our minds – a view from the inside, as it were. This is the method of studying the mind that psychoanalysis uses. The physical organ of the brain provides a second perceptual viewpoint on the mind – an ‘objective’ perspective – a view of the mind as a thing . . . It is for this reason that psychoanalysis, at this point in its history, has a great deal to gain from collaboration with the neurosciences, and vice versa” (Solms et al., 2002, pp. 275-276).

If we are to deeply understand our patients and experience empathy with their conditions, we cannot ignore the neurobiological processes that are taking place inside them. “Neuropsychology has studied the relationship between neurology and symptoms (the relationship between symptoms and brain function) and psychoanalysis looks at the unconscious and conscious of the individual, not simply their symptoms and behavior. It looks at their subjective experience, and the meanings they attach to the experience.

Neuropsychology looks at the impact of brain development on the development of the self. This bottom-up approach can lead to the integration of psychiatry and neurology.

Dynamic systems theory is the best hope for integrating these two systems (Basically, dynamic systems theory attempts to encompass all the possible factors that may be in operation at any given developmental moment.). We need to look at this as an evolutionary process – the evolutionary developmental perspective” (Palombo, J. lecture, 2007, October 5).

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Neuroscience is also relevant to clinical work in terms of the significance of the research on emotional regulation. It highlights the differences between explicit, conscious, processes, and implicit, unconscious and automatic processes, which is of great importance to clinicians’ understanding of their clients’ struggles with emotional regulation.

The importance of regulating emotional impulses in general, and anxiety in particular, was highlighted by early psychodynamic theorizing, dating back to Sigmund Freud, who made anxiety regulation the centerpiece of a psychodynamic theory of mental life. It has not been until recently, however, that neuroscience has provided a brain basis for emotion regulation, and, together with advances in affective science, has led to a new and evolving conceptualization of emotion regulation. (Etkin, 2011, p.42).

Just one example, is the neuroscience research which has studied the amygdala’s role in processing social emotions or reading others’ facial expressions, which is an essential component of emotional regulation. Accurately reading the faces of others to determine if they are friendly, angry, annoyed, flirting or threatening, enables us to respond appropriately. If the amygdala is damaged, the individual may be impaired in his ability to recognize specific emotions in others.

Some early implicit memories may be more accessible through music than speech, particularly when working with those who are grappling with alexithymia, such as clients with EDT or PTSD. As mentioned previously, the organization Songwriting with Soldiers works specifically with veterans struggling with PTSD (see Yurco, 2014).

Schore’s work which focuses on right-brain affect regulation appears to support the value

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of using music in therapy, especially with patients who have experienced trauma and/or neglect early in life. He discusses the importance of accessing these often unconscious, emotional, memories through affective methods. Schore says, “Therapy is not the left brain talking cure but the right brain affect communicating and regulating cure” (podcast, 2010). He also discusses the belief that verbal interpretations are not enough when working with these patients, and he quotes Karen Maroda, who says, “Interpretation given when affect is needed amounts to anti-communication, resulting in the patient getting worse.” In speaking on the topic of affect regulation and the origin of the self Schore states, The clinician must address the right brain. Verbal interpretations or addressing the left hemisphere of the brain alone is not effective. We must help the patient get in touch with his or her affective states. There is a neurobiological basis for emotional regulation/dysregulation which the use of music might be better suited to help the patient not only get in touch with, but to process i.e. more beneficial in the processing of emotional trauma than traditional talk therapy and the use of insight would be. This addresses the fundamental problems of how and why early events permanently affect the development of the self (podcast, 2010).

LeDoux relays the story of a French physician named Claparede who worked with a woman who was unable to form new memories due to brain damage. Every time he walked into her room he needed to reintroduce himself to her, because she had no memory of ever having seen him before. One day, Claparede decided to conceal a tack in the palm of his hand prior to shaking hands with her, so when the woman shook his hand she was pricked by the tack. She quickly pulled her hand away and the next time

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Claparede entered her room, although she still did not recognize him, she refused to shake his hand. She couldn’t tell him why she wouldn’t shake his hand, but she still refused to do it.

Claparede had come to signify danger. He . . . had become a stimulus with a specific emotional meaning. Although the patient did not have a conscious memory of the situation, subconsciously she learned that shaking Claparede’s hand could cause her harm, and her brain used this stored information, this memory, to prevent the unpleasantness from occurring again (1996, pp. 180-181).

This event took place in 1911, but today due to neuroscientific research, we know that there were actually two different memory systems at work in Claparede’s patient. One system is involved in forming conscious, explicit memories, but the other system operates outside of conscious awareness, yet controls one’s behavior without them having any conscious or explicit memory of the event. This type of memory reflects implicit, nonverbal, fear conditioning which a person, or client, does not have control over.

Understanding how these memory systems work provides therapists with a means to better appreciate and empathize with their clients.

“One of the major contributions from neuroscience is the description and definition of the different forms of memories and the kind of information embedded in each one” (Rustin, 2013, p.57). From the beginning of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, explicit memory has been privileged in therapy. Yet again, due to neuroscientific research, it is clear that therapists need to acknowledge and understand the other forms of memory. It is important clinically to realize there are different

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pathways which are needed to access experiences which cannot yet be expressed verbally.

In fact, the inaccessible workings of the brain/mind notwithstanding, we still recognize unconscious patterns and motivation, actions carried out of awareness . . . in bodily sensations, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors – often inextricably entwined. Paradoxically, this reciprocal relationship between the conscious and the unconscious makes our understanding of unconscious processes and repetitions at once more complex and more accurate and could lead us toward better psychological treatment. (Ginot, 2015, pp. 55-56).

This information also supports the aims of the current study, which is to explore the ways listening to music via a portable music player may enhance the ability of clients and therefore their therapists, to access their internal worlds.

In his book The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation, Porges discusses how trauma affects a person’s social engagement system, and the challenges this may present for therapists who work them. He describes how the autonomic nervous system (ANS) of the individual can be in the fight/flight mode, even when there is no danger. Most therapists employ direct face-to-face contact with their clients, which may actually trigger their fears and result in defensive reactions. Porges suggests that with these clients we might actually use music to calm their ANS and activate their social engagement system.

Music therapy provides a special portal to reengage the social engagement system . . . Music can be used to stimulate the social engagement system without requiring face-to-face reciprocity. Since melodic music contains acoustic

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properties similar to vocal prosody, music may be used to recruit the social engagement system by challenging and modulating the neural regulation of the middle ear muscles. If the social engagement system is effectively recruited, positive facial expressions will emerge, eye gaze will spontaneously be directed at the therapist, and the traumatized individuals will shift to a more calm and positive physiological state (2011, p.253).

When a therapist notices a client is struggling with the residual effects of trauma, and is having difficulty during a session, perhaps asking if they would like to play a favorite song on their PMP, in the moment, might allow the client to relax and increase their ability to be present?

In Ginot’s book, The Neuropsychology of the Unconscious she presents a new model of the unconscious which has materialized from the integration of neuropsychological research with clinical practice. The heading of one section of the book is “The Power of Neural Lessons: We Only Know What We Learn” (2015, P.122).

This is something perhaps most, if not all, therapists eventually realize when working with clients. That no matter how intelligent or educated a client is, he or she will inevitably keep repeating old emotional and relational patterns in spite of a stated desire to change them, because these archaic patterns are learned early in life and are deeply embedded in their brain/mind processes. For example, knowing the meaning of the words “try to relax” does not translate for some clients into an actual knowing of what the bodily felt experience of relaxing is like. This is why learning new ways of responding to cues in one’s environment are hampered by each individual’s archaic, reflexive and

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automatic defenses. As one therapist recently wrote via a list-serve e-mail, “We perceive what we expect to receive.” Ginot said, On a subjective level, repetitions feel natural and necessary – they are all we know . . . What we largely fail to appreciate is how the brain/mind’s habitual ways of functioning resist new alternatives in real time, when old self-systems are activated. At the most fundamental but important level, this resistance is rooted in the biological reality that dictates that any felt and implemented changes need to first be registered and encoded on a neurological level. As brain/mind processes dictate, only neural shifts can lead to a psychological one, a fact that further explains the roadblocks to change. This process is especially significant in light of the countless networks and connections that constitute the brain/mind functioning. (p.124).

In order to combat this largely unconscious resistance, a therapist needs to be dynamically involved with the client’s persistent but failed self-other emotional patterns.

She must remain actively engaged especially after repeated enactments, and be able to convey empathically both her observations and emotional experiences to the client. This enhances a client’s ability to more fully see and understand these patterns. Becoming more knowledgeable of neuroscientific findings allows a therapist to empathize more deeply with just how difficult it can be for a client to alter their system of defenses. Reik called these systems of defense character armor which he defined as “the scaffolding of defenses encoded in a person’s nervous system in response to strong emotional memories of misattunement with a caregiver, or memories of neglect or trauma” (Ready, 2012, p.10). The literature on different types of implicit emotion regulation is growing, but as

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Etkin (2011) says the relationship between these neuroscientific findings and psychodynamic theories of defense and the unconscious processes are still not clear.

The Progression of Psychoanalytic Theories Sigmund Freud is recognized as one of the most influential and innovative thinkers of the twentieth century. He is universally known as the founder of psychoanalysis; a theory and method of explaining and treating mental and emotional problems by having a patient talk about his feelings, memories and dreams. Freud generated several theories of human development such as infantile sexuality, which eventually led to his formulation of the Oedipus complex. He also created the tripartite model of the structure of the mind; the id, Ego and superego, and developed therapeutic techniques such as free association, dream analysis and transference analysis. Many of his concepts have stood the test of time and continue to be influential, such as the impact of early childhood experiences in shaping personality, the primacy of the unconscious psychological processes, psychic causality, and the defenses. There is no doubt, that in spite of all of the changes to psychoanalytic theories and techniques since Freud’s time, his influence in almost all fundamental respects can be traced back to his original work.

Freud’s classic psychoanalytic technique or the talking cure is an example of a one-person psychology, in that the analyst was to provide little information about himself so the client could use him as a blank screen, in order to access the material in his unconscious without interference from the outside. Therapy was centered on the analyst meeting with a client multiple times a week, frequently for years, and having the client lie on the couch and speak freely while the analyst sat in a chair behind him taking notes.

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The ultimate aim of this technique was to use interpretation and insight to alleviate a client’s symptoms and free him from his illusions.

Since Freud’s time, psychoanalysis has evolved and many of his concepts have been reformulated and now include several new and innovative approaches to understanding the mind-brain processes that are at work in motivating human behavior.

“Psychoanalysis has traditionally concerned itself with the capture of what cannot be touched – unconscious dynamics, unarticulated feelings, invisible fields, and immaterial minds. In recent decades we have recognized that our embodied selves and subjectivities are in the room. We are not blank screens, but communicate aspects of who we are all the time” (Bean, 2016). So, the changes that ensued were due to changes in theories and techniques. Two-person psychologies developed as a reaction to the limitations of this approach. In two-person psychologies the therapist is seen as a co-participant in therapy.

“This format includes the beliefs, hopes, fears, commitments, needs and wishes of both the therapist and the patient” (Safran & Muran, 2000, pp.38-40). For the therapist, this means she must be aware that her client is effected by what she does, and/or what she fails to do. In other words, a client’s perception of who her therapist is, is not solely a transference of aspects of the client’s previous relationships onto the therapist – the client is also picking up on, and experiencing, real facets of the therapist’s self.

Also, rather than privileging insight as the most important factor in the change process as classic psychoanalysis has during the last 30 years or more, emphasis has been given to the importance of new experience. For example, a client’s relationship with their therapist can provide a new experience which can be a very important means to achieve change. A psychodynamic therapist typically uses empathy and a non-

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judgmental approach with clients in order to provide them with an environment where they will feel safe enough to share their experiences. By becoming aware of one’s internal experiences, an aspect of one’s actions or becoming aware of some aspect of their construction of reality as it takes place, a client can experience new possibilities.

There has also been an ever increasing realization by clinicians that there are limits to what classic talk therapy can help individuals achieve in therapy. This is a widespread understanding and it is certainly not limited to one particular psychodynamic school of thought. In a fairly recent issue of The Psychotherapy Networker magazine the editor said, “We’ve learned that in many ways, exclusive reliance on the talking cure and the cognitive mind can limit our capacity to be helpful with our clients. Advances in brain science, mindfulness practice, and somatic therapies have shown us that it often takes more than logic, kindness, and support to help people expand their capacity to engage with life” (Simon, 2014, p.41).

In the same magazine, this new understanding of the limits of talk therapy is expressed by many prominent clinicians such as Larson and van der Kolk. Larson discusses the impact on infants and children when parents are not attuned and fail to regulate their stress. This is how she describes what ensues, Without attunement, the infant’s brain has two major options: hyperarousal or dissociation. A hyper-aroused child’s world is dominated by hypervigilance, emotional reactivity, and vulnerability to intrusive imagery. A more dissociative child experiences the numbing of emotions, diminished sensation, disabled cognitive processing, and lack of empathy (Larson, 2014, p.27).

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If clients with a history of early developmental trauma are incapable of verbalizing what is going on inside them or regulating their emotions when something or someone including their therapist triggers a re-experiencing of the trauma, what can therapists do in order to reach and help them?

You need to get below the verbal system to transform these deeper animal layers of fear and terror. Also, the parts of the brain that give you a sense of self – who you are, what your priorities are, what you really believe in, what that passion feels like in your body – is knocked out by trauma. Conventional psychotherapy simply will not get those parts of the brain back online. Trauma is replayed not in your frontal lobe, but in your emotional brain. So in order to recover, people need to access the limbic system, which has a life of its own and is barely affected by cognition. There are almost no pathways from the conscious brain into the limbic brain (van der Kolk, 2014, p.44).

Many contemporary psychoanalytic theorists have also moved away from a classical Freudian focus on the drives of sexuality and aggression, to emotion theory which emphasizes the need for human relatedness. It recognizes that we are intrinsically interpersonal beings. Conflict still plays an important role in psychopathology, but relational theorists see that conflict as occurring between different relational configurations rather than between instincts and society. Emotions are biologically based and they play an adaptive role in survival. For example, in the process of infants’ attachment to a caregiver, several studies have shown infants have the ability to understand and imitate the emotional states of others. “The transformation of affect and thus, self-experience, is a complex process that occurs verbally and non-verbally

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throughout a treatment, or throughout early childhood” (Lachmann, 2008, p.12). Our emotions inform us, for example sadness is typically a response to loss, anger a response to a violation and fear a response to danger etc.

Those who have difficulty accessing their full range of emotional experience are therefore deprived of important information. “Emotions can thus be thought of as a type of embodied knowledge . . . As such, they are at the core of subjective and intersubjective meaning” (Safran & Muran, 2000, p.43). So, if emotions construct our self-experience from the very start, it follows that therapists need to help clients access and use their affect to transform their self-experience. Attention to embodied countertransference could be especially important when working with patients who may have suffered preverbal trauma which they cannot communicate verbally, according to McDougall (1978), and thus they tend to use actions and somatic symptoms as forms of communication” (Ready, 2012, p.11).

Unconscious appraisal and communication was described by Ferenczi (1915) as “the dialogues of the unconscious’ . . . where the unconscious of two people completely understand themselves and each other, without the remotest conception of this on the part of the consciousness of either” (Safran & Muran, 2000, p.45). This unconscious appraisal and communication, albeit one-way, is what may occur when a listener hears a particular song and identifies with an aspect of the internal world of the singer/songwriter. These unconscious processes are also very important in the therapist’s understanding of her patients. Theodore Reik (1948) and countless others since his time, have thought our unconscious appraisal and communication processes are far more important in our impressions of others than our conscious perceptions.

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Why do people persist in self-defeating patterns? It may be due to trauma or loss, or any number of events in our lives, but particularly those from one’s infancy and early childhood. Freud said ‘the child is father to the man,” which reflects his understanding that early life experiences, do indeed, play a decisive role in personality development and therefore in pathology. If a child does not have a ‘good enough’ mother or a ‘facilitating environment’ as Winnicott believed was necessary for healthy psychological development, the child develops a complex defense system in order to survive. Some theorists believe that we perceive and shape new relationships according to pre-structured ideas about how people connect. These structures are taken from previous relationships, and the hunger for attachment, the longing for connection and the loyalty to old object ties propel people to seek out others, however an individual can get stuck playing the same rigid roles repeatedly in their endless search for a secure attachment in relationships. Stephen Mitchell called these “self-perpetuating cycles of internal representations, actions and characteristic actions of others the relational matrix” (Safran & Muran, 2000, p.61).

Winnicott, respected the child’s use of transitional objects and transitional space, and his freedom to create and enjoy illusions. He believed a child could gradually move from his illusions of omnipotence, to experiencing his mother as a separate and independent entity. This could be achieved, in part, through the child’s use of a transitional object. Winnicott defined the transitional object as “the infant’s first ‘not me’ possession. It is the symbolic equivalent of the space between the infant’s subjective experience and the mother – the beginnings of symbolic capacity” (1953 p.90).

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Milner says that Winnicott understood that the transitional object was a ‘symbol of a journey – it seems really to be a two way journey; both to the finding of the objective reality of the subject – the I AM. The good transitional object can also help to enlarge the child’s objectively perceived world by serving as a trusty companion to hold onto while entering new territories . . . The new, the unknown, by itself can be frightening for the small child, but carrying the faithful transitional object establishes a bridge between the old and known and the new and unknown . . . In this sense, the transitional object is part of Piaget’s ‘assimilative schemata’, without which accommodation to the new cannot meaningfully occur (Grolnick, 1978).

Grolnick also describes a continuum from a child’s use of transitional objects such as a teddy bear to an adults’ use of lucky objects, photos and music and says these are the natural successors to our first transitional objects.

Due to the present day recognition by many clinicians of the prevalence of early developmental trauma issues in their patients, a synopsis of the development of trauma therapy is included here. Janina Fisher has put the past 25 years of the evolution of trauma treatment together beginning in 1989 when she was interning at a big city hospital. She says, Most of our patients – everyone from university professors to working-class families to the homeless and chronically mentally ill – were suffering the effects of some unrecognized traumatic experience. I say unrecognized because, back then, we only connected the word trauma to combat veterans or victims of sexual violence (Fisher, 2014 p. 33).

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To give the reader an idea of just how new the field of trauma work was, in 1989 it had only been 9 years since PTSD was an official diagnosis in the DSM. Fisher says all patients were not asked about early abuse or trauma, as a matter of course. The prevalent, Freudian, role for therapists was to remain neutral and say as little as necessary. In the early 1990’s the authors of The Courage to Heal, a self-help book about childhood sexual abuse, suggested therapists’ work was to piece together the victims’ stories of abuse, and encourage them to confront their abusers. But, Fisher saw the negative effects of using this type of approach with patients, including the retraumatization of the victims.

Judith Herman, who had been studying the relationship between borderline personality and childhood abuse, believed a slower, more patient approach to working with traumatized patients was necessary. Today, the idea of stabilizing patients first, in order to avoid re-traumatizing them is a standard in trauma treatment. Herman also believed informing patients about PTSD was important in keeping the power imbalance in the therapeutic relationship to a minimum, and in “providing information that made sense of the client’s symptoms and helping them to understand their intense reactions as survival adaptations to a dangerous and coercive childhood environment” (Fisher, 2014, p.35). Her idea was that knowledge gave trauma victims more power.

In the late 1990’s neuroscience was introduced to trauma work by van der Kolk, who believed that “traumatic memory included not just images and narratives, but also intrusive emotions, sensory phenomena, autonomic arousal, and physical actions and reactions . . . and the message that trauma often lives non-verbally in the body and brain” (Fisher, 2014, p.36). This was controversial at the time, because bodily-based treatments

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were not yet accepted as valid therapeutic methods. The development of brain scan technology resulted in research findings which supported van der Kolk’s ideas and an alliance between traumatologists and neurobiologists formed. This resulted in a challenge to the dominance of talk therapy and has influenced the work of all therapists – not just those who work in trauma treatment. Many therapists who have relied primarily on verbal and cognitive techniques, have now realized they need to find other methods of working with clients which are not so reliant on the use of words. Methods that would be capable of addressing the shutdown of clients’ brains and bodies when they were reexperiencing traumatic events. Some of these newer, and initially suspect therapies have gained acceptance and are commonly used today; EMDR, sensorimotor psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, yoga therapy and neurofeedback. All of these therapies have been implemented in order to address the brain’s inability to process traumatic experiences.

Fisher was convinced of the efficacy of EMDR when she used it with a client who had a phobia of riding escalators, since childhood, and in one session she was able to overcome her phobia. She says it confirmed her belief that the solution to trauma recovery wasn’t found in reliving the past, but rather having a different experience in the present. “It also confirmed my belief that trauma treatment shouldn’t have to hurt too much . . . it never felt fair to me for the treatment to be as painful as the effects it was treating, or for my traumatized clients to have to suffer all over again to be well” (Fisher, 2014 p.38). This shift in the focus of treatment methods are all germane, and give credence to, the current study’s goal of using the music clients listen to, as a safer and potentially more effective way of gaining access to the contents of their internal worlds.

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Schore, LeDoux and Siegel have all challenged the dominance of the mind as the foundation of human emotional life, and have focused our attention on the ways the brain effects our ability to use our minds. Each has: argued that not just social-emotional development, but the slowly maturing brain and nervous system could be dramatically and perhaps permanently affected by early attachment relationships, neglect and trauma . . . Whereas we once believed that the symptoms and behavior exhibited by our clients were a reflection primarily of their psychological defenses – a view that attributed a degree of intentionality, no matter how unconscious – now, we better understand the symptoms as manifestations of instinctive brain and bodily survival responses (Fisher, 2014, p.38).

Now it is understood that sympathetic nervous system (CNS) stimulation, creates rage and anxiety, whereas parasympathetic dominance causes shutdown and passiveaggressive behaviors, flight reactions prompt flight from the therapist’s office, and fight reactions may lead to verbal or physical assaults or self-harm. It is also understood that the focus of therapy should be on post-traumatic growth (PTG), which is not simply dealing with the trauma, but helping clients to grow from it. As stated previously, problems with self-regulation are prominent issues for those seeking therapy. Selfregulation depends upon integration, and because the linkages to different areas of the brain are damaged by trauma we must work towards helping our clients integrate their unconscious and bodily-based reactions with their conscious understanding of what happened to them. Healing, or PTG is associated with an increased ability to change one’s narrow or lopsided perspective to a more balanced one. Daniel Siegel says one of

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the signs a person has been able to integrate their trauma is when they have been able to forgive their abusers. He says, “Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a different past, not continuing to hate the abuser, nor is it saying what they did was ok” (Siegel, 2015, lecture).

A significant difference between relational theory and traditional psychoanalytic thought is in its theory of motivation, which gives primary importance to real interpersonal relationships, rather than to instinctual drives. Karl Abraham is known to have invented and developed the theory of object relations (see his 1927 paper).

However Melanie Klein, who was an analysand of Ferenczi’s, is credited with developing the modern theory of object relations and she is also seen as a key figure in the transition from Freud’s drive model to the relational model. Her emphasis on the unconscious fantasies and the real object relations of the pre-oedipal infant and the mother continues to be a primary focus of relational psychoanalysis. This is a stage that begins with there being no differentiation between self and object, for the infant. This stage of development, from the mother’s perspective, brings to mind a quote by the writer Margaret Atwood; “I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary” (1987, p.30).

Donnel Stern, developed one of the most unified models in relational psychoanalytic theory. He was also one of the first to study the mother/infant dyad through the lens of a high-speed camera. The following is a list of Stern’s stages of the development of inter-subjectivity in an infant’s object relationships: •

First 6 months – the basic patterns of behavior learned serve as a prototype for all later interpersonal exchanges

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•

0-2 months - the emergent self – unity of experience thru the senses/feelings

•

2-6 months - the core self – infant experiences self with other, self-agency, self-coherence, self-affectivity, and self- history

•

7-15 months - there is a deliberately sought sharing of experience

•

16 months & on – The verbal self. When the child has language and the capacity for symbolic play, along with the tools to distort and transcend reality. (1985)

Stern expanded upon earlier thinking about repressed experiences and said, “Much of that which is ordinarily said to be repressed is merely unformulated . . . What is distinctive and particularly contemporary about the notion of unformulated experience is that it is composed not of specific repressed contents, but of vast domains of sensation, perception and thought . . . this includes not just material defended against but rich sources of creativity.” (Mitchell and Aron, 1999 p.78) This area of research is of particular interest to the current study, in that the transitional space which music provides the listener may also present an opportunity for the conscious processing of one’s unformulated experience.

Fairbairn also contributed to the relational model with his concept that internal objects were established by the child in order to cope with the failures of the real external objects, and his emphasis on the object seeking, rather than pleasure seeking, motivations of the infant. He also believed that psychopathology was caused by disturbances in the infants’ relations with others, not by conflicts with pleasure seeking impulses.

Winnicott’s ideas regarding the conditions necessary for the healthy development of the

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child, such as the good enough mother who provides a holding environment in which the child is both experienced and contained, are also relational formulations. Lacan was one of the first to point out the bidirectional influence between the analyst and the analysand, and Loewald suggested neutrality could include the analyst’s love for the patient, which would provide them with a loving, new object.

Kohut also believed relatedness to others was essential to survival. He believed “the oxygen of psychological life is to be found in an affirming, supportive and validating milieu and that the need for such an atmosphere exists from birth to death” (Siegel, 1996, p.IX). A child’s early selfobjects’ (their caretakers) consistently attuned responses, resulted in the development of a healthy self. However, if a child’s caretaker(s) were consistently misattuned, Kohut believed this was traumatic and therefore normal, healthy, narcissistic development, and the attainment of a healthy self, would be thwarted.

Therefore, Kohut’s understanding of what was curative in therapy was grounded in his belief that narcissistic vulnerabilities play a major role in the types of suffering which prompt clients to enter treatment, and that a therapist’s ability to use vicarious introspection—or empathy—above all else, was the essential data collecting tool needed to understand his clients’ internal, mental lives. Free association and the analyses of a client’s resistance are the means which allow the data to be observed, and emerge. Kohut rejected the psychology of drives, and instead focused on the vulnerable self. At the center of Kohut’s Self Psychology was his desire to understand each individual’s emotional states, and help them to heal and recover from their early narcissistic injuries.

Stephen Mitchell, Jay Greenberg and countless others continued to contribute to the development of contemporary relational psychoanalysis. (Mascialino, 2008) In 2006

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the American Psychological Association (APA) formally endorsed the relational foundations of psychotherapy and the centrality of the therapeutic alliance. A few years later, Schore was invited by the APA to speak about “The Paradigm Shift: The Right Brain and the Relational Unconscious. He said, “This relational trend in psychotherapy had largely evolved from seminal contributions of psychodynamic clinicians, including Sullivan (1953), Kohut (1971), Mitchell (1988), and more recently, Bromberg (2011)” (Schore, 2014, p.388). In the same period there was a similar paradigm shift in psychotherapy, to a relational two-person psychology which was influenced by recent advances in attachment theory. “The organizing principle of this work dictates that ‘the self organization of the developing brain occurs in the context of a relationship with another self, another brain’” (Schore, 2014, p.389).

Contemporary Relational Psychoanalysis, attained recognition and extensive acceptance during the past 30 years or so, and claims the primary motivation of the psyche is to be in relationships with others. It also emphasizes the consequences of early relationships with primary caregivers which shape the individual’s expectations of others, and which leads to attempts to recreate these early, learned relational patterns with others throughout their lives. This type of recreation is an example of an enactment, and the experience is even further complicated by the fact that the individual is compromised in his ability to become aware of any other possible explanations or aspects of the situation, because their focus, in-the-moment, is so limited. Sandor Ferenczi’s concept of mutual analysis and Otto Rank’s theory of the self within a relational context, were early contributions to the development of the theory and an eventual paradigm shift in

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psychoanalysis. They were both contemporaries of Freud, and their ideas opened up the possibility of a relational orientation to psychoanalysis.

It is now widely accepted that just about every significant psychiatric disorder reveals some disturbance during the individual’s early developmental processes Attachment theory has experienced significant change and expansion over the last two decades, the focus has shifted from attachment behaviors in the strange situation, to cognition, attachment narratives, reflective capacities, and now to affective, bodily-based processes. Bowlby’s original goal of combining the psychological and biological models of human development has now come to fruition due to the current research and attention that has been placed on the functions of the right brain – the neurobiological core of the human unconscious. The result is that attachment theory has now become more of a regulation theory.

Attachment theory is deceptively simple on the surface: it posits that the real relationships of the earliest stages of life indelibly shape our survival functions in basic ways, and that for the rest of the life span attachment processes lie at the center of human experience. We now can explain in depth why this is so: as a result of interdisciplinary developmental and neurobiological research . . .

Bowlby’s core ideas have been expanded into a more complex and clinically relevant model (Schore & Schore, 2007, p.1).

This move to an emphasis on affect and affect regulation has provided psychotherapists with a model for both understanding psychopathology and for working effectively with individuals who have experienced early developmental, relational trauma. “In the seventh annual John Bowlby lecture, Schore proposed that the empathic

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therapist’s capacity to regulate the patient’s arousal state within the affectively charged nonconscious transference-countertransference relationship is critical to clinical effectiveness” (p.2). As a result of these changes, modern attachment theory has increased its relevance not only in clinical social work, but it has also increased its connections to other disciplines as well, such as psychoanalysis, psychiatry, traumatology and pediatrics.

Cozolino’s work also builds upon modern attachment theory, and its’ emphasis on the lifelong impact early relationships have on all future relationships. Through his research on interpersonal neurobiology, or the - the social brain he found: Healthy early relationships provide for optimal sculpting of the many networks of the social brain that allows us to think well of ourselves, trust others, regulate our emotions, maintain positive expectation, and utilize our intellectual and emotional intelligence in problem-solving. Interpersonal neurobiology is the study of how we attach and grow, interconnect throughout life, become dysregulated and unhealthy, and regain emotional balance and mental health through activation of the neuroplastic processes in the brain that help to alter patterns of implicit memory, behavior and feelings. (Cozolino, 2006, p.16) He describes how brain scientists traditionally studied the brain through scanners, and how this detached method of study, although useful, gave us a limited and insufficient understanding of both what can cause some brain pathology, and what is necessary to prevent or treat it. He cites a horrible event where children in orphanages were dying of infectious diseases and in an attempt to reduce the death rate, physicians gave instructions to separate the children, and minimizing their interactions with staff.

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The result, of course, was that even more children died, and it wasn’t until the children were held and rocked that they began to improve. The lesson was clear, “Without mutually stimulating interactions, people and neurons wither and die. In neurons this process is called apoptosis; in humans it is called depression, grief and suicide” (p.17).

This information from modern attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology appears to support this researcher’s belief that listening to music, particularly via a PMP, may provide the listener with this much needed other to intra-psychically understand, and hold, them. It also supports the literature on the importance for psychotherapists to focus on their own, and their clients’, emotional lives and the quality of the relationships they forge together.

While reading this proposal, you may have found yourself wondering, and asking ‘what about the therapist or analyst’s experiences and uses of music in the therapeutic setting?” To answer that (potential) question a quote and a synopsis of an article review is included, which should provide some more food for thought regarding that question.

“Music has always been of interest to psychoanalysts, who recognize that it affords a powerful form for affective expression. We listen for the music in our patients’ speech, the prosody that indicates the significance, and often the true meaning, of their spoken words. In this way we listen like the baby listens to its mother’s voice, as she listens to the baby, before words have meanings” (Litowitz, 2008, p. 1189). A review of an article

by Lombardi titled “Time, music and reverie” focuses on one analyst’s answer to that question - the music that can be evoked in the therapist, in the midst of a reverie, “as he listens to his patients struggle to express and contain their unformed and overwhelming emotions. Lombardi describes patients who failed to receive needed, early dyadic

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support for affect regulation and how music, intruding in the analyst’s reverie enabled a reparative attunement to be reengaged in the analytic couple” (Litowitz, 2008, p.1189).

When a parent abuses, neglects or abandons a child, the message the child frequently hears is that he or she is unlovable and unacceptable.

Non-loving behavior signals to the child that the world is a dangerous place and tells him; do not explore, do not discover, and do not take chances. When children are traumatized, abused or neglected, they are being given the message that they are not among the chosen . . . we could say that what doesn’t kill us makes us weaker . . . Our survival, as human babies, is based upon our abilities to detect the needs and intentions of those around us” (Cozolino, 2006, p.18).

This information, and the quotes from Litowitz and Cozolino bring to mind one (of many) song lyrics which have come into my own mind when sitting with and listening to clients. The title of the song is “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson, and the lyrics have been added below to give the reader an example of how closely the lyrics of a song can capture not only a clients’ internal experiences, conflicts and pain, etc. for the listening therapist, they can also confirm or support the findings of research on attachment and interpersonal neurobiology.

“Because of You” I will not make the same mistakes that you did I will not let myself Cause my heart so much misery I will not break the way you did, You fell so hard I've learned the hard way To never let it get that far

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Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me Because of you I am afraid I lose my way And it's not too long before you point it out I cannot cry Because I know that's weakness in your eyes I'm forced to fake A smile, a laugh every day of my life My heart can't possibly break When it wasn't even whole to start with Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me Because of you I am afraid I watched you die I heard you cry every night in your sleep I was so young You should have known better than to lean on me You never thought of anyone else You just saw your pain And now I cry in the middle of the night For the same damn thing Because of you

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I never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything Because of you I don't know how to let anyone else in Because of you I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty Because of you I am afraid Because of you Because of you

Lombardi discusses his work with a particular client whose feelings were frozen, and how his own musical reverie enabled him to connect to her feelings of intense anxiety, which resulted in not only a breakthrough, in the moment, for the client, but it “turned out to herald a subsequent phase of Arianna’s analysis, in which music played an explicit part in our dialogue, becoming an important element of communication between us. Indeed, our shared passion for music greatly strengthened our shared participation in the work at hand. Far from being a form of collusion, this allowed us to approach subjects that were critical to the internal and relational functioning of a patient whose commitment to analysis . . . had at the outset been very shaky” (2008, p.1202).

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Summary In this literature review, I have attempted to provide the reader with a somewhat comprehensive picture of not only the goals of late adolescence and young adulthood, but also the pitfalls or barriers to achieving these goals. I have also included a fairly thorough exploration of the history the development and uses of music by human-beings, including the methods traditionally utilized by music therapists in their work with clients suffering with a wide range of difficulties. The section of the literature review, which focuses on neuroscience and the results of more recent research, should give the reader an ample amount of evidence to support this researcher’s, and others, beliefs that therapists and their clients can benefit from discovering and incorporating new, more promising, modes of working clinically, in order to access right-brain memories and processes which have proven to be fundamentally unaltered when using more traditional verbal and interpretative techniques. My hope is that I have made enough information and evidence available for the reader/therapist, to be able to seriously consider, and ultimately decide, that it is sufficient enough to prompt them to experiment with integrating the analysis of their clients’ music into their own clinical work.

Certainly while reading the literature on adolescent and young adult development, one can’t miss the emphasis on young adulthood as a period of transition from dependence on the parents during childhood, to the independence of mature adulthood.

Changes in; family relationships, peer relationships, in one’s sense of connectedness with others, in cognitive and physical development, and the individual young adult’s ability to cope with all of these changes, all contribute to the development of a healthy self vs. an unhealthy self.

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Individuation occurs as the young person develops a clearer sense of self as psychologically separate from his or her parents. In Blos’s view the individuation process is marked by the repudiation of the parents, but much of the process is cognitive, not behavioral, and successful individuation is not necessarily accompanied by overt rebellion or oppositionalism” (Feldman & Elliott, 2000, pp.257-258). This new analytic perspective “draws attention to the fact that much of the readjustment in family relations at adolescence is intrapsychic, not only interpersonal: changes in the teenager’s and parents’ conscious and unconscious images of each other therefore, may be just as significant as changes in their behavior toward each other. (Feldman & Elliott, 2000, p.258) It is this emphasis on the intrapsychic aspects of adolescents’ and young adults’ experiences that the current research is proposing may be more readily accessible to therapists via their clients’ use of portable music players.

More than a decade ago, several research studies estimated that adolescents and young adults from the United States and the United Kingdom listened to music between 2.5 to 4 hours each day. In reviewing the literature, I found many articles addressing the current prevalence and dependence, of millions of people worldwide, on smart phones, which are currently among the most widely used type of portable music players. Ready (2012) believed that the prevalence and popularity of portable music players, has also very likely increased the amount of time young adults listen to music on a daily basis.

She also discovered a series of studies which confirmed that when young adults listen to music they prefer, it had a positive effect on their mood, and if the individual was distressed, music was cathartic. However, there was very little research which was

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specifically designed to explore the ways the use of portable music players may influence, change, or shape the internal world of the listener. One of the objectives of this current study is to open the door to more research in this area.

What is it that motivates most people to reach out to a therapist for help? Maddux says, “I would venture to say that in most cases it is also what has brought many of us to our own therapist’s/analyst’s doorstep (or doorsteps) – and us to this work” (2016, p.13).

Many clinicians would agree that early developmental derailments are at the root of most pathology, and this thwarted development results in our feeling disconnected and starving for affection, care and attention. “ . . . an old force that held her rooted to an old ground the pitch of utter loneliness where she herself and all creation seem equally dispersed, weightless, her being a cry to which no echo comes or can ever come.” –Adrienne Rich These words are from Rich’s poem “Transcendental Etude” and Maddux asks, Is this cutting away of an old force perhaps our own – and our patients – the earliest and then often repeated experience of Stephen Mitchell’s hope and dread ? “One means of keeping hope alive is by means of the creative act: whether it be through art, music, poetry or prose or, as I am suggesting, through the ‘art’ of psychoanalysis (2016, p.10).

This study proposes that we combine the art of music with the art of psychoanalysis, and create new ways of working with clients to help them access, understand and alter their old forces.

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It is also important to keep in mind Fisher’s statement about the significance of the neuroscience research, which has made it clear that many of the symptoms and behaviors therapists are observing in their clinical populations, particularly during an enactment, are actually manifestations of brain and bodily based survival responses, and are not solely the result of transference and (intentional) defenses. This understanding is necessary if therapists are to respond as empathically as possible to these clients, and employ methods of working with them which hold the most potential for beneficial change and growth. Schore has also described this problem: “This focus on enactments . . . reflects a growing realization that explicit content, verbal interpretations, and the mere act of uncovering memories are insufficient venues for curative shifts. This clearly implies that the resolution of enactments involves more than the standard Freudian idea of making the unconscious conscious by defense interpretations” (2011, p.90). All of these findings appear to point the field of psychotherapy in the direction of finding and incorporating new methods of working with clients, which hold more promise for providing safer and swifter solutions to their pain and suffering.

I believe that Maddux’s article (cited above) about her work with Sean, a young client of hers, is closest to what I am suggesting therapists can do with the music their clients listen to via a portable music player. Although the focus of Maddux’s article is poetry, the young man she was working with, brought films, poems, metaphors and music into his sessions with her. One day he brought her the lyrics of a song by a Swedish pop duo titled, “My Hopes and Dreams.” He has written them down in a little notepad he carries, and then he wants to play the song for her on his iPhone. “Sean wants to play it for me on his iPhone; he wants me to hear. I will listen. There is so much more

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than words being spoken, music being played . . . I have been invited into a world where both words and silence speak” (2016, p.18). I encourage the reader to see Maddux’s full article if they are interested in getting a clearer picture of just how asking this young man about the music he listened to, not only got his attention and awakened him to the possibility of being understood by his therapist, it also provided them both with a whole new way of working together. For therapists, especially those who work with young adults, this should be encouraging.

From a relational perspective the psychotherapeutic “relationship is an ideal place for transforming experience to occur, other relationships with real people can also offer the opportunity for transforming experience. Unfortunately, people who have suffered damaging or traumatic developmental relationships are often unable to find new, developmentally transforming relationships” (Muchnick & Buirski, 2016, p.149). I have continually referred to the recognition and prevalence of clients who have experienced early developmental trauma in clinical work, because it seems this population of clients could potentially benefit the most from using the music they listen to as a mode of accessing and working through these early, nonverbal memories within the safety of the therapeutic relationship. Many young adults are also likely to fall into this clinical population.

Ready, has also explored Winnicott’s concept of play space, and the possibility that listening to music might serve “as a kind of play space or potential space between fantasy and reality, wherein therapist and patient could explore projective identifications and promote pro-social interactions. Music as a ‘third party’ or ‘third area’ could also

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help to rebalance the communication between the right (sensory, affective) and left (language, logical) hemispheres” (2012, p. 292).

In spite of the long delay in psychoanalysis’ integration of music into its everyday practice, I have provided a substantial amount of evidence to show that, since Freud’s time, there actually have been countless psychoanalysts and psychotherapists who have shown an interest in, and support of, the use of music in the clinical work of psychoanalysis. After reading Thomas Kuhn’s classic book, The Nature of Scientific Revolutions, I realized why it can be so difficult for people in any profession to embrace new ideas, never mind new paradigms, and the changes they would entail. It would seem incongruous however, if our profession, which is founded on the aim of helping individuals understand and reduce their barriers to positive change, if we weren’t open to exploring new ideas ourselves. In light of the research evidence cited here, which provides the reader with a glimpse of the body of relevant findings and implications for clinical social work, it is my hope that many therapists will be open to exploring the potential benefits of incorporating some small changes in their work with clients. It would seem that keeping up with scientific research, and altering our clinical work accordingly, is simply sound practice, as Schweitzer (cited above) found after incorporating music into her own pastoral care work. The primary reason I found Schweitzer’s story relevant to this study, is precisely because she is not a trained music therapist, and yet she was able to use music effectively to inform her work. Just as psychodynamic therapists, and other psychotherapists, are not exclusively trained to be dream therapists, one can integrate music analysis into their work as naturally as they do dream analysis.

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Some skepticism by therapists, regarding the potential efficacy and benefits of exploring their clients’ music is certainly expected and understood by this researcher.

However, the exploration of the music one listens to, particularly with a therapist, seems to hold the most potential for benefitting the listener. In a very recent article about social media and the potential advantages and disadvantages for its’ users, the authors point out that no matter how engaging the virtual experience is, it is a one-person experience and therefore it is limited in its’ ability to have a lasting effect on the user. They stress the importance of having experiences in the context of a relationship, and wonder about what may be lost without having another person present? “Like a piece of music that may evoke strong emotions, listening with another person turns a one-person experience into a relational one that allows the possibility of transformation. The presence of an attuned other allows for self-object experiences as well as new understanding of oneself or the forming of new organizations of experience” (Muchnick and Buirski, 2016, p143).

I think that is true. I believe in what Kohut said; that we need others throughout our lives to admire, approve and echo or mirror our ever emerging selves. However, I also think that music can provide all three of these experiences for the solitary listener.

Lachmann too, did not think it was essential to have another person physically present in order for an individual to have a transformative experience. He believed it is possible to develop empathy for those who are not physically present through the use of one’s imagination, as this researcher believes is frequently achieved while listening to music.

“It is not the particular medium that allows for transformation, but rather the psychological mechanism and process through which an individual enters a realm of understanding. If a person can access her own experiential history to imagine the felt

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experience of another, the psychological interaction can surely be impactful� (Muchnick and Buirski, 2016, pp. 144-145). Therefore, having both the experience of listening to the lyrics and music of others via a portable music player, and having a therapist to share this experience with, appears to hold the maximum potential benefit for the individual.

My hope is that the reader has not only enjoyed reading the proposal, but has also been stimulated enough by the information and research presented, that he or she considers this current research project worth pursuing.

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Chapter III

Methods Introduction The purpose of this phenomenological, mixed-methods study is to quantitatively and qualitatively, explore and describe the various ways young adults experience listening to music via a portable music player. I believe this study may be of interest to all psychotherapists, but perhaps particularly to those with a psychodynamic orientation.

The rationale for the study is to develop an increased understanding of the ways in which young adults use music, particularly in ways that may open up new pathways for therapists to access this populations’ internal, emotional worlds and potentially expand their knowledge of the underlying causes of the issues which prompt them to seek therapy. Theoretically, this study may offer many psychotherapists a previously underutilized method for accessing and exploring their clients’ internal, emotional and unconscious processes. With the plethora of recent research discoveries from interdisciplinary fields, such as traumatology, neurobiology, attachment theory and relational theory, which emphasize the significance of right-brain implicit, unconscious, emotional and relational processes in both the origins of psychopathology and in the treatment of psychopathology, the potential value of this study appears evident.

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The range of subjects for this study will be young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. In the initial phase of the research, thirty subjects will be recruited via a flyer which will be posted online at a local university and a community college. Participants will be asked to take a quantitative survey regarding their musical preferences. The survey will be posted on Survey Gizmo for a two week period of time and subjects will be informed that they will receive a $10 Starbucks e-gift card for completing the fifteen to twenty minute survey. Subjects will also be asked to indicate whether they would be willing to participate in a follow up interview, before (digitally) agreeing to participate in the study, they will also be informed that they will receive an additional $25 Starbucks (or other) gift card to compensate them for their time. The intent of the survey will be to measure three primary areas of interest: the importance of music in subjects’ lives, a preference for listening to music via a portable music player versus other options, and an awareness of the various ways they may utilize music.

The focus of the qualitative portion of the study will be to better understand participants’ unique, individual experiences while listening to music via a portable music player and therefore interviews will address the following research questions: •

How do subjects describe the importance of, or the meanings they attach to, the portable player itself?

•

How do subjects describe any perceived advantages of listening to music via a portable music player versus other forms of listening?

•

How do subjects describe the various experiences they have while listening to music via a portable player?

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•

Do subjects believe they have experienced any personal, or psychological benefits from listening to music in this mode?

•

Have they ever discussed these beneficial experiences with someone else?

•

Have they, or would they, be interested in exploring their particular uses of music if they were in therapy?

Rationale for Mixed Methods Research Design I will be employing a mixed-method phenomenological research design to explore the ways young adults listen to music via a portable music player. The rational for this qualitative research design is that it is an excellent match for this study, and the current research literature clearly supports this choice. Mixed methods is a fairly new methodology, but it has been implemented in multiple fields of study such as the social, behavioral and health sciences. Mixed methods involve gathering both quantitative and qualitative data which are then integrated and interpretations are drawn which are based upon the combined strength of both sets of data. “ A core assumption of this approach is that when an investigator combines statistical trends (quantitative data) with stories and personal experiences (qualitative data), this collective strength provides a better understanding of the research problem than either form of data alone” (Creswell, 2015, p.2).

Initially, during the quantitative phase, subjects will complete an online survey to measure their interest in music, their preference for listening to music via a portable music player and an awareness of the various ways they use music. This data will be analyzed in order to determine the frequency and variation of scores for subjects. The

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results of the quantitative analysis will then be used to determine which subjects will be selected to participate in the qualitative phase of the study, which will delve more deeply into the quantitative variables. “Another challenge is whether the qualitative sample should be individuals who are in the initial quantitative sample. The answer to this question should be that they are the same individuals, because the intent of the design is to follow up the quantitative results and explore the results in more depth” (Creswell, 2014, p.224).

Rationale for a Phenomenological Explanatory Sequential Design Phenomenology is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as a preface to or a part of philosophy” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). I have chosen a phenomenological approach for the qualitative phase of this study because the goal of phenomenology is to describe the lived world of everyday experience. It focuses on, and describes in-depth, many facets of human experience. A semi-structured interview will be employed in order to elicit more subjective data and to explore the unique meanings listening to music via a portable music player holds for individual subjects. Phenomenological research is very similar to what therapists are interested in, and an essential piece of the clinical work they do with clients. Asking clients questions which are meant to elicit in depth descriptions of events in their lives in order to better understand their unique experiences is what is needed in order to better help them. McGuire (1999, p.1) described what therapists do in this way “Every counsellor is a researcher: for every time we form an understanding of what is

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going on for a client, and work with that, we are testing out a hypothesis, and altering our activity in the light of evidence” (Finlay, 2011, p.6).

A good deal of research can seem far from, and unrelated to, the actual clinical work therapists do. By employing a phenomenological approach in this study, I expect the findings will not only be of interest to a broad range of therapists, but that many of these clinicians will also consider ways they can incorporate some of the research findings into their own practices. As stated previously, I believe that therapists and ultimately their clients, can benefit from exploring clients’ uses of music, and that they can easily incorporate this mode of inquiry into their practices with minimal effort or changes to their particular clinical orientation. Finlay and Evans (2009) clearly support this conviction with the following statement: “Both therapy and phenomenological research involve a journey of self-other understanding and growth. They involve similar skills, values and interests, like interviewing skills; critical, reflexive intuitive interpretation; inferential thinking; bodily awareness; and a capacity for warmth, openness and empathy: these are all qualities needed in both therapy practice and qualitative research” (Finlay, 2011, p.7).

A good deal of our everyday life is taken up with routine, ordinary experiences such as taking the train to work, going for a walk, making dinner etc. These experiences are not necessarily thought about, but if they were to be analyzed using a phenomenological approach, it is likely that much may be illuminated about the meanings of the experience for some individuals. Phenomenological research is not only focused on the commonplace events in our lives though, it is also used to explore the things which matter most to us, such as our relationships with others, the meanings we

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attach to our important possessions, or experiences of significant events in our lives.

Therefore, the goal of this research: understanding how the development and widespread use of portable music players may influence, change and shape the internal world of young adults is an appropriate subject for phenomenological research. “The aim of phenomenology is to produce an exhaustive description of the phenomena of everyday experience, thus arriving at an understanding of the essential structures of the ‘thing itself’, the phenomenon” (McLeod, 2001, p.38). Phenomenological research clearly meets the requirements of epistemology, the branch of philosophy which investigates the origin, nature, methods and limits of human knowledge in order to distinguish justified belief from opinion.

My rational for using an explanatory sequential mixed method to collect and analyze the data in both the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study is also supported by the literature. There are two well-defined phases of data collection in an explanatory sequential design. The first phase is defined by using comprehensive quantitative sampling, and the second phase is defined by implementing more precise sampling. This method is a good choice for researchers who believe it is important to incorporate personal narratives and experiences with quantitative data, in order to increase the understanding of the phenomena they are investigating. Because this study is focused on determining how the proliferation and widespread use of PMPs may alter young adults’ experiences of listening to music and the potential ways this mode of listening may not only increase listeners’ self-awareness, but possibly result in some other psychologically significant benefits. “The intent of the explanatory sequential design is to study a problem by beginning with a quantitative strand (a strand refers to

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either the quantitative or qualitative component of a study) to both collect and analyze data, and then conduct qualitative research to explain the quantitative results� (Creswell, 2015 p38).

Research Sample Participants will be recruited via an online flyer posted on websites at a local university and a community college. In this quantitative stage, students will be asked if they would be interested in taking a survey about their experiences of listening to music via a portable music player. A survey is being used because surveys are cost effective, efficient, flexible, dependable, and they are also useful in describing the features of specific groups. The data collected can then be analyzed and used to formulate suppositions, make important choices, and build upon the qualitative phase of the study.

For example, to help the researcher determine which subjects are better suited for the qualitative phase of the research, and how we might want to modify or amend the openended questions to be asked during interviews.

Inclusion in the qualitative segment of the study will be determined by choosing participants who express the highest levels of interest in music, prefer to listen to music via a portable player and exhibit an awareness of the multiple ways they have either used or benefitted from listening to music via a portable device. Exclusion criteria will be determined by those respondents who show minimal interest in music, and little, or no, preference for listening to music via a portable device. After conducting interviews with the subjects selected, the qualitative data will then be analyzed and used to help both

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explain the quantitative results, and to make inferences regarding how the findings help to explain them.

Research Design The following list outlines the steps I will use to carry out my research.

Following this list is a more detailed discussion of each step.

1. Prior to collecting the data, the literature on the proliferation of portable music players, the myriad methods music therapists use in their work, and the traditional techniques employed by psychotherapists in their work were all reviewed.

2. Potential research participants will be contacted initially via a flyer which will be posted on the student websites at both a local community college and a university.

The flyer will include a link to the IRB digital consent form and survey.

3. After the consent form is agreed to participants may take the survey.

4. Next, the first phase of my research will be initiated and it will entail collecting and analyzing the quantitative data. The data will be conducted via an online survey, which I have constructed. It will be cross-sectional, which means data is collected at only a single point in time. The survey will include demographic data, as well as questions pertaining to young adults uses of music via portable music players.

5. Based upon the quantitative results and, under the supervision of my dissertation chair, I will select participants, who meet the qualifications for inclusion in the second phase of my study. I will contact these potential participants via the email addresses they provided in order to access the gift card which was provided

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for their participation in the quantitative survey. Subjects will be asked if they are willing to meet with me, in my office, for a 60 minute, in-person interview.

When I have gotten seven or eight positive responses, I will begin to set up interview dates and times with five potential participants. The additional subjects will only be contacted, as needed, if any of the first five interviewees cannot follow through with their interview appointment.

6. The second phase will consist of collecting qualitative data through in-depth interviews and thoroughly analyzing the data. The in-depth interviews will provide detailed accounts of the multiple ways in which young adults listen to, and use, music via their portable music players

Data Collection Phase 1: Survey.

The literature review clearly showed a huge increase in the number of portable music players sold and used since i-Pods and i-Phones were first introduced. In order to give the reader a clear picture of this increase, I will cite one study (see full citation in Introduction) which found that Apple sold approximately eight times the number of ipods and i-phones than Walkman sold, and Apple did this in one-third the amount of time! The literature on music therapy was also reviewed to determine if therapists have already been exploring and analyzing young adults uses of music via portable music players in their clinical work. Although music therapists use music in a variety of ways, and with a wide range of clients, I found nothing regarding the particular focus of this study. The literature was also examined to explore the efficacy of therapy when

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employing primarily verbal and interpretive therapeutic techniques, which psychodynamic therapists have been using to access their clients’ unconscious processes since Freud’s time. The current literature shows that there has been an increased interest in moving away from using a predominantly cognitive, verbal, left brain approach in psychotherapy, to one which incorporates methods which would allow therapists greater access to their clients’ nonverbal, emotional, right brain processes. “ . . . both clinicians and researchers were now shifting focus from left brain, explicit conscious cognition to right brain, implicit, unconscious, emotional and relational functions” (Schore, 2014, p.388). The results of the literature reviews, in these areas of interest, do seem to support the potential value of this research to the field of social work in several ways: 1. The ubiquity of PMP’s and their widespread use indicate that a sizable percentage of those in therapy also use portable music players, 2. the limitations of more traditional talk therapy, 3. the results of research which have determined the primacy of right brain processes in both the development, and treatment of pathology, 4. the need for incorporating new techniques clinically in order to access these right brain processes, and 5. because one of the aims of this research is to explore the possibility that young adults uses of music via a PMP may indeed give therapists increased access to these right brain, nonverbal, implicit, emotional processes.

The quantitative survey will be available for subjects to take, 24 hours a day throughout a two week period of time, or until 30 surveys have been completed. At that

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point, the survey will be removed from the website. The primary drawback to this method is that there will be no one there to answer questions the subjects may have about a particular question. However, a preliminary, exploratory survey was used to redesign the survey and prevent potential confusion subjects may have while answering questions.

Some participants will be informed by their instructors that a survey is posted on the school’s website, whereas other participants may just come across the survey on their own. The survey includes some demographic questions, questions about subjects’ use of portable music players, their favorite musical genre, artist or group, the importance of music in their lives, and finally some of the ways they may use music to alter, maintain, or create a mood. The data will then be retrieved from the researchers Survey Gizmo account for analyzing.

The demographic variables to be measured are as follow: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Race 4. Student status e.g. full-time/part-time 5. State where they attend school 6. Major 7. What year in school The other variables to be measured are arranged consecutively to explore three key research questions. The first segment of the music survey itself contains questions about subjects’ use of portable music players.

1. What type of portable music player do you use?

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2. About how old were you when you began listening to music via a portable music player?

3. How much time do you spend each day listening to music on your PMP? 4. Do you prefer listening to music on your PMP versus a stereo, radio, etc.?

This section of the survey will help me to answer the following research question, “Does this subject express a preference for listening to music via a portable music player?”

The next section of the survey contains questions about the amount and types of music subjects listen to, such as: 1. How important is listening to music for you?

2. How many hours per day do you listen to music via your PMP? 3. What is your favorite music genre?

4. Who is your favorite artist or your favorite band?

The answers to these questions will help me to answer the following research question, “Does this subject exhibit not only a strong interest in listening to music, but also a keenness for the specific music he or she listens to?”

The final portion of the survey is devoted to asking subjects to indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with the following statements and answer a few more questions: 1. I listen to music to maintain a mood.

2. I listen to music to alter a mood.

3. I listen to music to create a mood.

4. I listen to music when I am feeling stressed.

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5. I listen to music to relax.

6. I listen to music to escape.

7. I listen to music to get in touch with my feelings.

8. I listen to music for another reason.

9. Are there particular times of the day when you are most likely to listen to music via your portable device? If so, please elaborate.

10. Are there particular activities you engage in, where it is more likely that you will listen to music via your portable device? If so, please describe.

The answers to these questions will help me to answer the following research question, “Does this subject consciously use music to regulate their emotions?”

Phase II: Interviews.

For the qualitative segment of the study, interviews will be audio recorded and transcribed. My goal is to schedule and conduct interviews with five subjects. This will depend upon how many of the 30 subjects who completed the survey, meet the interview criteria. “The selection of informants or cases is made on the basis of theoretical interest (‘can this person’s account expand or test my emerging category system?’), rather than on the basis of random or stratified sampling” (McLeod, 2002 p.72). If for some compelling reason, at the time, it appears interviewing one or two more participants in this phase of the research is needed, I will do so.

A phenomenological approach will be used in order to obtain more in-depth descriptions from each of the participants, concerning their specific experiences while listening to music via a portable music player. The phenomenological method is well-

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suited for this phase of the study because it will elucidate the multiple experiences of a number of young adults who listen to music via a portable music player. ”Phenomenological research is potentially transformative for both researcher and participant. It offers individuals the opportunity to be witnessed in their experience and allows them to ‘give voice’ to what they are going through. It also opens new possibilities for both researcher and researched to make sense of the experience in focus” (Finlay, 2011 p.10).

The focus of the interviews will be to ask a series of open-ended, semi-structured questions designed to elicit participants’ explicit descriptions of the experience of the phenomenon of listening to music via a portable music player. The central question under investigation is: “What are the multiple meanings young adults attach to their portable music players, and the numerous ways in which they use them?” I expect that participants will have a lot to say about their experiences, and I plan to pursue as much in-depth information as possible with the specific interview questions. The actual questions asked in the interviews are likely to have been amended and/or modified at least once by the data obtained through the survey results. I may even ask an additional question or two if they arise naturally as the interview process unfolds, in order to ensure as thorough an investigation of this phenomenon as possible. Interviews will take place in my office, which is centrally located and easily accessible by car or bus. Interviews will be recorded. Participants will be informed that a follow-up phone call may be requested by the researcher in order to address any significant questions which arise during the analysis of the information gathered during their interview. Subjects will also

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be given the opportunity to request a phone call or a second, in-person meeting themselves if they have any follow-up questions or thoughts.

Plan for Data Analysis Quantitative.

All quantitative analysis will be conducted using SPSS version 21. For most variables, I will be listing frequencies (mean, median, mode and range). Because I am not testing hypotheses, I don’t plan on conducting any inferential statistics. A code sheet for all variables can be found in Appendix A.

Qualitative.

The qualitative data will be transcribed by Transcription Professionals which is located in Evanston, IL and then I will be following the six steps of qualitative analysis as outlined by Creswell (2014): 1) Organize and prepare data for analysis 2) Read or look over all data 3) Start coding all the data 4) Use the coding process to develop categories and themes for analysis 5) Advance how the description of the themes will be represented in the qualitative narrative, and 6) Make an interpretation in qualitative research of the findings or results.

Organize and prepare for data analysis.

I will organize the data by hand coding it line by line and assigning codes. I will do the same with any field notes taken.

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Read or look over all data.

I will read and look over all the data to get a general impression of the information that each participant has expressed about their lived experience. As Finlay suggests, I will take the time to dwell with the raw data because “implicit, layered meanings come to the fore. The process involves a focused act of discovering sedimented meanings, nuance and texture out of silence. The more you stop and linger, the more you will feel yourself engaging the phenomenon, perhaps re-experiencing the sense of it. ‘When we stop and linger with something, it secretes its’ sense and its’ full significance becomes . . . amplified’ (Wertz, 1985, p. 174)” (Finlay, 2011, p.229). I will use this method to develop nascent impressions of the data and determine how it can be understood and used to inform the overall qualitative portion of the research.

Coding.

I will begin coding after I have developed a sense of the entire body of transcriptions. I will record all the noteworthy ideas that come to mind as I read each participants’ transcription. I will then bracket portions of the interviews and mark them with a word or two that represents one of the topics I am exploring. After I have completed this process, I will make a list of all the topics. Another list will then be generated by compiling all similar topics, putting them in columns and labeling them in order of their importance to the topic, their uniqueness to the topic, or their irrelevance to the topic. After completing this list, I will go back to the data and code it with abbreviations and write the codes. I will also look for any new, emergent categories or

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codes. Lastly, I will locate the words that best describe my topic and place them into categories and then place the categories that are similar into groups.

For the first round of coding, I will employ both affective and thematic methods of analysis. The affective method is suitable because my tentative qualitative questions are ontological in nature and have “what are the meanings, what is your experience, what is it like to?” In their structure formation. The thematic method is a method for analyzing and describing important patterns (themes) within data. “It is often said that themes ‘emerge from data’. While it is true that themes need to be grounded in and reflect the data, the idea that they somehow just pop out and are self-evident is not true . . . meanings have to be searched for as they are implicit and themes have to be painstakingly shaped up in successive iterations” (Finlay, 2011, p.234). This thematic method is fitting because my questions regarding participants’ uses of music to regulate emotions, to maintain, alter or create a mood and questions about the ways subjects may use music to get in touch with unformulated thoughts and feelings all focus on implicit processes.

For the second round of coding, I will utilize focused coding to code the individual case categories (model case, related case, borderline case, contrary case, etc.) young adults fall into. I will also use focused coding in this round to determine the category of outcomes; have young adults found their uses of music beneficial or not?

Developing categories and themes.

I will develop categories and themes from the coding process. I will use an undetermined number of themes which emerge as significant findings in the qualitative

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study, and will likely be used in the findings section of the dissertation. These themes will then be shaped into a general description of the findings that is consistent with phenomenological research.

Representation of the themes in the qualitative narrative.

I will represent the themes in the qualitative narrative by presenting a comprehensive discussion of predetermined and emerging themes, including any subthemes and individual perspectives. In addition, I will also present a detailed examination of any connecting themes. The predetermined themes of internal worlds, transitional objects, transitional space and selfobject functions will be discussed in detail.

Interpretation of the findings or results.

Since I will be using a theoretical framework composed of a broad base of relationally oriented concepts from: Object Relations, Self-Psychology, and Relational Theory, I will interpret the research findings in terms of how closely the participants’ uses of music match, or fail to match, with these corresponding concepts.

Data from both the quantitative and qualitative phases will be combined to facilitate the development of a narrative case for the ways psychotherapists can utilize their clients’ uses of music to allow them greater access to their internal worlds, inform them and deepen the treatment.

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Ethical Considerations The human subjects’ portion of the research involves one or more face-to-face interviews. The main risk to those participating in this study would likely be psychological. “With phenomenological research in particular the challenge may be felt more acutely as our research topics can involve personal and sensitive material and they may even be considered ‘invasive’” (Usher & Holmes, 1997) as cited in (Finlay, 2011, p.217). The focus of this research, in terms of the participants, is to explore the ways listening to music via a portable music player may prompt or enhance their ability to get in touch with their emotional, internal worlds. This increases the likelihood that a situation may arise in which a participant reveals something unexpected, and emotionally unsettling. Although the risk is likely to me minimal, I will need to be prepared for this.

During the data gathering stage researchers face ethical challenges relating to the use (and misuse) of power, concerning their duty of care to keep participants safe.

This power comes from researchers’ professional authority and the way they wish to control the research. Researchers must work hard to relinquish their ‘power’ and yield to whatever might emerge in the relational moment (Finlay, 2011, p.219).

Risks to subjects in this study are acceptable, given that all my subjects will be consenting adults and all precautions will be taken in order to protect the confidentiality and privacy of all participants. In addition, I will make a debriefing available to each participant, an opportunity in which both researcher and subject share and sum up their experiences of doing the research. This will also ensure subjects are able to talk about any unexpected, uncomfortable memories or feelings which arise as a result of

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participating in this research. In order to help avoid any potential risks and to be both strategic and respectful, all participants will sign an informed consent form prior to participating in the qualitative portion of the study. Furthermore, they will be instructed that they may decline to answer any of my questions, and/or stop the interview at any time they feel they need to.

Issues of Trustworthiness Credibility.

Credibility of research proposes that our findings are truthful and actually test the validity of the conclusions we reach. This author’s methodological approach, is grounded in a phenomenological, mixed-methods research design. The purpose of this study is to obtain an in-depth description and understanding of the multiple ways young adults actually listen to, and use, music via a portable music player in their everyday lives. I will test the associations between portable music player uses and outcomes.

Interpretations of results will either support or fail to support the theoretical and conceptual structure outlined in this paper. Because the survey used in this study has never been used before there are no previous reliability and validity estimates available.

Dependability.

Dependability means that the research findings can be replicated by other studies.

In phenomenological research however, no matter what approach we use and what our findings are, it is important to remember that they only offer us a selective glimpse of the phenomena being studied, and future researchers are likely to describe a different glimpse

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from our own. I think Finlay says it best, “Analysis, in my view, should be judged not on its ability to present ‘answers’ but rather on its capacity to capture something of this ‘mess’. The key question is: does the analysis bring the phenomenon to life” (Finlay, 2011, p.244)? The findings in this study will be the first (known) generated from a sample of young adults. These findings should be replicated in future studies with multiple age groups, including young adults.

Confirmability.

Confirmability means that the findings are truly the result of the research, and not the product of researcher bias. The quantitative phase of this research generates more objective responses which makes it less susceptible to the researcher’s own biases.

However, the qualitative phase of this study is at the center of this project and the conclusions drawn from the data are much more at risk for being seen through the researcher’s bias so every effort must be made to prevent this.

Transferability.

Transferability refers to the ability of a particular phenomenon to be transferred to another context. In this case, the researcher is doing the reverse, in that she is transferring the phenomenon of dream analysis to the analysis of the music one listens to.

That does not mean that others can’t continue to discover ways to utilize it in still more contexts.

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Limitations and Delimitations Subjects are not being chosen randomly, so generalizations need to be made with care. These research findings will not elucidate the multiple ways all generations, including all young adults listen to, and use, music via portable music players.

The participants in this study represent young adults who are currently attending either a University or a Community College, therefore young adults who are not enrolled in college are not represented by the data.

Summary In summary, I have given a detailed account of the methodology I will be using for this study, from a rationale for the research design, the data collection process, the data analysis process, ethical considerations, issues of trustworthiness and the limitations and delimitations of this study.

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Chapter IV

Results Introduction The purpose of this phenomenological explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore and understand how the development and widespread use of portable music players (smartphones, MP3s etc.) may influence, change and shape the internal worlds’ of young adults in psychoanalytically significant ways and determine if the findings indicate song analysis may be useful to psychotherapists who work with this population. Research was carried out using a two-phased study which consisted of an internet survey in phase one and in-depth interviews in phase two. It is important to note here that there were a few last-minute changes to the plan for recruiting participants for the online survey. Due to a lengthy paperwork process the community college required before posting research flyers there and time constraints , it was determined that this source for survey participants was no longer feasible. Therefore, a decision was made to email a request for eligible survey participants via a professional list-serve of which the researcher is a member. As originally planned, flyers were also posted at a local university. The results of the list-serve request were that several participants in both phase one and phase two attend school and/or live in other parts of the country. This alteration was seen as positive as it meant that a wider range of participants were

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included in the study. The change is noted here primarily to avoid any confusion the reader may have had otherwise.

Once the phase one surveys were completed and analyzed, five participants were selected to be interviewed in phase two. These interviewees were chosen based upon three criteria: a preference for listening to music via a portable music player, having ranked listening to music as extremely important, or very important to them and an understanding of the various ways they utilize music. After the interviews were completed, transcribed, coded, analyzed and organized into themes, six themes were identified and from these themes six findings were determined. This chapter will provide the reader with a detailed account of the results from the phase one sample, the phase two sample, the mixed methods results and a final conclusion which summarizes the chapter.

Phase One Sample A total of 30 participants completed the online survey. The first three survey questions were filter or contingency questions, which were designed to allow those participants who met the initial criteria for the study to continue beyond that point. If a participant did not meet the criteria, he was thanked for his interest in the study but would not be able to advance to the balance of the survey questions. Criteria for inclusion were: participants must be between the ages of 18 and 22, they must currently listen to music via a portable music player and they must live in the United States. Those participants who did meet the criteria, were then asked to read and sign a consent form before proceeding. Of the 30 participants: four were 20 years old, five were 18 years old, and there were seven 19 year olds, seven 21 year olds and seven 22 year olds. All 30

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participants indicated they currently listen to music using a portable player and that they live in the United States.

Table 1: Participant Criteria Variable Age

N 30

Avg 20

Min 18

Max 22

Percentage__ (100)

Participants who currently use a PMP

30

(100)

Participants who live in the United States

30

(100)

Participants who signed the consent form

30

(100)

The demographic portion of the survey presented participants with a series of both dichotomous and nominal questions in order to determine their gender, race, student status, the state in which they attended school, major and educational level in school.

Participants’ gender breakdown was 27 females and three males. A majority of participants (n=23) identified as White/Caucasian, six identified as Hispanic and one identified as “other” but did not write-in what race they identified as. Student status included 27 full-time students, two part-time students and one who indicated “other” and wrote in “teacher.” The location of participants’ schools include 20 who are attending schools in Illinois, two in both Michigan and New York, and one in each of the following states: Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Ohio. One participant, the teacher, marked N/A. Majors reported by participants were: 10 Psychology majors, three History majors, two Environmental Science majors and one for each of the following majors: Animal Production, Computer Engineering, English, Graphic Design, Law, Middle Childhood Education, Neuroscience and Behavior, Nursing, Physics and Sociology. Four participants wrote “undecided” and one (the teacher) marked N/A. The last category was educational level, and: 11 participants identified as Seniors, seven as Freshman, six as

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Sophomores, two as Juniors, two as Graduate students, one marked N/A and one wrote in “teacher.” See Table 2 for a summary of participants’ demographic information.

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Table 2: Demographic Information Variable Gender Female Male Race White/Caucasian Hispanic Other Student Status Full-time Part-time Working/teacher Location of School Illinois Michigan New York Ohio Missouri Massachusetts Maine Indiana N/A Major Psychology Undecided History Environmental Science Animal Production Computer Engineering English Graphic Design Law Middle Childhood Education Neuroscience and Behavior Nursing Physics Sociology N/A

n

Percentage_

27 3

(90) (10)

23 6 1

(76.7) (20.0) (3.3)

27 2 1

(90.0) (6.7) (3.3)

20 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

(66.7) (6.6) (6.6) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3)

10 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

(33.3) (13.2) (9.9) (6.6) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3)

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The remainder of this survey consists of a mixture of dichotomous, nominal, rank and Likert scale questions. These twenty-two questions, beginning with question number five on the survey address the specific aims of the study and were designed to measure two significant aspects of participants’ uses of music. The first grouping of questions (numbers five through fourteen) focused on the importance of listening to music for participants and some specific questions regarding their use and preference for, listening via a portable music player. The second grouping of questions (fifteen through twentyfour) focused on measuring participants’ awareness of several aims, goals and purposes they may have for listening to music via a PMP. The final two questions on the survey (numbers 31 and 32), asked participants to provide an e-mail address where their Starbucks e-gift card should be sent and to indicate if they would be willing to participate in phase two of the research.

Question number five, in the initial grouping of ten questions, asked participants to mark all portable devices they use. Smartphones were cited by 29, laptops by 28, MP3s by five, tablets by four, and a Discman, an iPod touch and a portable speaker system were each named once. Question six asked participants which of these devices they used most often. The smartphone was cited by an overwhelming majority of 26 participants, the laptop by three and the iPod touch by one. Question seven asked participants if they preferred listening to music on their portable device versus a stereo or radio. Once again, an overwhelming majority of 24 participants chose their portable device and only six did not.

Question eight was an open-ended question and simply asked participants “Why?” Responses were written-in and two-thirds (20) of the participants cited one, or a

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combination of a few of the following reasons why they preferred listening to music on their PMP: personal control, the variety of music available, their ability to choose the music they listen to, easy access to their music and no commercials. Five participants commented on the convenience, portability and ease of carrying their PMP’s anywhere.

Others mentioned features like the ability to skip or repeat songs, control over the volume (so they don’t have to worry about their music being too loud or offensive for others), the quality of the music doesn’t change and there are no commercials. Only two participants preferred listening to music on their stereo because their stereos “have better sound,” and one said she prefers listening to music on her laptop because she’s “legitimately afraid my earbuds are making me go deaf.”

Question nine asked participants how old they were when they began listening to music using a portable device. Seven participants stated they were 10 years old and seven more were 12 years old. Four participants were 14 years old and four more were seven years old. Three participants were 8 years old, two were 13 years old, and the last three participants were 9, 15, and 16 years old respectively. Question 10 asked participants approximately how many hours they spend each day listening to music via a portable device. Seventeen percent said 5 hours and 3 hours per day respectively, seven percent said 4 hours and one-half hour respectively, 37% said 2 hours, and five individual participants chose one hour, 6 hours, 14 hours, 16 hours and 20 hours respectively which accounts for the final 15%.

Question 11 asked participants how important listening to music is for them.

Fifty percent selected extremely important, 23.3% selected very important, 20% selected moderately important and 6.6% selected slightly important.

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Question 12 asked what genre(s) of music they primarily listen to and to check all applicable genres. There was also a space for participants to write-in a genre if it wasn’t listed. The top three categories chosen were: Pop music 84%, Alternative music 70% and Hip Hop/Rap 65%. The next three most popular genres were: Rock music 58%, Country music 55% and Indie music 45%. Smaller percentages of participants chose the following genres: Blues, Classical, Dance, Easy Listening, Electronic, Heavy Metal, Jazz, New Age and Singer/Songwriter. Write-in responses were Disney/Broadway Show Tunes, Folk, Folk & Bluegrass, Trap and Latin.

Question 13 asked participants who their all-time favorite musical artist or group was. The group “21 Pilots” was named by three respondents, but 27 respondents each chose a different artist or group. Question 14, the last question in this section, asked participants if they obtain the music they listen to primarily by downloading it for free.

The majority, 56.7% of the participants said yes and 43.3% said no.

Questions 15 through 24 asked participants to rank their uses of music on a Likert scale from Completely Agree to Completely Disagree. The fifteenth question asked if they listen to music to maintain a mood. Completely Agree was chosen by 14 (46.7%) participants, Agree was chosen by eight (26.7%), Somewhat Agree was chosen by seven (23.3%), Neither Agree or Disagree was chosen by one (3.3%), and no one chose Completely Disagree.

Question 16 asked participants if they listen to music to alter a mood. Completely Agree was selected by 12 (40%) participants, Agree was selected by seven (23.3%), Somewhat Agree was selected by eight (26.7%), Neither Agree nor Disagree was selected by two (6.7%), and Somewhat Disagree was chosen by one (3.3%) participant.

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Question 17 asked participants if they listen to music to create a mood.

Completely Agree was marked by 11 (36.7%) participants, Agree was marked by 13 (43.3%), Somewhat Disagree was marked by four (13.3%), and Disagree was marked by two (6.7%) participants.

Question 18 asked participants if they listen to music when stressed. Completely Agree was chosen by 16 (53.3%) participants, Agree was chosen by nine (30%), Somewhat Agree was chosen by four (13.3%), and Neither Agree nor Disagree was chosen by one (3.3%) participant.

Question 19 asked participants if they listen to music to relax. Completely Agree was selected by 15 (50%) participants, Agree was selected by 12 (40%), Somewhat Agree was selected by two (6.7%), and Neither Agree nor Disagree was selected by one (3.3%) participant.

Question 20 asked participants if they listen to music to escape. Completely Agree was marked by 15 (50%) participants, Agree was marked by five (16.7%), Somewhat Agree was marked by six (20%), Neither Agree nor Disagree was marked by two (6.7%), and Somewhat Agree was marked by two (6.7%) participants.

Question 21 asked participants if they listen to music to get in touch with their feelings. Completely Agree was chosen by 14 (46.7%) participants, Agree was chosen by seven (23.3%), Somewhat Agree was chosen by four (13.3%), Neither Agree nor Disagree was chosen by four (13.3%), and Disagree was chosen by one (3.3%) participant.

Question 22 asked participants to write down their responses to this question: Are there any other aims, goals or purposes you use music for which are not listed? Eight

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(26.7%) participants said “No” and another eight (26.7%) said they use music to help them focus or study. Other answers were: to remember past events, to help me control my anxious/depressive thoughts, to turn my commute into an experience, to sleep, to get inspired, to unplug, to create a fun environment, to enjoy the music, to workout, to block out noise, to waste time and to entertain myself.

Question 23 asked participants another dichotomous question: Are there particular activities or times of the day when you are most likely to listen to music via your portable device? Only one (3.3%) participant selected “No” and the other 29 (96.7%) selected “Yes.” Question 24 asked participants to write down their responses to the question: Please describe these activities or times? The most frequently cited answer was “while commuting” 19 (63.3%) participants, homework/studying was cited by 15 (50%), working-out was cited by nine (30%) and other individual responses were: getting ready for the day, before bed, avoiding studying, while practicing dancing, to make art, while cooking, working, during moments of awkward silence and relaxing. See Table 3 for survey results.

Table 3: Survey Results Variable N Q5 Which portable music devices do you use? Mark all that apply.

Smartphones 29 Laptop 28 MP3 5 Tablet 4 Discman (write-in answer) 1 iPod touch (write-in) 1 Portable speaker system (write-in) 1 Q6 Which device do you use most often?

Smartphone Laptop iPod touch (write-in)

26 3 1

%___ (96.7) (93.3) (16.7) (13.3) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3)

(86.7) (10.0) (3.3)

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Q7 Do you prefer listening to music on your portable device vs. listening to music on a stereo or radio?

Yes 24 (80.0) No 6 (20.0) Q8 Why? (write-in multiple answers per participant) Participants who marked Yes: Variety of music available, easy access to their music Personal control, ability to choose their music Making playlists, ordering of songs, no commercials Portability, convenience Ability to skip or repeat songs, control volume Quality of music doesn’t change Don’t disturb others with volume or song lyrics Participants who marked No: Stereos have better sound Likes room to be filled with stereo sound (loud) Like to feel the bass in my car Afraid using earbuds is causing deafness

20 20 20 5 2 1 1

(66.6) (66.6) (66.6) (16.5) (6.6) (3.3) (3.3)

3 1 1 1

(9.9) (3.3) (3.3) (3.3)

Q9 Approximately how old were you when you began listening to music using a portable device?

10 years old 7 (23.3) 12 years old 7 (23.3) 14 years old 4 (13.2) 7 years old 4 (13.2) 8 years old 3 (9.9) 13 years old 2 (6.6) 15, 16 and 9 years old (one subject per age) 3 (9.9) Mean age 10.9 years old Median age 12 years old Mode (2) 10 and 12 years old

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Q10 Currently, approximately how many hours per day do you spend listening to music via a portable device? .50 hour 2 (6.6) 1.00 hour 1 (3.3) 2.00 hours 11 (36.3) 3.00 hours 5 (16.5) 4.00 hours 2 (6.6) 5.00 hours 5 (16.5) 6.00 hours 1 (3.3) 14.00 hours 1 (3.3) 16.00 hours 1 (3.3) 20.00 hours 1 (3.3) Q11 How important is listening to music, for you?

Extremely important Very important Moderately important Slightly important

15 7 6 2

(50.0) (23.3) (20.0) (6.7)

Q12 What genre(s) of music do you primarily listen to? (check all that apply) Alternative 21 (70.0) Blues 3 (20.0) Classical 7 (23.3) Country 16 (53.3) Dance 10 (33.3) Easy listening 8 (26.7) Electronic 7 (23.3) Heavy Metal 2 (6.7) Hip Hop/Rap 19 (63.3) Indie 13 (43.3) Jazz 3 (10.0) New age 3 (10.0) Pop 25 (83.3) Rock 17 (56.7) Singer/songwriter 8 (26.7) Other/write-in: 5 (16.7) Disney/Broadway Show tunes Folk Folk and Bluegrass Trap Latin

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Q13 Who is your favorite musical artist or group?

Twenty-One Pilots A Day to Remember Banda MS Blink 182 Brandi Carlisle Britney Spears Green Day Halsey Jason Aldean Kehlani Krewella Lady Antebellum Led Zeppelin Madonna Maroon 5 Michael Buble Michael Jackson Miranda Lambert One Direction One Republic Taylor Swift The Avett Brothers The Ghost of Paul Revere Rascal Flatts Toby Fox Tracy Chapman Zayn Eminem

3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

(9.9)

Q14 Do you get the music you listen to primarily by downloading it for free?

Yes 17 (56.7) No 13 (43.3) Q15 I listen to music to maintain a mood Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

14 8 7 1

(46.7) (26.7) (23.3) (3.3)

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Q16 I listen to music to alter a mood Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree

12 7 8 2 1

(40.0) (23.3) (26.7) (6.7) (3.3)

Q17 I listen to music to create a mood Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Disagree

11 13 4 2

(36.7) (43.3) (13.3) (6.7)

Q18 I listen to music when stressed Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

16 9 4 1

(53.3) (30.0) (13.3) (3.3)

Q19 I listen to music to relax Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

15 12 2 1

(50.0) (40.0) (6.7) (3.3)

Q20 I listen to music to escape Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree

15 5 6 2 2

(50.0) (16.7) (20.0) (6.7) (6.7)

Q21 I listen to music to get in touch with my feelings Completely Agree Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree

14 7 4 4 1

(46.7) (23.3) (13.3) (13.3) (3.3)

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Q22 Are there any other (not listed) aims, goals or purposes you use music for?

No 8 (26.7) to help me focus/study 8 (26.7) Various other individual answers given: 14 To remember past events, to turn my commute into an experience, to help me control my anxious and depressive thoughts, to sleep, get inspired, to unplug, to create a fun environment, to enjoy the music, to workout, to block out noise, to waste time, to motivate me to get things done, and to entertain myself

(46.6)

Q23 Are there particular activities, or times of the day when you are most likely to listen to music via your portable device?

Yes 29 (96.7) No 1 (3.3) Q24 Please describe these activities or times.

While traveling (walk, bike, bus, train and driving) While doing homework or studying While working out Various other individual answers given: getting ready for the day, before bed, avoiding studying, while practicing dancing, to make art, while cooking, working, on break at work, during moments of awkward silence, and relaxing

19 15 9 11

(63.3) (50.0) (30.0) (36.3)

The final two questions on the survey, numbers 31 and 32, asked the participants to provide an e-mail address where they would like their e-gift card to be sent and if they would be willing to participate in phase two, an in-depth exploratory interview.

Everyone provided an e-mail address for their gift card, and the responses to question number 32 were 22 (73.3%) marked yes and eight (26.7%) marked no.

Analysis of the survey results was used to determine which participants were eligible for participation in phase two of the study. Survey participants were divided into two distinct sub-groups: the first sub-group was named eligible and the second subgroup not eligible. To be included in the eligible group, a participant needed to have indicated that they prefer listening to music via a portable music player, music is either

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extremely important or very important to them and also to have shown high rates of agreement with the seven questions regarding their aims when listening to music.

Although all 30 participants both lived in the United States, indicated they listened to music on a portable device and 29 indicated they listen to music via their smartphones, the two groups differed on a number of other significant measures. The eligible participants preferred listening to music on their portable players (80%) and indicated that for them listening to music was either Extremely Important (50%) or Very Important (23.3%). They also showed significantly higher rates of agreement with the seven aims, goals and purposes listed for using music. An average of 73.4% chose either Completely Agree or Agree to answer the questions which asked if they listen to music to either maintain, alter, or attain a certain mood state.

Phase 2 Sample A total of 22 participants or 72.6% of the total sample were classified as being eligible to participate in phase two. Being designated as eligible, meant participants preferred listening to music on a portable music player, had higher levels of interest in music and an awareness of the multiple ways they utilized portable music. However, six of these 22 eligible participants indicated on the last survey question that they were not willing to participate in phase two. So, from the remaining group of 16 participants, five were selected for phase two of the study based upon both meeting the criteria for inclusion and their willingness to participate in the interview process. The final selections were made with guidance from my dissertation chair. Another six participants from the group of 16 who qualified for phase two, ultimately decided not to participate

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and one did not respond to two e-mail requests to choose a date and time for their interview.

The participants’ ages were: 19, 20, 21, and two 22 year olds. All five were female and full-time students. Three participants identified as White/Caucasian and two identified as Hispanic. Two out of the five attended school in Michigan, two in Illinois and one in Massachusetts. Four were seniors and one was a sophomore. Two majored in Environmental Science, two in Psychology and one in History/Journalism.

Table 4: Phase Two Participant Demographics Participant Age Gender Student Number __________________Status

Race Location ________ _of School

Education Level

Major

May

22

Female

Full-time

Hispanic

Illinois

Senior

Psychology

Gia

22

Female

Full-time

Hispanic

Illinois

Senior

Psychology

Eva

19

Female

Full-time

White/ MassachuCaucasian setts

Sophomore

History/ Journalism

Kay

21

Female

Full-time

White/ Michigan Caucasian

Senior

Environmental Science

Cas

20

Female

Full-time

White/ Michigan Caucasian

Senior

Environmental Science

Four of the participants identified listening to music as extremely important to them and one as very important. All five participants demonstrated a recognition of the multiple ways they use music to maintain, alter or attain a certain mood. Three completely agreed and two agreed that they listen to music to maintain a mood, to alter a mood or to create a mood. Four participants completely agreed and one agreed that they listen to music both when stressed and to get in touch with their feelings. Three completely agreed, one agreed and one somewhat agreed that they listen to music to

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relax. Two participants completely agreed, two agreed and one somewhat agreed that they listen to music to escape.

Table 5: Phase Two Participants - Importance and Uses of Music Summary Partici- Level of Maintain Alter Create Stress Relax Escape Get in Touch pant No. Importance _____________________________________________ w/feelings_ May Extremely ComComAgree ComComComCompletely Important pletely pletely pletely pletely pletely Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Eva

Extremely Important

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Gia

Extremely Important

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Kay

Very Important

Cas

Extremely Important

Agree

Agree

Agree

Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Agree

Somewhat Agree

Completely Agree

Agree

Agree

Somewhat Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Completely Agree

Agree

Agree

Completely Agree

Agree

Qualitative Interviews Five participants agreed to participate in a one hour in-depth interview. However, one of these interviews was ended prematurely because it was clear the interviewee was struggling to maintain her composure, and the researcher believed it would be in the participant’s best interest to stop. Therefore, an additional survey participant who met the criteria for inclusion was contacted and interviewed. The partial interview information is not included in the phase two data.

The researcher was prepared to address any distressing reactions an interviewee may have and had the names of several therapists on hand if it appeared a referral was in order. Initially, this particular interviewee appeared somewhat anxious and ill-at-ease when she arrived for her interview. We talked for a few minutes (i.e. seating preference,

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would she like a bottle of water and going over the specifics of the consent form etc.) which was intended to break the ice a bit and hopefully be experienced by the participant as calming and reassuring. However, even the very first question which was asked and which seemed innocuous enough (“Tell me more about your understanding of why music is extremely important for you?” Which was the answer she had marked on the survey.), seemed to be somewhat difficult for her to answer. As the interview proceeded it appeared she was trying to hold back tears, so the decision was made to bring the interview gently to a close. Due to her initial presentation and some of her answers, it became clear that she was not be in an adequate enough place emotionally to continue.

The five completed interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The audio recordings were listened to several times in order to get an initial feel for the material, then all transcripts were read through, significant statements were highlighted and themes were identified. For confidentiality purposes, each participant has been identified using a three-letter pseudonym. Each of the five participants described their own unique experiences of the phenomena of listening to music via a portable music player. The following portrayals of participants are based upon their individual experiences. In order to avoid confusing the reader, it is important to note that throughout this paper participants’ quotes are written exactly as transcribed and may include this mark (- -) which is the transcriber’s mark and is used simply to indicate the interviewee took a momentary pause.

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May. May is a 22 year-old Hispanic female who is a full-time student at a university in Illinois. She is a senior and is majoring in psychology. It was clear from the start, that May was pleased to be given an opportunity talk about her love of music. She was very animated throughout the interview and described the various ways she invests a considerable amount of time and thought into her musical selections and the ways she uses music in her daily life. On the survey, she indicated her smartphone is the primary device she uses and she spends approximately five hours each day listening to music.

This is two-and-one-half times greater than the most frequently cited amount of time chosen by 37% of survey respondents. She also selected extremely important as her answer to the survey question “For you, how important is listening to music?” This is also how one-half of all the survey participants answered that question. During the interview May described the importance of listening to music for her, in this way, “Well personally, I guess I’ve always been into music, like from being a kid . . . the older I got I started to explore different genres rather than just like what was popular. And then I guess just relating music and the lyrics to like your life by having it change your mood.”

When asked to describe specific experiences she has had while listening to music May said that she listens to music “all the time” and described waking up in the morning to a Katie Perry song “Rise,” listening to music while she gets ready for school, while driving, while walking on campus and when she is studying to keep her focused. May listens to classical music when she studies because other music, especially songs with lyrics, distracts her. May also uses the app Spotify which has an option for moods and

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she said, ”Depending on what kind of mood I’m in that will effect what kind of genre, or what kind of beats in the background there are.”

May’s response to the next question, which asked if she thought those experiences would be qualitatively different if she were listening to the same music in a different way, i.e., on a radio or stereo with other people present, was: Probably, because like I listen to all different types of music . . . so I guess depending on the lyrics of what I’m listening to, then yes. I wouldn’t listen to certain types of music, or even like certain songs, even if they didn’t have like profanity in them, like for fear of being judged, like ‘Oh she listens to that music’ type of thing.

I then asked May how she thought, the ability to keep the music she listens to all to herself when she chooses to, alters her listening experience? She replied: I think it makes it better because then you get to be like more unique, because growing up as a kid I would want to listen to a certain song . . . and I would get in trouble because I wasn’t supposed to listen to that. So I guess it’s like, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, like especially listening through headphones you’re kind of like in the zone of the music too. You don’t hear any other things around your environment . . . I guess from looking (from the) outside-in, listening to music on a portable device like if you’re doing it so that other people don’t hear it then I guess you’re not being allowed to express yourself fully, because then you’re in fear of like somebody judging you, type of thing.

When asked if she thought there may be a downside to listening privately, such as others may not know her as well as they might if they knew what she was listening to, May said

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“Yeah.” She acknowledged she would rather not deal with their judgements though.

This was one of the issues which was considered in the proposal: how does listening to music privately, alter or impact the listener’s experience of music? What changes if the listener does not receive any input about what they are listening to from their parents, siblings or even friends?

May also uses the repeat function to listen to a new song that appeals to her, especially if it “relates to my life at a certain time I will listen to it constantly, but typically when that happens it’s like a sadder song because I’m stuck in like a rut I guess.” She also talked about one particular song she still listens to on repeat which is associated with her grandmother who died from cancer. May was taking guitar lessons at the time and her grandmother asked her, to learn and play the Green Day song for her, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”

So I don’t play the guitar anymore and I think her death has a lot to do with that, because I just wanted to have nothing to do with the outside world, and I still listen to that song . . . Not like how I did back then, when I (would) sit there and cry and sulk about it. Now I guess when I listen to it on repeat, it’s more of like a remembrance thing.

So May is aware that the song evokes a different type of experience for her now. She also uses the repeat function when she is going through the breakup of a relationship or when she is fighting with her parents or a friend. “I guess sometimes songs just stick with you, like the lyrics of the songs describe what you are going through.” May said she picks songs in which the singer expresses her feelings, either through their vocals, through the song lyrics or both.

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May is also aware how certain songs evoke other memories for her, like memories of her senior prom and former boyfriends etc. She discussed a song by the band The Chainsmokers, titled “Closer,” which brings up memories of an ex-boyfriend. “The song is about how like they’re not together and then like he sees her again and all these emotions and memories come like flooding back, and pretty much how he wants to like get together with her again.” She remembers how her own break-up was painful, the toll it took on her and how resentful she was at the time. Again, like the song she learned and played for her grandmother, May reports that when she hears this particular song she realizes both her feelings and understandings of her former relationship have changed. “ I was with that person for over 3 years, and I had a lot of resentment, but I guess now that I’m over it I guess it makes me think of the good times I had with that person. So in that case that song is like a good thing.”

May’s answer to the question, Does your smartphone (PMP) hold some special significance or importance for you?” was “yes” that she uses her smartphone most to listen to music and if she forgot it at home it would ruin her day.

Like it will ruin my day. Like something being so literally materialistic, to like ruin my day because I can’t listen to music walking in-between classes. It sounds silly, but that’s just the way it is for me. I mean I guess it just helps with my mood or it will pump me up for something, or give me confidence if I have a test or something along those lines . . . if my music was just downloaded on my cell phone and if I lost all that (music) I would be really upset. I would probably cry over something like that, because then I would lose everything.

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She also named several of the playlists she has and uses for a variety of reasons including to “put myself in the zone to relax at that moment in time.” Some of her playlists are: May’s Music, Spa, Mellow Out, Sleep, Sad Songs and Songs to sing in the Car. The final interview question asked participants if they were in therapy, do they think it would be beneficial to discuss the music they listen to with their therapist. May said, “Absolutely I think it would. I think that the music that people listen to says a lot about them . . . I feel like if somebody is in therapy whatever their favorite song is, I’m sure it’s most definitely how they’re feeling.”

Gia. Like May, Gia is also a 22 year-old Hispanic female who attends school full-time in Illinois. She is also a Psychology major in her senior year of college. On the survey, she indicated she listens to music for approximately three hours each day which is one hour more per day than the majority (37%) of survey participants do, and like (86.7%) of survey participants, Gia listens to music primarily via her smartphone. She expressed an intense interest in music and said she also has a strong ear for music. Gia explained why she chose the answer extremely important on the survey to describe the importance of music for her, this way: I feel because it’s a way of expression, expressing yourself that there is always a certain genre of music for however you’re feeling. So it’s never any - - you have to feel a certain type of way by listening (to) a certain type of music. I like the variety of music. If you just want to relax, you listen to something slow. If

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you’re feeling upbeat, you listen to an upbeat song. I just like how music is just (inaudible) and it just caters to all types of feelings.

So for Gia, it seems music provides her an important avenue and opportunity, for both self-expression and further immersion into her feelings.

When describing some of her personal experiences of listening to music on a portable music player, Gia said, I feel it’s - - I feel free because I can do anything with a portable device and multitask basically and listen to music and walk around, go to class or whatever.

It made it better for me . . . I like always having the music in the background, if necessary, to keep me sane. When I listen to music, I feel very calm . . . it just has this effect . . . however I feel, I listen to music and I feel better.

It appears that for Gia, music has a positive impact on her and enhances her various moods. She feels calmer, better and more relaxed, and she says she also feels more productive while listening to music.

Some of the reasons she cites for preferring listening to music via a portable player are: it is simpler, she can create her own playlists and she doesn’t have to worry about listening to the advertisements one hears on the radio. Like May, she also likes the fact that no one else can hear what she is listening to, so she won’t be judged by others for the music she listens to.

But you have your choice of whatever music on your portable device and it’s yours, so no one else can judge your types of music that you like and all that . . . I like my own personal form of music listening. I like to listen to music my own way. Like my own type. If I am feeling a certain type of way, I listen to that type

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of music without asking like whoever is around: Is it okay if I change the song, or if I put this song on? I like the individuality of it, of a portable device . . . you don’t bother anyone else. So you can have it as loud as you want to (or) have it as low and it’s not bothering anyone. It is just the way you would like to listen to it.

Once again, the multiple options the PMP affords the user, such as its portability and privacy, its capacity to store an enormous library of songs to choose from and the ability it gives the user to personalize their playlists, are all prominent. These are all important options for Gia because they allow her to exercise complete control over the playlists she creates and over the times and places she chooses to listen to music via her PMP. When Gia said, “it is just the way you would like to listen to it” the children’s fable Goldilocks came to mind. Gia’s answer to the question regarding the qualitative differences between listening to music in privacy versus with others was also interesting. She feels “the music is disturbed” when others are listening too.

When you are listening with a group of people around it’s more - - like the music is disturbed, because some people would not like it. Some people couldn’t hear it, you probably couldn’t hear it, you probably had a favorite part of that particular song that you wanted to hear and you couldn’t hear it because there are people talking, because you can’t expect like a whole room just to be quiet because your favorite song is on.

She prefers listening to her favorite songs without interruption, because when someone talks over a song her listening is interrupted and she feels the music is disturbed - that it doesn’t even sound the same - and it makes her angry. Gia thinks listening to music in a public setting is too much for her, it’s too stressful. Whereas listening to music privately

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is a more stress-free and relaxing experience for her “while you’re sitting in a chair trying to relax you can put your earbuds in and you can do that. You’re just one with you and your music.”

She uses the repeat function to listen to a song she may particularly like on any given day, because of the way the song makes her feel or if she is trying to listen more carefully to the lyrics to determine how they may relate to her. When talking about her experiences with music which has evoked memories or emotions, Gia said, Sometimes it’s all too random and then I may be in public feeling like emotional because it is so unexpected. Like I just - - the song may pop up and then I just immediately feel that way to the point of where I have to skip it, so I can wait until I am by myself to listen to the song. So there have been many songs that get me into that, that experience, those emotions, whether it was happy or sad. But I - just like that they pop up. Sometimes at the wrong time, sometimes at the right time. So yeah, there is (are) many, there is (are) too many to count.

Gia said she prefers to think about and process these memories and her accompanying feelings, privately not publicly.

When she listens to certain songs, Gia also remembers the period of time leading up to some of the memories they evoke. Sometimes she remembers the hours before, the weeks before or even the months before events which she associates with particular songs, and she says that they make her feel the way she did at the time.

So every time I would hear that song, it would just provoke those memories of everything leading up to why I either despise the song or I just—like with me it feels like the song has been cursed. So if I feel like something bad had happened

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with that song, I don’t ever listen to it because I feel like if I listen to it again, something bad is going to happen again. Because every time I associate that (event) with that song, it has that bad emotion.

Gia likes to remember in order to “make memories whether they are good or bad.” She goes on to describe what would happen sometimes when she and her younger brother “were little” and their parents would argue: . . . there are always lyrics to like just relate to what I’ve seen or what is happening that like they just come to my head and it was like a way of comfort . . . like that was the only way that I could actually like get him to understand it is something that happens and he has to be okay with. But I just have to quote a song that we both know. Like just say a lyric and like just to get him to laugh it off, to make it - - lighten up the mood because he would always get so emotional when he saw my parents argue . . . it brought him comfort . . . So it is just a way of comfort in a situation . . . that you know that this is not only happening to you, but it is a thing that happens.

She learned early in life how she could use music to diminish (in the moment) the impact of a frightening event for her brother and herself.

When asked about the significance the portable device itself may hold for her and what it would be like if she lost it? Gia said: It’s kind of like a connection, because with these streaming apps where you can stream music, it seems like the app knows how you’re feeling and knows what to play at any given moment. And so when you—I just experienced this. When you lose your smartphone, you feel like you lost a piece of your mind because you feel

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like that inanimate object is actually—kknows you better than anyone else, because they (it) know how you are feeling.

She went on to say that when she uses the apps Pandora, Spotify or iTunes she waits to see “what comes up” and sometimes a song she has been wanting to hear or a song she has been singing all day “pops up” and she wonders how did “it know that this is how I feel and this is the song I wanted to hear?” For Gia, the importance of her smartphone and the function(s) it serves, become even clearer as she further describes what it would be like if she lost her PMP. So, it’s kind of more like a piece of (your) mind, in the literal sense, that if you were to lose it, like you felt like you lost your mind because you have to start over. If you get a new device, if it is not recovered, you have to start over and try to build that relationship with your phone to the point where it knows you like the other one knew you. It would be like losing yourself . . . like you’ve made it to be an electronic personification of yourself . . . So it’s kind of like moving to a different state. So you have to start over, meet new friends, establish yourself as a person there.

When asked if she thought discussing the music one listens to with a therapist would be beneficial, Gia said that she thought “it would benefit a lot” because it would help the therapist know how the client was feeling “because a lot of times people express themselves through music, through the music that they listen to.” She also thought it could be informative and perhaps allow a therapist to intervene and prevent someone from hurting either themselves or someone else.

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Eva. Eva is a 19 year-old Caucasian female who attends school full-time at a university in Massachusetts. She is a sophomore and a History/Journalism major. She indicated on the survey that she listens to music for approximately six hours each day, which is three times the two hours which was cited most frequently (37%) by survey participants. Eva listens to music most often on her laptop, which only 10% of survey participants indicated. She is a very articulate young woman and at several points during the interview, she would go back to a statement she had made earlier to further clarify her remarks. Eva selected extremely important as her answer to the survey question “For you, how important is listening to music?” Her response to the first interview question in which she was asked to talk about her personal interest in music and why, for her, it is extremely important, was as follows: It’s actually a pretty straight-forward answer. My father was very much into music. He always exposed me to all sorts of music when I was growing up. I am also an only child, so that’s sort of made my connection with both of my parents stronger, so music sort of became this thing that I could share with my father. As I got older, I was also diagnosed with clinical depression, and I really used music to sort of help me work through that. And I’ve felt very sensitive to music, really sensitive to melodies, and it just plays a huge role in my life.

Eva was then asked to say more about how music was able to assist her in working through her depression. She said that it helped her to feel less alone because someone else understood what she was feeling.

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When I heard music articulating, not only literally but also through the instrument, what that pain does feel like and what it is like to go through that, it not only helps me feel less alone, but it also helps me sort of vent my emotions and keep myself from penning them up in ways that might have otherwise been unhealthy.

She then described some of the various experiences she has had while listening to music via a portable device.

I can think of a couple of experiences where you know I’ve been in public and I was upset and I used music to sort of not necessarily cheer myself up, but sort of (to) console myself a little bit. I’ve also used music again, portable music, to sort of escape a situation. Like if my mind is playing over something too many times listening to songs, especially from musicals, is really helpful for me.

Eva also talked about times when she has used music to take her mind off “of what was really going on” until she was “in a better position to address it.” I asked if she did that in order to help her make more sense of a situation before she responded and she replied, “Exactly.”

When asked why she prefers using a portable player, Eva talked about the ways the sensation of listening to music via a portable device is so significant for her and how she appreciates the ability to hear the subtleties in the music.

I think a lot of it for me actually has to do with sort of the sensation, for lack of a better word, of wearing headphones. Because music is so important to me, I have like actual expensive headphones, not just earbuds that I use to listen to music; it helps me think; and when I use that, it’s not just music as sort of background

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noise, music sort of becomes an actual part of your reality because it is dominating one of your senses. It makes it a lot more consuming and also a lot easier to hear the subtleties in music that we don’t realize have an effect on us, but do. And I really appreciate being able to hear a song, sort of in its entirety, every level of that song.

So Eva is very clearly attentive to both the lyrics and the music itself – the instrumental aspect of each song. “I do love lyrics . . . but there is definitely a powerful piece that I have invested in the instrumental part of music as well.” She has studied music and played the guitar and knows that playing music in a major versus a minor key has an emotional effect on the listener.

That has an effect on the way the song sounds. It has an effect on the way people respond to it . . . (if) two different keys are used. And I find that really fascinating and I really sort of appreciate this almost spiritual connection that people can make with the music that’s created for them. Because it’s very—I mean people are just sensitive to music and I appreciate embracing that sensitivity.

When I commented on her answer, by saying it reminded me of parent-ease and lullabies and the ways an infant or a young pre-verbal child takes in and responds to a parent’s tone of voice, facial expressions and body language, rather than to the words themselves, Eva replied: Right, and I mean there are so many songs . . . the lyrics of that song . . . they don’t necessarily match the tone . . . but I think people can easily underestimate the power of the actual music as opposed to the lyrics because the music is the first thing we react to.

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So Eva is aware of many aspects of music which others might miss. When the music and the lyrics are dissonant it can be unsettling, but some songs may be so familiar to us we may not even notice the dissonance. For example, the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice sounds so pleasant and playful, one might miss the darker meaning of the words. In 1948 Theodore Reik talked about a time when that rhyme went through his mind during a therapy session, and he realized it was because the client’s pleasant demeanor belied the intense anger she felt toward her husband. Like Eva, Reik also understood that we can miss a lot if we don’t pay attention to both the music and the lyrics. Eva was then asked if she thought her reaction to the music itself was more spontaneous. “Right” she said.

Or, I asked, is it perhaps the music itself we react to and the words we respond to? The emotion comes first and the cognition second. She replied, “Yes, yes. That’s such a good way to put it, yeah.”

For Eva, she prefers to listen to music on a stereo when she is doing “chores or busy work” because it keeps her energized, makes it less boring and helps her to cope with her negative thoughts and anxiety. It also keeps her from overthinking, rather than processing, her thoughts and feelings. “And, so having music on in the background sort of helps me keep my mind, I don’t know, sort of on a shallow level, like from going too deep into something that could be destructive.” On the other hand, she prefers using her headphones and laptop in the evenings when it is “more of a personal connection between me and music, not just sort of again music as background noise.” Generally, she chooses to listen with headphones based less on the mood she is in but rather on the intensity of the mood.

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Like if I am in an intensely happy or sad place, I will turn to headphones and portable music . . . It sort of has to do with how deeply I am feeling the emotions that connect to how exclusive almost I want my connection to the music to be.

So Eva is not only aware of the reasons she chooses to listen to music via a portable versus a stationary player, she is also clearly cognizant that these different devices are preferred for specific aims she has in mind and because their unique capacities make them a better match for achieving those aims.

She went on to discuss a few other times when she prefers to listen to music via her portable music player, such as when she is on public transportation.

Using portable music when I’m like on a bus is actually one of the ways that—I am hugely introverted, so being around other people, while I enjoy it, is exhausting. So usually when I am in the act of commuting, I use portable music as a way to sort of let myself withdraw and recharge while I am still in public.

And part of that is through establishing and getting that connection with music that is just between me and whatever melody is playing. Not something that is playing like through the bus speakers.

Eva also utilizes the repeat function to listen to a song she is really relating to, especially if she feels the need to listen to it repeatedly in order to either “get an emotion out, or calm down or whatever it may be.” More often she uses the repeat function simply because it is a good song, and she didn’t listen closely enough to it the first time it played.

Especially if I am sort of trying to zone out and process things and kind of using the song to do that. If I find myself completely distracted, halfway through a song I will start it over and if you know again I get to the end of the song and I am like:

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I didn’t really listen to that, I’ll start you (it) over. My music is not—how can I put this? It’s not stuff that’s just sort of handed to me like the music I listen to, I choose very deliberately. I don’t know, it’s just kind of how I am and how I interact with my music.

Once more, she describes the importance of music for her, her very deliberate choices of what to listen to and why the specific music player she uses assists her in attaining a certain reaction or some specific goal, such as venting or regulating her emotions. Eva added the following comments after I mentioned that her processing while listening to music sounded similar to the practice of meditation, in that it appears to allow her mind to drift back and forth in advantageous ways.

I am caught up in music. It’s just when I am sort of aware that I have this space, whatever that space may be to sort of tune out for a while. (It) is that the music kind of takes me to a different reality, like you know the stuff that I am dealing with, the stuff that’s gone on in my life that I need to process or think about, or understand better. So it’s not like I’m escaping my problems, but it’s rather that I am drifting (away) from what’s around me, so that I can better process the things that I know are effecting me and not try to shut them out.

In her previous statement, Eva also wanted to clarify her reason for marking the answer somewhat agree instead of completely agree on the survey, to the question about using music to escape. She is not escaping, she said. Rather, it appears that she is using the space the music gives her to enter a different internal, rather than external, reality which has the potential to help her process and understand “the stuff that’s gone on” in her life.

She is temporarily shutting out the external world in order to focus on her internal world.

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It’s (at) times that could otherwise easily be wasted . . . That I instead sort of try to use as time to reflect on things that I know are effecting me, whether it be hurting me or making me happy. Whatever it is, to try and understand them and myself better. Then I think those emotional states tend to heavily influence the music that I want to listen to in the first place, and the music sort of pops into my head so I think - - and I am sure that’s part of the reason why you know I feel the need to listen to a song, that I use, in its entirety or properly whatever that may mean at the moment, because it’s part of me processing things, whatever those things are.

Perhaps a particular song is reverberating with something deeper inside of her? And, Eva recognizes this as an opportunity she doesn’t want to waste, so she decides to follow up on it by listening to even more music in order to get closer to whatever it is she is on the fringes of experiencing.

Eva also finds it difficult to get through a day if she does not have her portable music player with her. She relies on music and it is not easy for her to do without it.

When asked if she thought there were potential benefits to discussing the music one listens to with a therapist, she had this to say: Oh absolutely. I was in therapy for a really long time and I absolutely did that . . . and I think it really helped my therapist better understand what I was going through . . . there were lyrics or pieces of a melody that I would fixate on you know especially when I was going through some of the worst of my depression.

And that was relevant and I was self-aware enough to understand that it was relevant and to understand that these weren’t random and they were representative

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of something deeper that I was feeling. And in that sense, I think it really helped me to better understand myself and my emotions and ultimately to be able to handle them better because you know being able to use music to get to some deeper problem, you know maybe I wouldn’t understand it as well as I do now if I didn’t have that music to sort of give some edge. Or to at least give me a starting place.

She clearly has an understanding, and the personal experience, of the value of utilizing the music one listens to in therapy, and she believes it would not be wise to ignore the tools we do have at our disposal, such as music.

Kay. Kay is a 21 year-old Caucasian female who attends school full-time in Michigan.

She is a senior and her major is Environmental Science. On her survey, Kay indicated she uses a smartphone, laptop and MP3 to listen to music, but she uses the smartphone most often, as 86.7% of the other survey participants do. She also stated she listens to music via her portable players, for approximately four hours per day which is twice as much as the majority of the other participants indicated they do. She selected extremely important as her answer to the question which measured the importance of music in participants’ lives. Regarding the importance of music for her, Kay said, “I think the biggest thing that I have been noticing lately . . . is how much I use music to regulate my mood . . . I mainly use Spotify . . . and through that I can listen to any song I want . . . so I find myself using that pretty much every day.” She listens to music when she is going to classes or riding the bus, and says she uses it “to kind of like take a second and check in

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with myself, see how I’m feeling and then put a song on based on how I’m feeling.” She likes a feature on Spotify called Discover Weekly, which puts together playlists based upon Kay’s own history of musical choices and introduces her to new music. However, she also has several playlists she has created for herself which she has named: jamming, chill, cold, fall 16. Kay also likes that, through Spotify, she and her friends can easily share new music they have found with each other.

Kay described some of the specific ways she uses music to either maintain or perhaps even enhance her mood or to alter her mood. Presently, she is going through the ending of a relationship, so at times when she is feeling down or sad she will either listen to a playlist of sad songs “so those moments when I’m feeling sad and I just kind of feel like leaning into it and just like feeling it, I’ll like listen to those songs . . . and (it) will kind of help me . . . when I just need to like cry it out,” or at other times when she is feeling down or sad and she does not want to lean into the emotion, Kay will choose a different playlist of songs in order to alter her mood and “just make me feel a little more comforted, like motivated to like direct my emotions and attention elsewhere.” So, in both of these scenarios, using music can assist Kay in regulating her emotions, by either allowing her to more fully embrace what she is feeling or to help her pull out of a particular mood state she is in. At these times, the lyrics of a song become important to Kay but not necessarily more important than the music itself.

The lyrics are completely relatable to how I’m feeling . . . I would say they are very important, but I don’t know if I could say that they are more important than the actual . . . like the music or the instrumental part . . . The thing that I find with the lyrics is that to hear someone else describe so like accurately how I’m feeling,

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it feels really . . . I guess it feels really validating and comforting to know, like wow, someone else knows exactly how this feels to feel . . . Yeah, like it’s just comforting to be like wow, I’m not alone in this experience. And the fact that someone else has been able to articulate that so clearly is like comforting I guess.

Kay recognizes both the emotional impact the music itself has on her and the power of the lyrics which comfort her and let her know she is not alone.

Kay’s favorite band is The Avett Brothers. She likes them because “their lyrics are amazing . . . I would say actually I love them because I can turn to their music in like a variety of situations.” For her, this band is able to accurately capture what life is like for her and others. “I like their lyrics because they very accurately represent for me the struggle of like being human and like the human conditions, so definitely them.” Kay prefers to use her smartphone because it provides her access to the internet and Spotify, which offer her a vast selection of music to choose from and because the smartphone is so easy to take everywhere.

As far as the qualitative differences between listening to music privately via a PMP when she is in public versus listening on a radio or stereo with other people present, Kay had this to say: Yeah. I honestly don’t know if I would listen to the same type of music. I’m thinking of like in my sad type of moments I don’t know if I would listen to the same music if everyone else was going to be experiencing that with me. I guess that’s more just because that’s the way that our society is structured now.

Actually, I think about that a lot while I’m on the bus, like seeing everyone on their phones and listening to their music separately, instead of together . . . I think

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the way, kind of the way our culture is set up now is like I feel like sharing the emotions and vulnerability with people is almost, like with strangers especially, is very taboo. I think people might resist that experience.

If she were to bring her radio on the bus and become emotional while listening to sad music, Kay wouldn’t feel comfortable because she thinks the other people on the bus would feel uncomfortable with her public expression of emotion. When she listens to music via her smartphone with her headphones on, she says, “I’m very much like in my own little space when I’m listening to say like those sad songs. It’s kind of something that I am experiencing all alone.” Whereas if she were listening to a sad song with a friend, she thinks it’s possible that it might open up some space for them to have a conversation about both of their feelings but Kay has some reservations about how it might actually turn out. Her experiences with her family while she was growing up, were similar. Although her parents enjoyed classic rock music and at times shared their own experiences of a certain song with Kay, she still frequently saw herself as “being in my own space and like processing whatever emotions I was feeling, like on my own, in my own space and my family couldn’t hear that . . . there were also times with my iPod where I was like kind of in my own world.”

Kay described an experience she had this past summer while listening to a new album by the Avett Brothers. She was listening by herself and one of the songs on the album “I Wish I Were,” evoked powerful emotions and thoughts about a painful and tumultuous relationship she was involved in. The music and lyrics spoke to her.

And it was so beautiful, but also really sad and kind of mirrored the emotions that I had felt, like it’s basically talking about if you get too close to a person, like if

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you get too close to someone and show too much emotion will that kind of scare them away, or push them out, because it’s too overwhelming for them. And that was, I’m sad right now, I’m kind of going through a breakup, and at the time it was the same, I was thinking about the same person, so that was an experience that I had with this person . . . so that was like hearing that song and hearing the singer articulate like so clearly how I felt of just being really nervous to like push this person away that I cared so much about. That was like so powerful, and I just like actually right now thinking about it is making me tear-up a little bit. I remember when I was sitting outside and I heard that song (for the first time) I was just like sobbing. Yeah, it was so powerful.

This incident was one in which listening to a particular song not only evoked powerful emotions in Kay, the lyrics spoke to a personal relationship she had been in and allowed her to better understand the perspective of the person she had been dating.

For Kay, she describes the difference between her attachment to her iPod and her smartphone like this, she would not like forgetting her smartphone at home because she would miss listening to her music throughout the day. However, all the music and the playlists she has on her smartphone are stored on Spotify and could simply be downloaded onto another device, so if she actually lost her smartphone, she would not be as upset as she would be if she were to lose her iPod. The music on her iPod, which is not stored anywhere else, would truly be lost. So the significance of the smartphone, is that it provides her immediate and unlimited access to her music, but if she were to lose the music itself - that is what would be truly distressing for her.

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When asked if she thought it would be beneficial to share the music one listens to with a therapist, Kay said: Hmm. That’s interesting, yeah. I think that could really be useful. I mean at least for someone like me, I think someone who can identify that they do use music frequently to help regulate their mood. And yet for me, like I use music kind of like to process . . . my mood and also just to process being a human, so I think that could be really useful, and also when I just told you about that experience with that song, I think all the time really music and lyrics can help you articulate how you are feeling in a way that you can’t do in your own words. So like if you could find a song that’s like wow, this is really exactly how I feel in these moments. Yeah, if you were able to share that with your therapist, I think that could be really helpful.

She went on to say she has friends who don’t listen to music as much, or in the same ways, she does and so she isn’t as sure that it would be as useful for them, as it would be for her, to discuss the music they listen to with a therapist.

Cas. Cas is a 22 year-old Caucasian female who attends a university in Michigan. She is also a senior, majoring in Environmental Science. She indicated on her survey that she prefers using a portable music player and she uses both a smartphone and a laptop, but she uses the smartphone most often. Cas listens to music for approximately two hours per day, which was the amount of time most frequently chosen by survey participants (37%). She also selected the answer extremely important to describe the importance of

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music for her personally. Cas said music is important for her because it helps her to get in touch with, understand and process her feelings. She said it is difficult for her at times to understand, on her own, what she is feeling and she finds the process of listening to music, similar to that of talking to someone else about what she is going through. “It like helps you, helps you get that cry out or it helps you like talk through and finally understand what you’re feeling and it is sort of another way of doing that for me.”

Cas described how she uses music for a variety of reasons and how she deliberately chooses a particular genre of music, depending upon the goal she has in mind. She listens to classical music whenever she is studying because it helps her focus, whereas music with lyrics can be distracting for her. Cas is mindful of what she listens to and frequently looks up the lyrics to a song so she will understand more fully what a song is about, so if she were listening to songs with lyrics while studying, she says that she would be more likely to get sidetracked. Cas also uses music to calm herself when she is feeling anxious.

Definitely to get me out of my own head if I am anxious. It helps me like ground myself. I listen to it on the way to class or whenever I am driving . . . I think it’s like another way of like . . . preparing myself for the day or for the class, like trying to like bring my mind back to my body a little bit, and to (have) a little bit of like space on my own before I am sitting in a class of like 100 people.

When asked to describe some of the reasons she prefers to listen to music on her PMP rather than via a stereo or radio, Cas said she appreciates all the ways a portable player is so advanced and convenient: she can choose her own music unlike when she listens to the radio, she can skip a song much more quickly than she can if she were

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listening to a CD on the stereo and she can carry her PMP everywhere with her.

Listening to the radio has actually become an “aggravating experience” for her because of all the commercials and the music she really doesn’t want to listen to. She also does not like to listen to music with some people because she feels pressured to cater to them and play the music they would prefer to hear. Cas can also feel uncomfortable if others inquire about the music she listens to.

For me it’s—my music is pretty personal. I don’t always like when people ask what I am listening to or anything because I don’t—because it is just important to me and I don’t want to know or like I don’t have any interest knowing what other people think about it . . . And for me, listening to music with other people, unless I am more intimately involved with them, is less of an emotional experience and more of just a social sharing experience.

Cas tends to use the repeat function on her PMP if she hears a song and feels “really moved.” Sometimes, it is the singer’s voice that affects her and sometimes it is the lyrics.

“Either I thought the artist’s voice was amazing and I like felt really deeply, just liked the sound or if the lyrics I felt like very (much) resonated with me.” When Cas feels a strong emotional connection to a song she will listen to it repeatedly by herself, in order to get in touch with her feelings.

I easily suppress my emotions and I try not to cry and I try to not let other people see when I am having a bad day or something. And if I get that time alone where I can listen to a song and actually realize what I am feeling and realize yeah, just like what kind of mental state I’m in and it is kind of a relief. And yeah, it is like

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relieving to listen to a song that sort of mirrors the emotional or maybe the physical state I am in.

Music can also bring up old memories for Cas, especially memories of people she was in a relationship with and whom she misses or is thankful for. Cas also says that she would feel somewhat lost if she lost her PMP because it not only keeps her connected to music, it also helps her to feel more connected to people.

When asked if she believed it would be beneficial, if she were in therapy, to share the music she listens to with her therapist, Cas said, I definitely do. I’ve had experience with that like showing a song that I - - like it.

I had been having a hard time explaining how I was feeling about something, sometimes I like to show people, or like in that kind of situation the therapist, the song because I feel like it better explains it in a way that I couldn’t.

She went on to say that she is currently learning how to play the guitar and is very motivated to learn the songs she has most connected with. Cas thinks this is another way she might share her music with a therapist. By sharing a song which means a lot to her and has evoked a strong emotional response, like crying a lot, Cas thinks a therapist might be better able to help her achieve even more clarity about what she is experiencing.

“Yeah, because then like - - I feel with a therapist you kind of say how you are feeling and they say it back to you in a way you can understand.”

Cas had some final thoughts about her own uses of music via a PMP, and she talked about creating and using playlists more for times when she is feeling the need for some “musical support.” She has playlists for the times when she is struggling with the break-up of a relationship, when she wants to feel happier and she even has a “swing set

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playlist” of peaceful music for the times when she goes to a nearby park and sits on a swing. “That like makes me feel more grounded. So yeah, different situations I want to be in or different moods I want to be in.”

Summary of Phase Two Interviews The importance of music to all five of the phase two participants is evident. All five participants were also able to provide ample evidence, throughout the interview process, which supported their assertions. Every one of the interviewees expressed a preference for listening to music via their portable music players at certain times or to achieve certain personal aims. Four out of the five participants spend significantly more time each day listening to music than the two hours, which the majority of survey respondents indicated that they do. Each participant was also able to describe multiple ways in which they incorporate music into their daily lives. Although as individuals, each participant uses music in their own unique ways, they also have much in common in that they depend on their portable music players on a daily basis, they appreciate the personal control they have over the music they listen to and they use music for several similar reasons, including to assist them in regulating their emotions. All five participants disclosed that they deliberately choose a certain genre or playlist of music to listen to, based upon a particular goal or aim and all five unanimously supported the proposal that exploring a client’s music in therapy holds the potential to be beneficial.

The following brief portrayals of the five interviewees, will further illustrate their unique uses of music via their portable music players.

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May was just 8 years old when she began listening to music via a PMP, and she listens to music from the moment she wakes up in the morning – she has her alarm clock set to wake her to the song “Rise” by Katie Perry – right up until she goes to bed at night.

She utilizes classical music to help her focus while studying, and she has created a variety of playlists with titles and content to match a specific goal or aim of hers, such as: Spa music, Mellow Out music, Sleep music, Sad Songs, and Songs to Sing in the Car. May also enjoys listening to music with earbuds because they block out the external noise in her environment and allow her to get “in the zone of the music.” May also believes that listening to music this way allows her to “be like more unique” because others aren’t able to hear what she is listening to and make comments or judgements about her music. This allows her to be the only arbiter of what music is right for her, and she says she tends to pick songs in which the singer expresses her feelings either through their vocals, the song lyrics or both.

Gia was 10 years old when she began listening to music via a PMP and currently listens to music, primarily, on her smartphone. She has a strong interest in music and believes music offers her an avenue for both self-expression and a deeper immersion into her feelings. She says having a portable music player has “made it better for me” and that having music to listen to wherever she goes, keeps her “sane” and helps her to “feel very calm.” Gia attaches a lot of significance to her smartphone and says if she lost it, she would feel like she lost a piece of her mind. She describes her smartphone as an “electronic personification” of herself. Like May, Gia also appreciates the fact that no one else can hear or judge the music she listens to when she uses her PMP.

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Gia also creates her own playlists and explains her reasons for doing so this way, “I like my own personal form of music listening. I like to listen to music my own way.

Like my own type.” When asked to further describe her own experiences of listening to music privately on her smartphone versus listening to music with others, Gia made it abundantly clear she prefers listening privately. She said “the music is disturbed” when she listens with others. She gets upset by any negative comments others may make about her music and if they talk over the music, it actually becomes a stressful experience for her. Gia prefers to listen to music via her smartphone privately and without any external interruptions. As she further described her experience of listening to music by herself, Gia said she likes how she can adjust the volume to be as loud or as quiet as she wants, without bothering anyone else. “You’re just one with you and your music . . . It is just the way you would like to listen to it!” For Gia, having personal control over every aspect of the music she listens to, including the context in which she listens to it – getting it just right – is of primary importance.

Eva was 7 years old when she first began using a portable music player. She believes her stereo has better sound than her portable players do, and she tends to listen to music on her stereo while she is doing chores, because it helps her to stay focused on the task at hand. However, she uses her smartphone or laptop when she is commuting or when she feels like she wants to have a more personal connection with music. As an only child, an introvert and someone who has struggled with depression, Eva described some of the ways she has used music to connect with her parents, to withdraw and recharge when she is exhausted by being out publicly with others, and to vent her emotions rather than allowing them to remain pent-up inside.

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For Eva, one of the primary benefits of listening to music as she worked through her experience of depression was that it helped her to feel less alone because she knew there was someone else who understood what she was experiencing. When listening to a song, she attends to both the lyrical and instrumental qualities of the music. “My music is not - - how can I put this? It’s not stuff that’s just sort of handed to me like the music I listen to, I choose very deliberately.” Eva also uses music to help her switch gears when she finds herself fruitlessly going over something repeatedly in her mind. At those times, she uses songs from musicals to help switch her focus away from that line of thinking.

She also turns to her portable players when she is feeling something intensely, “It sort of has to do with how deeply I am feeling the emotions that connect to how exclusive almost I want my connection to the music to be.” Like several participants, Eva is aware of music providing her the space to process her thoughts and feelings. “I am aware that I have this space, whatever that space may be to sort of tune out for a while . . . the music takes me to a different reality, (to) like you know the stuff . . . that I need to process or think about, or understand better.”

Kay was 9 years old when she first began listening to music via an iPod. She still has, and uses, her iPod but currently uses her smartphone most often. She is most aware of the ways she uses music to regulate her mood and says she chooses the music she listens to each day based upon how she is feeling at the time. Spotify, the app she uses, puts together playlists for her based upon her history of selections and she likes that benefit. However, Kay creates her own playlists because she also enjoys having even more personal control over the music she listens to. She has playlists she uses when she either wants to “lean into” whatever she is feeling, or for the times she would rather move

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away from, or alter, her feelings. Kay also finds that both the lyrics and the music of a song influence her, and she grants them equal significance. She finds it “comforting” when the lyrics to a song accurately describe how she is feeling and, like Eva, she feels like she is “not alone.” The Avett Brothers is a band she identifies with and says they are able to accurately capture what life is like for her and others, and she describes a particular song of theirs which “kind of mirrored the emotions that I had felt.”

Like other participants, Kay also described being in her own little space while listening to music via her PMP and remembers that experience first occurred when she was much younger and listening to music on her iPod, “being in my own space and like processing whatever emotions I was feeling, like on my own, in my own space and my family couldn’t hear that . . . there were also times with my iPod where I was kind of in my own little world.” She stated that today she thinks our society is structured in a way which makes it “taboo” to share one’s vulnerability or emotions with others, so listening to music via a PMP allows one to circumvent breaking that taboo and causing others to feel uncomfortable.

Cas, like Eva, was 7 years old when she first began using a portable music player.

Today she mainly uses her smartphone when listening to music. Cas says it is sometimes difficult for her to understand what she is feeling, so one way she utilizes her PMP to help her get in touch with, understand and process her feelings. She also very deliberately chooses the genre of music she listens to and bases it upon a particular goal she has in mind. Like May, she listens to classical music when she is studying because music with lyrics is too distracting for her. She uses music to calm her and help her “get out of my own head” when she is feeling anxious. Cas also refers to music as providing

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her with “a little bit of space” to ground herself before going into a class of 100 people.

She appreciates how advanced her smartphone is and that she can choose her own music to listen to. Listening to the radio has become an aggravating experience for Cas because of the commercials and the music she would not have chosen to listen to herself.

Like Gia, Cas does not like to listen to music with most people because she feels pressured to play the music they would prefer, and she does not like it when people ask her about the music she listens to. For Cas, the music she listens to is a very personal matter and she doesn’t care to hear what others think about her choices. She is drawn to a particular song and is most likely to listen to it repeatedly, when she has a strong emotional reaction to either the singer’s voice or the lyrics. Because Cas tends to suppress her emotions and tries not to cry or let others know when she is struggling, it is particularly helpful for her that she can use music to safely get in touch with her feelings.

“Iif I get that time alone where I can listen to a song and actually realize what I am feeling . . . and just like what kind of mental state I’m in, and it is kind of a relief . . . to listen to a song that sort of mirrors the emotional or maybe the physical state I am in.”

Cas describes listening to her music privately as being a very similar process to that of talking to another person about her struggles.

Emerging Themes Six themes emerged from the interview process. These themes were: 1.

The PMP functioning as a transitional object,

2.

the PMP providing a self organizing selfobject function for the user,

3.

the PMP assisting the user with emotional regulation,

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4.

listening to music via a PMP providing transitional space,

5.

repeated listening providing various intrapsychic experiences, and

6.

a unanimous endorsement of the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

Analysis of the qualitative data commenced with repeated listening to the audio recordings of the interviews in order to develop an impression of the tone of each participant’s account of her relationship with, and uses of, her portable music player.

Once the written transcriptions were available, they were also read through several times in order to develop a general impression of each participant’s unique experiences.

Coding began once a sense of the entire body of the audio and written information was developed. Noteworthy ideas which came to mind were recorded and then portions of the interviews were bracketed and given a tentative heading. A list of topics was then generated by grouping similar headings and determining their meanings and relevance to the objectives of the study. Emergent categories and codes were noted, and distinct patterns began to materialize when both affective and thematic methods of analysis were employed. The thematic method was applicable to this particular analysis, because the questions regarding participants’ uses of music to assist them with emotional regulation and other intrapsychic experiences were all focused on illuminating participants’ implicit processes. Focused coding was used to determine outcomes.

All five of the Phase Two participants indicated they relied upon their PMP on a daily basis and said they would feel distressed if they were to leave home without it. Due largely to its ease of portability, the most frequently used PMP for participants is their smartphone. Although their smartphones are used for multiple purposes such as internet

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use, phone calls and texting, all interview participants expressed a significant reliance upon their smartphones for listening to music throughout their day. All five interviewees also discussed the ways they utilize the multiple functions their portable music players’ provide to assist them in structuring and managing their daily lives. Because of the personal control and portability a PMP provides for them, some participants described using their portable music players from the time they wake up in the morning until they go to bed at night and for many of the activities in between. Individually, they described a variety of uses for their PMP such as: choosing specific music to wake up to, to commute, to study, to complete chores, to prepare for a test or to stay focused during a competition etc.

Phase two participants also discussed the ways they use listening to music on their PMP’s to help them regulate their mood. The specific ways they utilize music for this purpose differs among participants, but they all speak of particular ways in which music assists them with mood regulation, such as: to understand what it is they are feeling, to deliberately create a mood, to delve deeper into a particular feeling state or to alter a mood they do not want to be in. All participants also described their own unique experiences of listening to music, in ways which appear to have allowed them the transitional space to access and explore their internal worlds. A common phrase which was used by participants to describe this experience was “being in the zone.”

Each of the interviewees, also talked about the reasons they value both the instrumental and lyrical aspects of a song and how, at times, their initial reaction to the music itself is so powerful it prompts them to google the lyrics of the song in order to explore the potential meanings of their reaction further. Or, they may find a line from a

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song going through their mind and decide to cue up the song and listen to it more closely in order to search for and understand why the song came to mind. This may lead to listening to the song repeatedly which is also something all five participants stated that they do at times. Furthermore, they spoke about other occasions when they are prompted to listen to a song repeatedly and what results when they do so. All interviewees talked of times when they felt understood and were comforted by hearing a singer articulate so clearly and precisely their own experiences and feelings.

Themes from Phase Two The themes from phase two were determined by analyzing participants’ answers to the interview questions and are primarily based upon commonalities in their responses.

Although each of the interviewees responded somewhat differently to questions, it was clear that they each use their portable music players and the music listened to via them for many similar reasons. A total of six themes were developed from the interviews conducted during phase two, which include: 1. PMP functioning as a transitional object, 2. PMP providing a self organizing selfobject function, 3. PMP assisting the user with emotional regulation, 4. listening to music via a PMP providing the listener with the transitional space needed to access their internal worlds, 5. listening to a song or a specific artist, especially repeatedly, can provide the listener with various intrapsychic experiences such as: emotional constancy, auditory mirroring and twinship, and

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6. unanimous endorsement of the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

These six themes cover the meanings young adults attach to their PMP’s and the multiple ways they are used to assist them with emotional regulation and other intrapsychic needs.

Theme 1: PMP functioning as a transitional object.

A transitional object is generally defined as a physical object with which an individual develops a very personal relationship and uses this object in various ways to assist them with regulating their emotions. The idea that a portable music player might function as a transitional object for young adults was one of the initial catalysts for this study, and it eventually became a foundational aim to determine if it was true. The following quote defines a transitional object in a manner which fits quite well with the ways the young adults in this study described their uses of portable music players.

The creation and use of a transitional object is many things, including an attempt to find comfort, to define self and other, to influence the environment, to deal with separation, and to elaborate an imaginative world. The transitional object is a product of the development of memory, and at the same time suggests that memory is not fully developed, its creation indicating that the image of the parent is not fully internalized and available (Blum, 2013, p.122).

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From very early in life children use transitional objects to soothe their anxieties and to comfort them, and the young adults in this study appear to use their portable music players in much the same ways.

Milner says that Winnicott understood that the transitional object was a ‘symbol of a journey – it seems really to be a two way journey; both to the finding of the objective reality of the subject – the I AM. The good transitional object can also help to enlarge the child’s objectively perceived world by serving as a trusty companion to hold onto while entering new territories . . . The new, the unknown, by itself can be frightening for the small child, but carrying the faithful transitional object establishes a bridge between the old and known and the new and unknown . . . In this sense, the transitional object is part of Piaget’s ‘assimilative schemata’, without which accommodation to the new cannot meaningfully occur” (Grolnick, 1978).

The following quotes from participants illustrate how attached they are to their portable music players, the ways they depend upon them on a daily basis and how they would feel if they either forgot their PMP at home, or lost it.

•

I’ve forgotten it at home before, or even if I forget my headphones . . . like it will ruin my day . . . because I can’t listen to music . . . It sounds silly, but that’s just the way it is for me. (May)

•

It’s kind of like a connection because with these streaming apps where you can stream music it seems like the app knows how you are feeling and knows what to play at any given moment. And so when you - - I just experienced this. When you lose your smartphone, you feel like you lost a piece of your mind because you

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feel like that inanimate object is actually - - knows you better than anyone else because they know how you are feeling. If you were to lose it, like you felt like you lost your mind because you have to start over. If you get a new device, if it is not recovered, you have to start over and try building that relationship with your phone to the point where it knows you like the other one knew you. It would be like losing yourself. (Gia) •

I actually have left my you know iPod at home before and it’s like - - it’s kind of actually hard for me. I definitely rely on music from like a day-to-day basis. So if I have to basically go through a day without listening to music, like that’s difficult for me . . . And it’s not easy, it is not a fun experience when I don’t have that with me. (Eva)

•

Oh no, all my music is gone! That’s how I would feel if I lost my iPod because all my music that I don’t have stored anywhere else is actually on my iPod. (Kay)

•

Yeah, I mean it definitely means something to me in that (if) I am without it I would be definitely less connected to people. And less connected to music because that’s my main like way of listening to music is my phone. So I would feel a little lost without it, which is kind of sad. (Cas)

Theme 2: PMP providing a self organizing selfobject function.

Please see Chapter I for the definition of a self organizing selfobject. Many of the options a portable music player now provides for each user, such as the ability to choose, order, repeat and delete songs on one’s personal playlists, has resulted in more deliberate and purposeful choices and uses of music by the listener. The young adults who

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participated in phase two of this study have provided their own accounts of how they have utilized this technology in order to assist them with a number of personal needs.

Thus, the use of a portable music player as a self organizing selfobject appears to have assisted participants by providing them with an instrument for literally and figuratively categorizing their multiple selves or self-states. The following quote by Stephen Porges speaks to the potential power of music to assist one with the psychological processes which form one’s developing sense of self. He said, Music is intertwined with emotions, affect regulation, and interpersonal social behavior and other psychological processes that describe human experiences in response to environmental, interpersonal, and even intrapersonal challenges.

These psychological processes shape our sense of self, (italics mine) contribute to our abilities to form relationships, and determine whether we feel safe in various contexts or with specific people. Although these processes can be objectively observed and subjectively described, they represent a complex interplay between our psychological experience and our physiology (Porges, in press).

Kohut described a selfobject’s function as being most useful in supporting the cohesion and vitality of the self. The following are direct quotes from individual participants, which describe various ways they have utilized the options their PMP offers them and also correspond with Kohut’s description of a selfobject’s purpose.

•

Day-to-day I listen to music all the time. Like my alarm is a song, Katie Perry’s “Rise” and the song isn’t super upbeat where it’s going to startle me when I wake up. I listen to classical music when I study to try to help me like focus. I have many playlists. My big one is ‘May’s Music’, another one is ‘Mellow Out’, the

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other ones are called like; Sleep, Sad Songs, and Songs to sing in the Car. It (listening to music on her PMP) will pump me up for something, help me become less nervous or give me confidence to give a speech, or be focused for swimming competitions. (May) •

Because music is so important to me, I have like actual expensive headphones, not just earbuds that I use to listen to music; it helps me think. And when I use that, it’s not just music as sort of background noise, music sort of becomes an actual part of your reality. Eva)

•

Because with any phone whether it’s an iPhone or an Android . . . you customize it in a way that best fits you. Whether it’s where you want the apps to be located . . . formatted, or like what streaming app you used or your social media that you use, like you’ve made it to be an electronic personification of yourself. (Gia)

•

But you have your choice of whatever music on your portable device and it’s yours . . . like my own type. If I am feeling a certain type of way, I listen to that type of music . . . I like the individuality of it, of a portable device. (Gia)

•

I’ve also used music to sort of escape a situation. Like if my mind is sort of playing over something too many times, listening to songs is really helpful for me. I’ve used that (music) as sort of something to take my mind off what was really going on. And so (until) I felt like I was in a better position to address it.

(Eva)

•

I mainly use Spotify . . . and through that I can listen to really any song I want . . .

So I find myself using that pretty much every day, like whenever I’m heading to class, whenever I’m riding the bus, like I’ll just use that to kind of like take a

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second and check in with myself, (and) see how I’m feeling. There are certain playlists on Spotify, but then I also have a bunch of other playlists that I have put together on my own. (Kay) •

I am taking advantage of playlists more . . . when I am feeling like I would need some musical support, I could go to that playlist. So that’s just a way for me to kind of like categorize some music that I listen to . . . It helps me like ground myself. I listen to it on the way to class or whenever I am driving somewhere. I almost always have my headphones in if I am walking to a class or walking to a meeting or something. I think that’s another way of like . . . like preparing myself for the day or for the class . . . And if I get that time alone, where I can listen to a song and actually realize what I am feeling and realize yeah, just like what kind of mental state I’m in and it is kind of a relief. (Cas)

Theme 3: PMP assisting the user with emotional regulation.

The link between music and emotion has long been established and the healing effects of music are universally recognized. (Music Therapy, www.unh.edu/healthservices) Emotions are biologically based and they play an adaptive role in survival. For example, several studies have shown that in the process of infants’ attachment to a caregiver, infants have the ability to understand and imitate the emotional states of others.

“The transformation of affect and thus, self-experience, is a complex process that occurs verbally and non-verbally throughout a treatment, or throughout early childhood” (Lachmann, 2008, p.12). Our emotions inform us, for example sadness is typically a response to loss, anger a response to a violation and fear a response to danger etc. Those

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who have difficulty accessing their full range of emotional experience are therefore deprived of important information. “Emotions can thus be thought of as a type of embodied knowledge . . . As such, they are at the core of subjective and intersubjective meaning” (Safran & Muran, 2000, p.43).

Portable music players and the personal control and privacy they provide the listener, have also enhanced and altered the ways young adults use music to assist them with emotional regulation. The following descriptions by those young adults who participated in the interview process, highlight some of the ways they have utilized listening to music on their portable music players to assist them with emotional regulation.

•

At night, it is normally more me turning to like headphones (for) things that are more like more of a personal connection between me and music . . . and I think in general I tend to prefer that, not based on the kind of mood I’m in, but the intensity of the mood . . . it sort of has to do with how deeply I am feeling the emotions that connect to how exclusive, almost, I want my connection to the music to be . . . like if there is one song that’s connected to a memory, I will listen to that song again because I am in a similar head space or emotional state to that which I was in when I first listened to it in that memory. (Eva)

•

Yeah, I think it helps my mood, like especially in the morning if I’m having a rough morning. I will listen to a playlist that will have bumped up music to make me better . . . help me become less nervous. (May)

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•

I like always having the (PMP) music in the background, if necessary, to keep me sane. When I listen to music I feel very calm . . . it instantly calms me down.

(Gia)

•

If you want to relax, you listen to something slow. If you are feeling upbeat, you listen to an upbeat song . . . it can be a way of comfort in a situation. (Gia)

•

I can’t actually think of a situation even when I’m venting emotions through music, that it doesn’t end with a fulfilling emotion. It also helps me sort of vent my emotions and keep myself from penting them up in ways that might have otherwise been unhealthy. (Eva)

•

I can think of a couple of experiences where you know, I’ve been in public and I was upset and I sort of used music to sort of – not necessarily cheer myself up – but sort of (to) console myself a little bit. (Eva)

•

Well, I have Spotify (and) there’s an option for like moods actually. Depending on what kind of mood I’m in that will affect what kind of genre or what kind of music (I choose). (May)

•

The music sort of helps me cope with - - like a factor of depression which is that it is really easy for me to slip back into sort of cycles of thinking over, there are negative thoughts or situations that have caused me anxiety that I am overthinking, not really processing. And so, having music on in the background sort of helps me keep my mind, I don’t know, sort of on a shallow level, like from going too deep into something that could be destructive. (Eva)

•

Like I have a playlist on Spotify that is kind of like sad songs, so those moments when I’m feeling sad, and I just kind of feel like leaning into it and just feeling it .

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. . and it will kind of help me, like you know sometimes when honestly I need to like cry it out. (Kay) •

But sometimes when I’m feeling down and like I don’t really feel like, like I don’t want to feel sad right now . . . then I have other music that I will turn to that kind of like will just alter my mood and make me feel not necessarily like oh okay everything is fine, but can just make me feel a little more comforted. (Kay)

•

Like as we have been talking I’ve just been reflecting on how much I use music every day to regulate my mood, and like how important that is for me. I definitely (use music) to get out of my own head, if I’m anxious. (Cas)

Theme 4: Listening to music via a PMP providing the listener with the transitional space needed to access their internal worlds.

Transitional space is generally defined as an intermediate area of experience between one’s internal and external worlds. Bridges calls this transitional space “a neutral zone which we have to inhabit on the journey between the ending of our previous state and the beginnings of our new state. It can be a strange and confusing place but also one with great potential and latent creativity . . . people can become innovative . . . creativity can be boosted by stepping back and asking key questions” (Green, 2012, p.1). Kristovich, looked at the concept of transitional space in the context of adolescents’ use of rock music and found “music allows one to recapture lost feelings, to grieve what is past . . . and as a pre-representational form it provides transitional space for new symbolic gestures to emerge . . . it creates a space for adolescents to reinstate primitive feelings in their attempt to go back and rework their identities . . . music offers an opportunity for

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interaction with an ‘other’ without the risk of an unwanted response from the other” ( 2001, p.6).

In this study, the concept of transitional space is used to describe the space that the music listened to via a PMP affords the listener between her internal world and the external world she is living in. This space can simultaneously provide the listener with a buffer and a link between these two worlds. It also offers the individual the safe space they need in order to get in touch with, explore and contemplate the deeper meanings of their present day experiences. The following excerpts taken directly from the interview transcripts, elucidate how participants have utilized transitional space to assist them in multiple ways.

•

I put myself in the zone to relax. Listening through headphones you’re kind of like in the zone of the music too. You don’t hear any other things around your environment . . . no distractions I guess. (May)

•

I also think like I’m kind of - - whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, when I’m listening to my phone with my headphones hooked in, I’m very much in my own little space when I’m listening . . . I am experiencing all alone . . . when I reflect on that, I still think of myself as a high schooler maybe, or a middle schooler listening to music with my headphones in. I still see myself as like being kind of in my own space and like processing whatever emotion I was feeling, like on my own, in my own space and my family couldn’t hear that . . . where I was kind of in my own world. (Kay)

•

Yes, and it’s sort of like . . . the music kind of takes me to a different reality, like you know the stuff that I am dealing with, the stuff that’s gone on in my life that I

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need to process or think about or understand better . . . it’s rather that I am drifting from what’s around me so that I can better process the things that I know are affecting me and not try to shut them out. (Eva) •

Then I think those emotional states tend to heavily influence the music that I want to listen to in the first place, and the music sort of pops into my head, so I think - and I am sure that’s part of the reason . . . I feel the need to listen to a song that I use in its entirety, or properly, whatever that may mean at the moment because it’s part of me processing things. (Eva)

•

Because they were definitely lyrics or pieces of a melody that I would fixate on you know especially when I was going through some of the worst of my depression. And that was relevant and I was self-aware enough to understand that it was relevant and to understand that these weren’t random and they were representative of something deeper than I was feeling. And in that sense, I think it really helped me to better understand myself and my emotions and ultimately be able to handle them better because you know being able to use music to get to some deeper problem, you know maybe I wouldn’t understand it as well as I do now if I didn’t have that music to sort of give me some edge. Or to at least give me a starting place. (Eva)

•

I do this when I don’t really need to be mentally present for anything . . . it’s just when I am sort of aware that I have this space, whatever that space may be to sort of tune out for a while. (Eva)

•

If a new song (came out) and I like it, then I’ll listen to it, but if the song really relates to my life at a certain time, I will listen to it constantly, but typically when

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that happens, it’s like a sadder song because I’m stuck like in a rut, I guess. So one song that I still listen to . . . I was enrolled in guitar lessons . . . my grandma had cancer . . . I learned to play the song “Wake Me Up When September Ends”

by Green Day because she wanted to hear me play it before she passed away, so I don’t play the guitar anymore, and I think her death has a lot to do with that, because I just wanted nothing to do with the outside world. I still listen to that song. Not like how I did back then when I would sit there and cry and sulk about it . . . Now I guess when I listen to it . . . I will remember certain things about her . . . (but) rather than being sad, now it’s more of a remembrance thing. I guess it will make me in a happy mood that she’s like in peace. (May) •

Like trying to bring my mind back to my body a little bit and (have) a little bit of like space on my own before I am sitting in a class of like a hundred people. So yeah, just like kind of filling he space between. (Cas)

•

Especially if I am sort of trying to zone out and process things, and kind of using the song to do that . . . my music is not - - how can I put this? It’s not stuff just sort of handed to me. Like the music I listen to, I choose very deliberately. (Eva)

Theme 5: Listening to a song or a specific artist, especially repeatedly, can provide the listener with various intrapsychic experiences such as: emotional constancy, auditory mirroring and twinship.

Attachment theory has transformed the therapeutic community’s understanding of human beings early emotional and relational development, their internal worlds and the consequences of caregivers’ ongoing lack of attunement to a child’s needs. The

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intrapsychic concepts found in this theme are defined in Chapter I, and are all understood as being related to one’s early attachment experiences, and therefore the following descriptions given by study participants may illustrate how young adults continue to benefit from having these types of intrapsychic experiences.

The need for others, throughout our lives, who are attuned to our feelings and who can communicate their understanding and empathy for us continues to be of great importance. One of the experiences several participants described was that of listening to a particular artist or song that very accurately described what they themselves were going through and/or feeling, and the impact on them was that they felt comforted and reassured that they were not alone. Ferenczi (1915) described this process of unconscious appraisal and communication. He said, “The dialogues of the unconscious’ . . . where the unconscious of two people completely understand themselves and each other, without the remotest conception of this on the part of the consciousness of either” (Safran & Muran, 2000, p.45). Perhaps this unconscious appraisal and communication, albeit one-way in this case, is what occurs when a listener hears a particular song and identifies with an aspect of the internal world of the singer/songwriter.

•

I was raised on Green Day. It was one of my top favorite bands. One of their songs was actually a lullaby of mine . . . they were sort of representative as well, of this freedom of thought and freedom of speech that my parents allowed me that I really appreciated and needed . . . and Green Day was a great musical example of that . . . and I just developed this bond with their art. Something about it, I really took to and I really connected with it . . . they’re still among the artists that best speak to me, and I have sort of a history almost with their music. (Eva)

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•

My favorite, like their lyrics are amazing, The Avett Brothers, are my favorite band. I would say I actually love them because I can turn to their music in like a variety of situations. They have such a breadth of different, I guess I could say like moods of music . . . they definitely have some really sad songs that I turn to when I’m feeling that way, but they also have . . . uplifting (songs). I like their lyrics, because they very accurately represent for me the struggle of like being human, and like the human condition. (Kay)

•

The Avett Brothers . . . their new album came out and I was really excited . . . there’s this one song on the album called “I Wish I Was” and it’s so beautiful, but also really sad and (it) kind of mirrored the emotions that I had felt . . . and that was like, I’m sad right now, I’m kind of going through a breakup, and at the time it was the same, I was thinking about the same person . . . so it was like sharing that song and hearing the singer articulate like so clearly how I had felt of just like really being nervous to like push this person away that I cared so much about.

That was like so powerful. (Kay)

•

It definitely helped me to feel less alone and less isolated . . . (I) was feeling like I was alone and no one could really understand what I was going through, but when I heard music articulating not only literally, but also through the instrument, what that pain does feel like and what it is like to go through that. (Eva)

•

When I get a song that I’ve been listening to you know kind of stuck in my head . . . it makes me feel good, maybe I want to listen to it again . . . it’s just more about feeling like I can reconnect with the music . . . the goal is to be able to re-establish

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some connection that I felt to the music, which is why I chose it as something I wanted around in the first place. (Eva) •

The thing that I find with the lyrics is that to hear someone else describe so like accurately how I’m feeling, it feels really . . . I guess it feels really validating and comforting to know, like wow, someone else knows exactly how this feels to feel . . . Yeah, like it’s just comforting to be like wow, I’m not alone in this experience. (Kay)

•

If I just listen to a song and it really moved me, in a way like either that I thought like the artist’s voice was amazing and I like felt really deeply just like the sound, or if the lyrics I felt like resonated with me . . . Yeah, I think it’s just if I connect to it strongly, I tend to listen to it more than once . . . and yeah, it is like relieving to listen to a song that sort of mirrors the emotional or maybe physical state I am in. (Cas)

•

Because I easily suppress my emotions, and I try not to cry and I try not to let other people see when I’m having a bad day or something. And if I get that time alone where I can actually listen to a song and actually realize what I am feeling and realize yeah, just like what kind of mental state I’m in, and it is kind of a relief. (Cas)

•

Sometimes if there is a song that I am particularly relating to . . . and I feel like I need to listen to it a few times to really either get an emotion out or calm down or whatever it may be, I’ll repeat it . . . but then (if) it doesn’t happen, it’s not like I feel like I have failed the music or something . . . it’s more of I know that I will have a certain reaction to it and it’s sort of a fulfilling reaction normally. (Eva)

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Theme 6: Unanimous endorsement of the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

The ultimate objective and the potential value of this study, was to encourage psychotherapists to be open to exploring the music their young adult clients listen to, with the understanding that it may provide them with another mode for accessing their internal worlds. Levitin gives support to the belief that music may be more effective than language at times (clinically) due to its ability to help clients access their emotions. He said, Music invokes far more than language, music taps into primitive brain structures involved with motivation, reward and emotion . . . Our response to effective music (groove) is largely pre- or unconscious because it goes through the cerebellum rather than the frontal lobes. The story of your brain on music is the story of an exquisite orchestration of brain regions, involving both the oldest and newest parts of the human brain . . . When we love a piece of music, it reminds us of other music we have heard, and it activates memory traces of emotional times in our lives .. . It’s all about connections (Levitin, 2008, Pp. 191-192).

The young adults in this study all responded very positively to the idea of exploring the music they listen to with a psychotherapist. Along with their cited reasons for endorsing this idea, they also pointed out their recognition that not all young adults care about or use music to the extent that they do. The understanding that not all psychotherapists or their young adult clients would be interested in exploring music was also stated in Chapter I of this study.

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•

Absolutely I think it would. I think that the music that people listen to says a lot about them. I feel like if somebody is in therapy whatever their favorite song is, I’m sure it’s most definitely how they’re feeling. I mean it couldn’t be, but I would think that it would be. (May)

•

Yeah, it would benefit a lot because you would see - - you would have a good idea about how that person was feeling. And whether it is something to be concerned about or is it something that you can help them through? Because a lot of times people express themselves through music, through the music that they listen to. (Gia)

•

Oh absolutely. I was in therapy for a really long time and I absolutely did that.

Yeah, and I think it really helped my therapist better understand what I was going through, and you know what sort of week or day or month I had had. I know that the music that I listen to has a big impact on me. Not just in effecting me, but in representing sort of symptoms of how I am feeling or what state I’m in. So, I mean I absolutely think that understanding the music I listen to is helpful for me and my hypothetical therapist. (Eva)

•

Hmm. That’s interesting, yeah. I think that could be really useful. I mean at least for someone like me. I think someone who can identify that they do use music so frequently to help regulate their mood. So like if you could find a song that’s like wow, this is really exactly how I feel in these moments. Yeah, if you were able to share that with your therapist I think that could be really helpful.

(Kay)

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•

I definitely do. I’ve had experience with that like showing a song that I - - like it.

I had been having a hard time explaining how I was feeling about something, sometimes I like to show people, or like in that kind of situation, the therapist, the song, because I feel like it better explains it in a way that I couldn’t. But yeah, I definitely think showing a therapist a song is - - can be really helpful because it is hard to explain on your own. (Cas)

Mixed Methods Results This study is a sequential explanatory mixed methods design. Phase one consisted of an online survey which was completed by 30 participants. The survey data was then analyzed, and the results were used to select five of the survey participants who had agreed to take part in an in-depth interview process for phase two of the study.

The interviews were designed to further explore the survey questions and elucidate and explain the results. The analysis of the survey data produced four findings.

The findings from phase one comprise the following: 1.

The use of portable music players by young adults is pervasive and smartphones and laptops were the two most commonly cited devices used by survey participants. However, smartphones are by far the most frequently used portable music player, with nine out of ten participants choosing the smartphone as the portable device they use most often.

2. Eight out of ten participants stated that they prefer to listen to music on their portable music players versus on a radio, stereo or other stationary player. The most frequently cited reasons for this preference are: the enormous volume of

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music they have instant access to, and the portability, personal control and privacy the PMP affords them.

3. The importance of music in the lives of participants was clear. One half said, that for them, listening to music was “extremely important” and another quarter said it was “very important,” and participants reported listening to music for an average of 4 hours 20 minutes each day.

4. On all seven questions regarding the multiple ways participants may use music to regulate their mood, the majority of responses confirmed that they do use music in these ways. All survey participants also identified several additional aims they have had for listening to music.

In phase two, five participants were interviewed and the data was transcribed, coded and analyzed. Six distinct themes were identified: •

the PMP functioning as a transitional object

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the PMP functioning as self organizing selfobject

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the PMP assisting with emotional regulation

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listening to music via a PMP providing transitional space

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repeated listening providing various intra-psychic experiences; and

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a unanimous endorsement of the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

The findings for mixed methods are listed below.

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Participants’ survey responses were used to provide an enhanced and informed way to identify and select five eligible subjects to take part in the interview process.

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•

The qualitative interviews with participants provided a more complex, rich and detailed understanding of young adults’ use of portable music players as transitional objects, how the PMP functions as a self organizing selfobject, the multiple ways their PMPs are utilized to assist with emotional regulation, the music providing the listener with transitional space, repeated listening providing various intra-psychic experiences, and a unanimous endorsement of exploring music in psychotherapy. All of which, should be of interest to psychodynamic psychotherapists.

Summary This chapter has provided the reader with a comprehensive summary of the results from this mixed methods study. It begins with the results from the phase one sample which included screening criteria which was utilized to pre-empt those who did not meet the standards for inclusion, demographic data and the responses to each survey question by all 30 participants, including the responses of those who were ultimately chosen to take part in the in-depth interview process. The phase two sample contains more nuanced and detailed accounts from each of the five interview participants. The results from the analysis of interview transcripts identified several themes which participants had in common, as well as experiences which were unique to each individual. These themes were developed in relation to each individual’s explicitly stated preferences and aims, while listening to music via their portable music players. Finally, the mixed methods results identified and linked the findings from both the survey and interview data and will be discussed in the next chapter.

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Chapter V

Findings, Discussion, and Implications Introduction The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed method study was to extend our understanding of the multiple ways in which young adults use listening to music via a portable music player, to potentially access, explore, influence and shape their internal worlds in ways which may be of value to psychotherapists in general and psychodynamic psychotherapists in particular, who are interested in implementing new and promising approaches to deepening their work with this population. Phase one was an internet survey which explored the following research questions: •

How prevalent is the use of portable music players by the young adult population?

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What type(s) of PMP’s do they prefer to use, and why?

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How do young adults use their portable music players? (How frequently? For how long a period of time? While doing what, and in what settings?)

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What genres of music do young adults listen to, and what are their listening styles?

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Are young adults aware of ways in which they use music to regulate their emotions?

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•

Does object relations theory explain the relationship between PMP usage and emotional regulation?

Five individuals were then chosen from the phase one survey participants, to take part in an in-depth interview which was designed to help further explain the survey data. Phase two utilized a phenomenological explanatory research design which was based upon the following research questions: •

How do young adults describe the multiple experiences they have when using a portable music player? (central qualitative question)

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What are some of the reasons they prefer listening to music via a portable music player, versus other modes of listening?

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How do young adults describe the personal significance their PMP’s hold for them?

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How might the experience of listening to music via a PMP alter their use(s) of music?

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How might listening to music via a portable music player provide the transitional space necessary to grant the listener access to her internal world?

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How do young adults describe the various emotions and memories the songs evoke?

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Does portable music help young adults to become more consciously aware of what they are feeling?

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Does it help them to recognize their own, and others, unique relational patterns?

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•

How might listening to music with a portable music player be utilized by the listener in ways which result in various intra-psychic experiences? (e.g. emotional constancy, auditory mirroring, and twinship experiences)

Finally, the mixed methods research questions were used to integrate the quantitative and qualitative data from the study into a comprehensive whole, based upon the following questions: •

To what extent and in what ways did the measurement scores from the survey data help to identify the young adults who were interviewed to further an understanding of the use of portable music players as transitional objects, and the relationship between portable music player usage and emotional regulation?

•

To what extent and in what ways did the qualitative interviews with young adults serve to contribute to a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the multiple ways young adults use portable music players in psychologically significant ways which benefit the listener and would be of interest to psychodynamic psychotherapists?

•

To what extent and in what ways did concepts from Self Psychology, Object Relations, and Contemporary Relational Theories explain how listening to music via a portable music player facilitates the listeners’ access to the contents of their internal worlds?

As stated in Chapter I, while music has historically been used by music therapists as a method for helping individuals who are experiencing difficulties with emotional regulation, a more widespread use of music by a broader spectrum of psychotherapists

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has not taken place. Although since Freud’s time many analysts and psychodynamic psychotherapists have been interested in understanding the dynamic processes in operation in works of art, and some including Kohut, have written about human beings’ enjoyment of music from birth onwards, it appears that the music clients listen to has not been utilized clinically by a broader range of psychotherapists. The aim of this study is not to have more psychodynamic psychotherapists use music clinically in the same ways those psychotherapists who have a degree in music therapy do, because Music Therapy is more exclusively focused on using a wide range of musical techniques with clients.

Rather, the aim of this study is to encourage more psychotherapists to include the analysis of the music their young adult clients listen to, in much the same way they would analyze the dreams their clients bring to them.

Research has been scarce in the literature related to psychotherapists exploring the music their clients listen to, and with the exception of a few articles written in 2013 by Grayson and Lepisto (see Chapter II) no research at all was found which specifically examined psychotherapists utilizing the readily accessible technology of portable music players in order to analyze the music their clients listen to. This initiative was one of the primary motivations for this study. Due to the recent proliferation of portable music players such as iPods and smartphones and the users increased power, control and choice over the music they listen to, music can be an even more deeply personal experience than ever before. The primary focus of this study was to explore and understand how the development and widespread use of portable music players may influence, change and shape the internal worlds of young adults.

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Data was initially collected from an internet survey and then followed up with indepth interviews with five of the survey participants. The data was coded, analyzed and organized into themes and the mixed methods results were ultimately employed to identify the findings for each phase of the study. The last chapter commenced with a presentation of the phase one results which contained the statistical data which was generated by Survey Gizmo. Subsequently, the data for phase two was organized around the interviewees’ narratives which were then condensed into major themes. Finally, the chapter concluded with the findings from phase one and phase two.

This chapter will present and deliberate phase one findings, phase two findings and the mixed methods sequential application. Subsequently, there will be a full examination of the following: the use of portable music players as transitional objects, the portable music player functioning as a self organizing selfobject, the relationship between portable music player usage and emotional regulation, the multiple ways young adults utilize portable music players to address intrapsychic needs, the ways concepts from Attachment, Object Relations, Self-Psychology, and Contemporary Relational Theories explain how listening to music via a PMP facilitates the listener’s access to the contents of their internal worlds and finally, the reasons for and the barriers to integrating the analysis of the music young adults listen to via their portable music players, into the everyday clinical work of psychodynamic psychotherapists. After that, the initial study assumptions will be revisited and a summary of the interpretations of findings will be given.

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Phase One Findings and Discussion The present day prevalence of portable music players and their use by people of all ages is apparent, however their use among the young adult population is a pervasive phenomenon in the United States. All 30 survey participants stated that they listen to music via a PMP, and 24 said they prefer listening via their portable players versus listening to a radio or stereo. Among the multiple portable music players participants indicated they use, smartphones are used by 96.7% and laptops are used by 93.3%.

However, the smartphone was chosen as the most frequently used PMP by 26 out of the 30 survey participants. The following four findings will provide the reader with a representative, albeit rudimentary, picture of the young adults who participated in phase one, their use of portable music players, the importance of music in participants lives and finally, a more detailed description of the various aims participants have for listening to music. It will also answer the following sub-questions: 1. What are the demographic and social characteristics of young adults who use portable music?

2. How prevalent is the use of portable music players by the young adult population?

3. What type(s) of PMP’s do they prefer to use, and why do they prefer them?

4. How do young adults use their portable music players? (How frequently? For how long a period of time? While doing what, and in what settings?)

5. What genres of music do young adults listen to, and what are their listening styles?

6. Are young adults aware of ways in which they use music to regulate their emotions?

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Finding #1. The use of portable music players by young adults is pervasive, and smartphones and laptops were the two most commonly cited devices used by survey participants. (The following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5.)

One hundred percent of this study’s survey participants indicated they use portable music players. Laptops (93.3%) and smartphones (96.7%) were the top two types of portable music players the young adults use, however smartphones are by far the most frequently used PMP with 86.7% of participants marking it as the PMP they use most often. Research also supports this finding as Gao (2015) found that 80% of millennials listen to music on their cell phones, and another study reports, “Millennials are glued to their smartphones . . . they use smartphones more than any other generation, since three out of four owned them as of Q1 2013. An astounding 83 percent say that they sleep with their smartphones . . . and they’re more than 1.5 times more likely than average to own an iPhone” (Meet the Millennial Multicultural Music Listener. 2014, August 25).

Survey participants were all 18 to 22 years old, and the overwhelming majority were white, female, and full-time college students. Almost eighty percent of participants identified themselves as White/Caucasian and the remaining twenty percent identified as Hispanic. Nine out of ten participants were female, and of all the survey participants, ninety percent were full-time students. Two participants were part-time students, and only one was not currently a student and wrote-in teacher. Two-thirds attended schools in Illinois and the rest attended various universities in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

One-third were Psychology majors and the rest were majoring in a variety of subjects;

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only two participants stated that their major was undecided. Seven participants indicated that they were freshman, six were sophomores, two juniors, eleven seniors, and two were graduate students.

The average age most survey participants were when they first began listening to music via a PMP was 10 years old. The top three genres of music participants listened to were: Pop, Alternative and Hip Hop/Rap, however when it came to choosing their favorite musical artist or group, participants listed more than 30 different musical artists, with only three participants choosing the same group (Twenty One Pilots).

Finding #2. Eight out of ten participants stated that they prefer listening to music on their portable music players versus on a radio, stereo or other stationary player. Those who stated they prefer listening to music via their portable players also had many shared responses to the survey question which asked them to explain why they prefer listening to music via their portable players. (The following data which substantiated this finding also answers sub-question number 3.)

Recent research supports these findings. Millennials use smartphones more than any other generation, and of course there are many reasons why they own and use them, as well as listening to music. They also use them for texting, social media, internet, GPS etc. The following findings are a small, but representative, sampling of recent research of smartphone use by young millennials to listen to music. One study which looked at the millennial multicultural music listener found, “Multicultural consumers use multiple devices. For example, this segment is less likely than the total population to listen to music on traditional radios and home stereo systems . . . and while the overall reach of

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radio is larger, multicultural consumers are more likely to listen to music on mobile devices such as Android smartphones, iPhones and PC laptops” (Meet the millennial multicultural music listener. 2014, August 25). And another study conducted by Pew Research in 2014, found that “85% of young adults own a smartphone and 46% said they couldn’t live without it. They also found that 64% of 18-29 year olds use their smartphone to listen to music” (Smith, A., 2015, April 1).

So, it is not surprising the overwhelming majority of young adults in this current study prefer listening to music via a PMP, rather than on the radio or stereo, especially given the multiple answers they gave when asked, why they prefer listening to music via a PMP. The most commonly cited reasons were; it is so convenient and easy to bring everywhere, the enormous variety of music which is readily accessible, the personal control and privacy it provides to choose and order songs, no commercials, and I can listen to anything I want, at any volume, and in any setting. The smartphone was the portable music player of choice for the overwhelming majority of the young adults who participated in this study.

Another study conducted by The Music Business Association (Music Biz) and data partner Lots of Online People (LOOP) found that ever increasing numbers of millennials are paying to stream their music through apps like Spotify and Napster, because they want to have access to all of their music, all of the time. There may be other reasons millennials are paying to stream music, “but there was one that stuck out: mobile listening. Young people don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to hear the music they love whenever and wherever they want, and most of them do much of their playing on their smartphones” (McIntyre, H., 2016, July 29).

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Finding #3. The importance of music in the lives of participants was clear.

Listening to music is clearly a priority for the majority of participants and they spend a significant amount of time each day listening. (This following data which substantiated this finding also answers sub-question number 4.)

Almost three quarters of the survey participants agreed that listening to music is a priority in their lives. Fifty percent marked that listening to music is ‘extremely important’ for them and another 23.3% marked ‘very important’ (a total of 73.3%). All 30 survey participants indicated they use their PMP’s to listen to music every day, however the amount of time they listen, ranged from as little as 30 minutes per day (two participants), all the way up to 20 hours a day (one participant). The average amount of listening time for all participants is approximately four and one-half hours per day.

Research supports these findings. Because marketers want their business, millennials’ habits and preferences have been the subject of a lot of research and researchers have discovered: Millennials are listening more frequently and streaming in more places than nonmillennials, including most often on mobile and desktop as they move from home to school, to work. We also see that millennial’s streaming habits are not as impacted by traditional peak consumption periods like prime time or drive time.

They are connected all day from the moment they wake up” (Cummings, C., 2016, April 17).

Another survey given to 16-32 year olds, explored their musical tastes and behaviors and found that, “76% say they listen to music multiple times a day, and 80% say music is an important part of their lives. It isn’t just a part of their habits, they are passionate about

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it: 70% agree with the statement “I couldn’t get through a week without music” (Millennials & teens sound off: Their favorite music artists, 2015, May 26). A study conducted just last year by the Entertainment Retail Association (ERA) and the British Phonographic Industries (BPI) surveyed approximately 1000 people and, according to Resnikoff, they found “46% of 16-34 year olds reported listening to music for somewhere between three and six hours each day.” The author also discusses participants’ emotional investment and attachment to the music they listen to: Just walk the streets of any major urban area, and you’ll see a lot more younger people listening to music . . . it’s either white earbuds or Beats, but a very substantial percentage of 16-34 year olds are listening to music non-stop during their commutes, workdays, workout routines, daily chores, and even conversations. But this may go far beyond simple hours: according to an interesting chart analysis conducted last month, chart topping hits are now lasting far longer than they did back in the 60s and 70s, a statistic that suggests far greater emotional investment and attachment by younger listeners (Resnikoff, P. 2016, June 2).

So the findings from this current study are definitely right in line with the findings of previous research. However, it is also important to note that it appears that from one year to the next, the percentages of young adults who listen to music via a smartphone, and the amount of time they spend each day listening, continues to rise.

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Finding #4. On all seven questions regarding the multiple ways participants may use music to regulate their mood, the majority of responses confirmed that they do use music in these ways. All survey participants were able to identify several additional aims or purposes they have had for listening to music. (This following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 4 & 6.)

There were seven Likert scale items on the survey which asked participants to choose the most appropriate response for them, ranging from completely agree to neither agree nor disagree, to the following statements: •

I listen to music to: maintain a mood,

•

I listen to music to alter a mood,

•

I listen to music to create a mood,

•

I listen to music when stressed,

•

I listen to music to relax,

•

I listen to music to escape, and

•

I listen to music to get in touch with my feelings.

The three questions which garnered the highest percentage of ‘completely agree’ and ‘agree’ answers were, in order: 1. I listen to music to relax (90%), 2. I listen to music when stressed (83.3%) and 3. I listen to music to create a mood (80%).

The remaining four questions also had high agreement rates ranging from 73.4% to 66.7% among the survey participants.

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The last three questions participants answered were: •

Are there any other aims, goals or purposes you use music for, which are not listed?

•

Are there particular activities or times of the day when you are most likely to listen to music via your portable device? and,

•

Please describe these activities or times.

Some of the most common aims cited had to do with helping them to focus while: studying, working, working out, getting things done, or performing certain tasks.

Participants also said they used music to: “help me control my anxious/depressive thoughts,” “to remember past events,” “to unplug from everything” and “to put myself to sleep.” All, but one, participant answered “Yes” to the question about particular activities or times when they are most likely to use their PMPs. The most common answer participants gave when describing the particular activities they are engaged in while listening to music, was “while commuting” (n=18). Commuting included: driving, walking, biking, or riding on a bus or train. As for particular times when they are more likely to use their PMPs, it seems getting ready in the morning for school or work, and in the evening when getting ready for bed. A few of the more unique responses were: “while avoiding studying,” “when there are moments of awkward silence” and “while making art.”

Phase Two Findings and Discussion The purpose of this study was to extend the understanding of the multiple ways in which young adults use music via a portable music player which may be of value to

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psychotherapists who work with this population. In phase two concepts from several psychodynamic theories were utilized and, therefore, a multi-theoretical psychodynamic lens was employed to inform both the interview design and the data analysis. A phenomenological stance was also taken because it is one in which the researcher focuses in on the ordinary, the actual lived world, in ways which expose the complexity, richness and depth of human experience. Listening to music has traditionally played a significant role in the lives of adolescents and young adults while simultaneously being viewed as a very unremarkable, routine and predictable activity of theirs. That being said, how much do practitioners in the psychotherapeutic community actually understand about the specific ways in which music is utilized by this population? Object Relations theory was used to explain how portable music players are utilized by young adults as transitional objects and the ways music listened to via a PMP, can provide the listener with the transitional space needed to access and explore their internal worlds. Self-Psychology theory explains how the power, control and choice a PMP provides the listener, allows it to serve as a self organizing selfobject, and it also explains how listening to specific songs can supply the listener with experiences of emotional constancy, auditory mirroring and twinship (See Chapter I for definitions of all these concepts).

Due to the proliferation of portable music players during the last decade, young adults now have the option of listening to music at multiple times and in multiple settings throughout their day which were not feasible for past generations. This newfound portability has also provided psychotherapists with a unique opportunity to explore and have access to the music their young adult clients listen to.

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Five people were selected from the participants who completed the online survey to take part in an in-depth interview. These five potential interviewees were chosen based upon their responses to the questions regarding the importance of music in their lives, the amount of time they listen to music each day and their awareness of the multiple ways they use music to assist them with emotional regulation. The aim of phase two was to collect data which would provide all psychotherapists, but particularly psychodynamic psychotherapists, with a richer and more detailed understanding of what may have been previously viewed as simply an ordinary and mundane interest of the young adults they see in their practices. Four of the five participants in phase two marked the importance of music in their lives as ‘extremely important’, and one marked ‘very important’. The amount of time each of the five interviewees listen to music each day via their portable music players was: six hours, five hours, four hours, three hours and two hours respectively. All five were also aware of multiple ways in which they utilize music to assist them with mood regulation.

The data which was presented in the previous chapter identified six distinct themes which were determined via a comprehensive analysis of the interview transcripts.

These themes were as follows: •

the portable music player functioning as a transitional object;

•

the portable music player providing a self organizing selfobject function;

•

the portable music player assisting with emotional regulation;

•

listening to music via a portable music player providing transitional space

•

repeated listening providing various intra-psychic experiences; and

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•

a unanimous endorsement of the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

Although they shared many similar reasons for listening to music via their portable music players, each of the five phase two participants also described individual experiences they have had which were unique to them. The following findings were drawn from the themes. These findings will provide a more detailed account of the particular ways each of the participants utilize their portable music players and will also answer the following eight sub-questions: 1. How do young adults describe the personal significance their portable music players hold for them?

2. What are some of the reasons you prefer listening to music via a portable music player, versus other modes of listening?

3. How might the experience of listening to music via a portable music player alter their use(s) of music?

4. How might listening to music via a PMP provide the transitional space for young adults to get in touch with their internal worlds?

5. How do young adults describe the various emotions and memories the music evokes in them?

6.

Does listening to portable music help them to become more consciously aware of what they are feeling?

7. Does music listened to this way help the listener to recognize their own, and others, unique relational patterns?

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8. How might listening to music via a portable player provide young adults with various intra-psychic experiences?

Finding #1. Portable music players do function as transitional objects for the young adults who participated in Phase Two of this study. (The following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 1, 2 & 6.)

A transitional object is an item which one has attached personal meanings to, has a sense of personal ownership over and may even develop a type of friendship with it. It is a trusted confidante the owner can hold on to which creates a bridge between the old and known and the new and unknown. It also “represents a real paradox in that it is not an internal object; it is a possession yet it is not simply an external object either” (Encyclopedia.com, 2015). Winnicott (1971) believed a transitional object might be a teddy bear, a blanket or even the humming of a mother’s favorite tune and he viewed the transitional object as the fundamental element of culture, a way into the worlds of play and creativity including the arts.

In the United States it is widely accepted and understood that young children use transitional objects in order to move away from a state of complete union with their mother towards a sense of self as a separate entity and this process continues throughout adolescence and young adulthood. The need for and use of transitional objects can endure throughout our lives.

Blos (1967), highlighted some of the issues involved in what has been called the second individuation process, which occurs during adolescence and young adulthood, such as disengaging from one’s internal, infantile object ties, and finding new external

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love objects. Becoming an adult today is a lengthier process than it was for past generations, and achieving psychological and financial autonomy can also be a more complicated and stressful endeavor. In order for young adults to accomplish these developmental tasks they need to develop a sense of their own identity separate from their parents, which may contribute to their use of portable music players as transitional objects.

The results of this study indicate that young adults do use their portable music players as transitional objects and in doing so their PMPs may assist them in facilitating this process of individuation, in that listening to songs in which the singer speaks to their struggles, the PMP can provide them with countless attuned others to accompany them on their journey towards independence. Therapists can also assist young adults with this process. Lepisto (2013) described her experience of working with a teenage girl who refused to talk or engage with her and used her smartphone to text her friends during her sessions. Lepisto understood her young client’s resistance as being a reflection of her struggles with separation and individuation, “as her own parents had been distant, insensitive and critical� (p.55). When Lepisto texted the girl during a session, when she spoke to her in her own language, she was able to experience Lepisto differently from her parents and become engaged in her therapy.

The young adults who participated in this study were between the ages of 18 and 22, which means they are a part of the millennial generation. Today there are many people who describe millennials as being addicted to their smartphones and, according to Gao (2015) eighty percent of this generation listen to music via their smartphones. Every generation has its own ways of distinguishing itself from the previous generation, and the

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music the younger generation listens to is certainly one of the ways the separation of generations has been achieved historically. Blos called these distinctions epiphenomena and said, “Such epiphenomena of the individuation process always stand in opposition to the established order, in one way or another” (1967, p.167).

As stated earlier in Chapter II, it could be said that we are in the midst of a technology epoch which has placed a multi-layered division between the generations.

Just one of these divisions is a result of the proliferation and widespread use of smartphones by millennials who are the first generation that has grown up using portable music players. The music they listen to also clearly illustrates the separation of generations. According to the data generated by the survey in this study, the genres of music young adults listen to most today are pop, alternative and hip-hop/rap. The songs from each of these three genres are distinctly different both musically and lyrically from the songs of past generations.

In the United States, an individual’s independence and privacy are both ideals which are highly valued by society and these ideals have been consistently correlated with transitional object use. “Not surprisingly, the phenomenon is found chiefly in groups that value independence and privacy and therefore encourage their children to tolerate being alone at a very early age” (Berzoff, J., et al., 1996, p.139). The young adults in this study discussed the personal meanings their portable music players hold for them and they also described the multiple ways they use them to listen to music, both of which may reflect their own individual struggles in attaining societies’ ideals of privacy, independence and autonomy. One example of this may be the four participants who stated they prefer listening to music via their PMP because of the control it gives them to

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listen to music privately, which allows them to avoid being judged by others for their music choices. Here are some of the ways participants described the significance their portable music players hold for them: •

If I forget my smartphone at home it will like ruin my day. Like something so literally materialistic, to like ruin my day because I can’t listen to music walking in-between classes. It sounds silly, but that’s just the way it is for me . . . if my music was just downloaded on my cell phone and if I lost all that (music) I would be really upset. I would probably cry over something like that, because then I would lose everything. I don’t know, it would just like I guess stink. Even though I don’t want to admit that (having her phone with her all the time), but yes I do. (May)

•

It’s kind of like a connection, because with these streaming apps where you can stream music, it seems like the app knows how you are feeling and knows what to play at any given moment. And so when you - - I just experienced this. When you lose your smartphone, you feel like you lost a piece of your mind because you feel like that inanimate object is actually - - knows you better than anyone else, because they (it) knows how you are feeling . . . if it is not recovered, you have to start over and try to build that relationship with your phone to the point where it knows you like the other one knew you . . . like you’ve made it to be an electronic personification of yourself . . . So it’s kind of like moving to a different state. So you have to start over, meet new friends, establish yourself as a person there. (Gia)

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•

If I lost it irreplaceable, I don’t think I’d actually be that bothered by it because I have a lot of hard copy music. I have lots of music on my laptop, so would be like, oh, whatever, I can use a different portable system until I find that one. But, I actually have left, like my you know iPod at home before and it’s like - - it’s kind of actually hard for me. I definitely rely on music from like a day-to-day basis. So if I have to basically go through a day like without listening to music, like that’s difficult for me . . . And it’s not easy, it is not a fun experience when I don’t have that with me. (Eva)

•

So I think on the one hand if I were to lose my smartphone or if I were to leave it at home for a day it would be inconvenient not to have my music, but the nice thing about Spotify is that it’s all stored online . . . like there’s a playlist called ‘Discover Weekly’ that is put together based on your music interests, so things that they think you would like based upon what you’ve already listened to, so I’ll use that. My concern wouldn’t actually be like ‘oh no, all my music is gone’. That’s how I would feel if I lost my iPod because all my music that I don’t have stored anywhere else is actually on my iPod. (Kay)

•

I mean it definitely means something to me in that (if) I am without it I would be definitely less connected to people. And less connected to music because that’s my main like way of listening to music, is my phone. So I would feel a little lost without it, which is kind of sad. (Cas)

It is important to note that the above quotes from the interviewees were in response to an interview question which asked them, “Does your PMP itself hold some

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special significance/importance for you and if so, how would you describe that?”

Statements about the ways participants utilize the music they listen to via their PMPs to assist them with emotional regulation, including to comfort or soothe them, will be provided later in this paper under Finding #3.

Although the interview participants did express a range of distressed emotions they have experienced or imagined they would have, if they either forgot their smartphone at home or lost it permanently, it is clear that the PMP functions as a transitional object for young adults. However, it is also clear that today’s technology has not only added multiple functions to young adults transitional object of choice, it has also altered their level of attachment to it. Unlike their well-worn teddy bears or blankets from early childhood, which they would have felt distraught about losing because they would be irreplaceable (no replacement could possibly possess the exact same qualities as their old teddy did), most of the young adults in this study would be distraught if the music on their PMPs was permanently lost – not the PMP itself. Losing the PMP would be frustrating and upsetting for that day or for several days, until they were able to replace it and download their saved music onto it.

Technology continues to move forward at such a pace that it is not only changing the ways human beings perform certain everyday practices, like listening to music, it’s also changing the meanings we attach to the devices which allow us to do those things differently. Kay illustrates this when she describes how differently she would feel if she lost her iPod versus her smartphone. If she lost her smartphone she would not be as upset as she would if she lost her iPod, because the music she listens to on her smartphone is safely stored elsewhere, whereas if she were to lose her iPod, the music on it would be

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lost too. So the smartphone may be the vessel which holds the essential self object functions for the owner, but the vessel can be readily replaced if the self object functions are stored safely elsewhere, unlike the young child’s teddy bear or blanket which embody both. This difference between a child’s experience of losing a transitional object and a young adult’s experience of losing a transitional object, can also be attributed to their differing levels of cognitive development.

Gia talked about using apps like Pandora and Spotify and having a song she had been wanting to hear, simply “pop up” and she wondered “how did it know that this is how I feel and this is the song I wanted to hear?” For Gia, it does appear that the difference between her self and the functions her portable music player provides for her, is not clear. Object Relations Theory defines a self-object as a loss of boundaries, where what is self and object are blurred and the distinction between self and external object is not clear” (Daniels, 2007, p.1). The PMP is a self-object that knows her, that can intuit her needs and can read her mind, much like a mother does for a preverbal child. Perhaps Gia’s experience is that she is controlling the PMP (mother), in that when she wants something it just magically appears? Winnicott said early in life “the infant is almost oblivious to the mother as a person; she brings the world to the infant and is the invisible agent of his needs” (Mitchell, 1988, p.32).

Gia was also the only interview participant who had a different take on how she would feel if she were to lose her smartphone. When she described what she thought it would be like to lose her smartphone, she did so in much the same way one might anticipate a young child would feel (but be unable to express) when they lose their beloved teddy bear. She said, “You feel like you lost a piece of your mind because you

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feel like that inanimate object is actually - - knows you better than anyone else because they know how you are feeling.” She also said her smartphone was the electronic personification of herself. Could listening to music on her smartphone function for Gia as a prosthetic device as Gilbert Rose says, “When the ego’s function is deficient . . . as in the case of traumatic stress, the arts may act as prosthetic devices to lend support where deficiencies exist” (Rose, 2004, p.119).

Finding #2. The portable music player provides the listener with a self organizing selfobject function, due to the increased personal control and privacy it offers the listener over his or her uses of music. (The following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 3, 6, 7 & 8.)

Portable music players have some distinctive capacities which give the user much greater power, control and choice over their listening experience. The PMP has allowed the listener to have a unique ownership over their music and now listening to music can be an even more deeply personal experience than ever before. How has the ability to choose, order, repeat and delete songs on one’s personal playlists and listen privately to music, even when in the presence of others, altered the types and variety of music these young adults listened to? Have they become more deliberate and purposeful in their song choices, in their uses of music and in the times they choose to listen to music using their portable devices?

Has the use of portable music players given rise to listeners becoming more conscious of the multiple ways they utilize music intra-psychically? “Does music by its

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very nature, define human beings? Does it tell listeners who they are, and who they might become?” (Mannes, E. director, 2009). Might music also offer the listener some adjunct capacities? For example, how might this particular technology shape, inform, guide or organize an individual’s sense of self? One’s sense of self is so intimately connected to his or her emotions, and the young adults in this study are clearly using music to assist them with their emotional regulation, so might a PMP function as a self organizing selfobject? (See Chapter I for the definition of a self organizing selfobject.)

Sterba presents the reader with a quote by Perrotti, which appears to allude to this possibility when she discussed the impact of music on the listener’s affective processes, “An essential feature of music is that it organizes the ‘cauldron of seething excitement’ of unconscious energies into an orderly, balanced and unified Gestalt (Sterba, 1965, p.105).

Kohut and Levarie wrote “On the Enjoyment of Listening to Music,” and they stated that exposure to auditory stimuli is the infant’s first experience of the outside world and that music removes the original threat of chaotic sounds due to its organization and patterns (1950).

Kohut believed that selfobjects are objects whose functions are experienced as part of our self and they also shore up our self in some way(s). He also said one can define a selfobject by understanding how an individual experiences its function and that selfobject transferences, when analyzed, can explain a person’s psychological reality.

The young adults in this study may not be consciously aware that their portable music players are functioning as a self organizing selfobject however, they do appear to be identifying and understanding some of their own psychological needs by downloading specific songs and creating playlists which they subsequently utilize to assist them with a

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variety of emotional and mental tasks. Kohut also acknowledged that there were almost certainly various types of selfobject transferences which had yet to be discovered, particularly among the adolescent population (and the elderly) due to the numerous psychological needs they grapple with as a result of the multiple developmental challenges they face. If would follow then, that if a selfobject transference has yet to be discovered, it cannot possibly be analyzed by one’s therapist. The participants in this study have helped us to understand how their portable music players and the music listened to via them, function as a self organizing selfobject through descriptions of their own unique experiences, including what the consequences of losing their PMP would be like for them.

If a portable music player can assist the listener with the organization of their self, by categorizing their multiple self states, then defining what the self is would be helpful for the reader, if they are to recognize and understand how the young adults in this study have used their PMPs in this way. How does one define the self? William James said, “Properly speaking a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their head� (Henriques, G., 2014, p.1). The self of any individual is very complex and fluid, so we must bear in mind that any definition of the self is unavoidably limited. Kohut addressed these inherent challenges while attempting to establish a comprehensive definition of the self. He said, The self . . . is, like all reality . . . not knowable in its essence . . . We can describe the various cohesive forms in which the self appears, can demonstrate the several constituents that make up the self . . . and explain their genesis and functions. We

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can do all that, but we will not know the essence of the self as differentiated from its manifestations (Siegel, 1996, p.140).

However complex it is to define the self, the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’s definition may be useful: “the entire person of an individual; the realization or embodiment of an abstraction; an individual’s typical character or behavior; the union of elements (as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations) that constitute the individuality and identity of a person” (2015, p.1126). What does it mean to have a self though? It means a person is able to think of themselves in terms of their own unique traits and characteristics, differentiate themselves from others and use this knowledge to make sense of their world. The self is composed of several fundamental parts including: selfawareness, self-esteem, self-knowledge and self-perception which gives one the ability to alter, change, add, or modify the different facets of themselves. One’s sense of self across time is dependent upon on their memory systems, and “although we tend to experience a sense of continuity and unity of the self, the fact of the matter is that it is much too simple to say that we have one self” (Henriques, 2014, p.3).

Kohut said the self is “a structure within the mind, similar to an object representation, containing differing and even contradictory qualities” (Siegel, p.65). The self also contains stable internal objects which contribute to the development of a more cohesive self. The relationship of a person’s self to the environments they live, work and attend school in, and the understanding of the self as a container of affects are also fundamental concepts in Kohut’s psychology of the self. His descriptions of the bipolar self which is composed of two systems, a system of ambitions and a system of ideals, is

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also relevant when understanding why some young adults may need a self organizing selfobject to help them manage their many psychological needs.

Today, in the United States it is young adults who are reporting the highest stress levels of all age groups, and a recent poll revealed that thirty-nine percent of millennials report that their levels of stress increased during the past year. They also admitted to feeling fairly ill-equipped to manage their stress. (Sifferlin, 2013) In a USA Today poll taken in August of 2012 millennials attributed their high stress levels to: work (76%), money (73%), relationships (59%), family responsibilities (56%) and the economy (55%). Stress can also lead to higher levels of anxiety and depression, and young adults have also been diagnosed with depression (19%) and anxiety (8%) at higher rates than any other generation alive today. (Jason, 2013) Young adults have plenty of concerns in their lives which contribute to their continually feeling stressed out. They are in the midst of change in all domains of their lives: in their relationships with family, friends and romantic partners, their education and work etc. And, as stated under finding #1 they are also in the midst of the struggle to separate from their parents and attain both psychological and economic autonomy, adopt a personal value system and experience a sense of belonging to a group in the larger world. It’s easy to understand why young adults need to find ways to cope with all these responsibilities and developmental tasks and this is where listening to music via their PMP seems to be most helpful. The USA Today poll found that 59% of the young adults they polled said they listen to music to cope with their stress. (Jayson, 2013) The participants in both the survey and interview phases of this study were able to identify several ways they may be using their PMP’s as self organizing selfobjects. “The

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core self is organized by motives and emotions – and these fluctuate! Our experiential self forms the organized core of our self, and it in turn is organized by emotions which are tied to our goals” (Henriques, 2014, p.6). One of the functions portable music players have provided the young adults in this study is assistance with mood regulation, and several of the interviewees described times they have used music to help them get in touch with their emotions, understand the meanings of their emotions and alter their emotions if they felt they needed to or simply wanted to. This makes sense because human beings code many memories by emotional states. For example, if a person is in a good mood, they are more likely to remember positive events, but if they are in a negative mood they are more likely to remember disappointments and failures.

(Henriques, 2014) More will be written about emotional regulation under finding #3, but for now it is important to keep in mind that an individual’s self certainly includes their history of emotional experiences. As Shore said, “The core of the self is nonverbal and unconscious, and lies in patterns of affect regulation” (2003, p.46). The participants in phase two share some of their experiences below: (Italics are mine) •

But day-to-day I listen to music all the time, like when I get ready, like my alarm (clock) is a song. Katie Perry’s “Rise” and the song isn’t super upbeat where it’s going to startle me when I wake up. I mean I like listening to a sleep playlist. I guess it just relaxes me. I listen to classical music when I study (because lyrics distract her) to try to help me like focus. I have many playlists. My big one is ‘May’s Music’, another one is ‘Mellow Out’, the other ones are called like; Sleep songs, Sad songs, and Songs to sing in the Car. It (listening to music on her PMP) will pump me up for something, help

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me become less nervous or give me confidence to give a speech, or be focused for swimming competitions. (May) •

It would be like losing yourself. Because with any phone whether it’s an iPhone or an Android . . . you customize it in a way that best fits you. Whether it’s where you want the apps to be located . . . formatted, or like what streaming app you used or your social media that you use, like you’ve made it to be an electronic personification of yourself. So you would lose a piece of yourself because then you have to find it or you have to restart. And when you restart it is harder because you already put the memories, the pictures, in context. But then you have to start over and try to remember what songs were on there. (Gia)

•

But you have your choice of whatever music on your portable device and it’s yours, so no one else can judge your types of music that you like and all that.

I just like having personal (control) because I like my own personal form of music listening. I like to listen to music my own way. Like my own type. If I am feeling a certain type of way, I listen to that type of music without asking like whoever is around . . . I like the individuality of it, of a portable device.

(Gia)

•

I think a lot of it for me actually has to do with sort of the sensation, for lack of a better word, of wearing headphones. Because music is so important to me, I have like actual expensive headphones, not just earbuds that I use to listen to music; it helps me think. And when I use that, it’s not just music as

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sort of background noise, music sort of becomes an actual part of your (her) reality because it is dominating one of your senses. (Eva) •

I’ve also used music again, portable music, to sort of escape a situation. Like if my mind is sort of playing over something too many times, listening to songs, especially from musicals, is really helpful for me. And I can think of times where you know I’ve used I’ve used that (music) as sort of something to take my mind off what was really going on. And so (until) I felt like I was in a better position to address it. (Eva)

•

I mainly use Spotify . . . and through that I can listen to really any song I want . . . So I find myself using that pretty much every day, like whenever I’m heading to class, whenever I’m riding the bus, like I’ll just use that to kind of like take a second and check in with myself, (and) see how I’m feeling and then put the song on based on how I’m feeling. There are certain playlists . . . on Spotify, but then I also have a bunch of other playlists that I have just put together on my own . . . That’s a really big reason why I like Spotify too, because I’ve found a lot of new music on it. (Kay)

•

I think—something I was thinking about that I notice that I am starting to do.

I am taking advantage of playlists more, which maybe this is a little bit of old news, but for me it is kind of new. Like I will make playlists based on songs I’ve connected to in certain—after like certain things have happened that have been hard, or something, like a breakup . . . and when I am feeling like I would need some musical support, I could go to that playlist. So, that’s just like a way for me to kind of like categorize some music that I listen to, just more

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conveniently. So, I guess playlists have become important to me and that’s definitely specific to like my mobile device, yeah. (Cas) •

I also have a playlist for when I want to feel happier that day or something.

And I also have a playlist - - there are these swing sets near my house and I sometimes go sit on them and I have a swing set playlist which is like peaceful music that like makes me feel more grounded. So yeah, different situations I want to be in or different moods I want to be in. (Cas)

•

I easily suppress my emotions and I try not to let other people see when I am having a bad day or something. And if I get that time alone where I can listen to a song and actually realize what I am feeling and realize yeah, just like what kind of mental state I’m in and it is kind of a relief. (Cas)

The quotes from the interviewees describe some of the various ways they use their portable music players which support the idea that due to the personal control and privacy it provides them, their PMP can function as a self organizing selfobject. May talks about creating and using the playlists on her PMP to assist her with everything from waking her up in the morning, to helping her fall asleep at night. Gia tells us that if she lost her PMP “it would be like losing yourself (her self?), or a piece of yourself, because you’ve made it to be the electronic personification of yourself.” She also stated that her portable music player knows her better than anyone else because it knows how she is feeling (see quote under finding #1). Eva describes how her experience of listening to music with expensive (good) headphones is a sensory experience in which the music becomes an actual part of her reality. At other times she uses music from musicals to escape or redirect her focus if she is ruminating over something until she feels she is in a

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better position to deal with it. Kay uses music to “take a second to check in with myself and see how I’m feeling” and then chooses a song to listen based upon what she is feeling, and Cas creates playlists which are related to particular events in her life and listens to them when she “needs some musical support..

If a selfobject, is defined by the functions it provides for an individual which shore up the self in some way and it is experienced as a part of one’s self, than participants’ descriptions of the ways they use their portable music players correspond with the definition. There are certainly many psychological needs young adults are faced with and discovering the appropriate resources required to assist them is critical if they are going to be successful in meeting those needs. Although each participant in this study described unique ways in which they think about and use their portable music players, all appear to be taking advantage of their portable music players’ capacities to address their psychological needs.

Exploring an individual’s most listened to playlists has the potential to facilitate not only their patterns of affect regulation and dysregulation, it may also provide psychotherapists with a deeper understanding of their core self. A well-known problem which everyone struggles with today and which adds to a young adult’s list of psychological needs, is stress. Young adults are certainly in need of finding ways to cope with and manage these stress levels. The number one reason cited by this study’s survey participants for listening to music, was “when stressed” and the findings from the polls cited above corroborate both the high stress levels millennials experience and that they utilize listening to music as a way of coping with that stress. The various ways

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participants use music to assist them with emotional regulation is further delineated in the following finding.

Finding #3. The portable music player assists the user with emotion regulation. (The following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 & 8.)

As discussed in Chapter I of this dissertation, difficulties with emotional regulation are among the most frequently cited presenting problems given by those seeking therapy. The connection between music and emotion has long been known along with the ability of music to influence both mental and physical health. (Music Therapy, www.unh.edu/health-services) The healing effects of music are recognized universally and can provide an avenue for therapists to explore and better understand their clients’ emotional problems and patterns. Portable music players and the personal control and privacy they provide the listener have not only altered the ways young adults listen to and use music, they can also allow their therapists to learn, to see and to gain access to their internal worlds in a mode that hasn’t been so readily available to them in the past, like the way high-speed cameras showed clinicians so much more about the attachment process in infant-mother relationships than was possible before.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that young adults use listening to music to assist them in the regulation of their emotions. As cited under finding #2, the rates of depression and anxiety among the millennial generation are higher than those among the members of older generations, including the members of Gen X who preceded them. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports:

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1) One in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness. 2) More than 25 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition within the past year. 3) More than 11 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated for anxiety in the past year and more than 10 percent reported being diagnosed or treated for depression. 4) More than 40 percent of college students have felt more than an average amount of stress within the past 12 months. And, 5) More than 80 percent of college students felt overwhelmed by all they had to do in the past year and 45 percent have felt things were hopeless. (www.nami.org: National alliance on mental illness, n.d.)

There are others however, like psychologist Mitch Prinstein who believe that perhaps millennials are simply more open about their mental health, and more outspoken about their struggles on social media. Millennials have also had more than their fair share of criticism and have been dubbed “the me generation” by some who view them as being lazy, feeling entitled, whiners, and being unable to think for themselves etc. However, there are actual issues this generation has had to deal with that certainly play a role in their high levels of stress, anxiety and depression. These issues include a more uncertain employment future, huge student loans and, “They’re the first generation raised with the internet. The first generation to experience ‘helicopter’ parenting. They’re at once constantly exposed on social media but also permanently sheltered by overbearing parents” (Friedel, & Prinstein, 2015, October 12).

The process of developing emotional self-regulation typically begins with an infant’s communication of his or her emotions to their mother and the mother’s

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regulation of these emotions. The mother regulates both positive and negative states for her baby. Schore (1994) and Damasio (1999) believe that the quasi-musical and empathic characteristics of early communication with caregivers is foundational and stays with one throughout his or her life. It has also been suggested by Trevarthon (as cited by Ready, 2012) that babies are born with a musical readiness and it isn’t unusual to see a baby who is upset and crying, quickly stop when he is held and sung to. Why does this happen? According to Kohut and Levarie (1950) it happens because the song brings some order to the infant’s overloaded, stimuli saturated, and chaotic world. When a lullaby is sung to a baby, they certainly do not understand the words rather it is the melody that calms them. Eva, one of the interviewees said, “I was raised on Green Day. One of their songs was actually a lullaby of mine . . . and you know as I got older . . . I just developed this bond with their art. Something about it I really took to and I really connected with it . . . they’re still among the artists that best spoke to me and I have sort of a history almost with their music.”

Eva also talked about her attention to both the music and the lyrics of songs and her realization that it is the music she reacts to first. She pointed out that sometimes she notices the lyrics don’t match the tone of the music “but I think people can easily underestimate the power of the actual music as opposed to the lyrics because the music is the first thing we react to.” That reminded me of parent-ease and how a parent’s tone of voice communicates far more to an infant or child than their words. As with listening to a song, the listener spontaneously reacts to the music and then listens to and respond to the lyrics. This corresponds with what Allan Schore and others have been saying about the differences between our right brain and left brain functions and how, particularly at

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times when something traumatic occurs, a person may not be able to integrate their implicit, emotional reactions with explicit, cognitive thoughts and language. The emotional reaction can overwhelm and inhibit the left brain’s ability to put what’s happening into words, so that the traumatic event can only be accessed and remembered at an emotional level.

The young adults in this study have provided personal descriptions of the ways they have employed portable music players and the music they listen to through them, in the service of assisting them in getting in touch with, gaining a clearer understanding of, and regulating their emotions in much the same way an infant makes use of his or her parents’ capacities to help them regulate their emotions. Participants shared the following experiences: (Italics are mine) •

Well, I have Spotify (and) there’s an option for like moods actually.

Depending on what kind of mood I’m in that will effect what kind of genre or what kind of music beats in the background there are. (May)

•

Yeah, I think it helps my mood, like especially in the morning if I’m having a rough morning. I will listen to a playlist that will have bumped up music to make me better . . . help me become less nervous . . . It helped me to become focused. (May)

•

I guess if something sad happens, like if I get in a fight with somebody or I get a bad grade on a test. I guess just those instances where you’re feeling sorry for yourself. I mean like I’ve listened to music or I’ve been sad and then listening to certain songs will make me cry. It will make me get more I guess in touch with my emotions too. (May)

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•

I feel it’s—I feel free because I can do anything with a portable device and . . . it made it better for me. I like always having the (PMP) music in the background, if necessary, to keep me sane. When I listen to music I feel very calm . . . it just has this effect . . . however I feel, I listen to music and I feel better . . . it instantly calms me down . . . and it makes me feel more productive. (Gia)

•

I feel that because it’s a way of expression, expressing yourself that there is always a certain genre of music for however you are feeling. So it’s never any - - you have to feel a certain type of way by listening to a certain type of music. I like the variety of music. If you just want to relax, you listen to something slow. If you are feeling upbeat, you listen to an upbeat song . . . I just like how music caters to all types of feelings. (Gia)

•

It can be a way of comfort in a situation. Like (when) me and my brother were little and our parents used to argue, like that (music) was the only way that I could actually like get him to understand it is something that happens and he has to be ok with. But, I just have to quote a song that we both know.

Like just say a lyric and like get him to laugh it off, to make it - - lighten up the mood because he would always get so emotional when he saw my parents argue . . . so it’s just a way of comfort in a situation . . . that you know that this is not only happening to you, but it’s a thing that happens (to others).

(Gia)

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•

At night, it is normally more me turning to like headphones (for) things that are more like more of a personal connection between me and music . . . and I think in general I tend to prefer that, not based on the kind of mood I’m in, but the intensity of the mood . . . it sort of has to do with how deeply I am feeling the emotions that connect to how exclusive, almost, I want my connection to the music to be . . . like if there is one song that’s connected to a memory, I will listen to that song again because I am in a similar head space or emotional state to that which I was in when I first listened to it in that memory. (Eva)

•

The music sort of helps me cope with - - like a factor of depression which is that it is really easy for me to slip back into sort of cycles of thinking over, there are negative thoughts or situations that have caused me anxiety that I am overthinking, not really processing. And so, having music on in the background sort of helps me keep my mind, I don’t know, sort of on a shallow level, like from going too deep into something that could be destructive. (Eva)

•

It definitely helped me to feel less alone and isolated . . . (I) was feeling like I was alone and no one could really understand what I was going through, but when I heard music articulating not only literally, but also through the instrument, what that pain does feel like and what it is like to go through that, and it not only helps me feel less alone, but it helps me sort of vent my emotions and keep myself from penning them up (keeping them pent up) in ways that might have otherwise been unhealthy . . . I can’t actually think of a

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situation even when I’m venting emotions through music, that it doesn’t end with a fulfilling emotion. (Eva) •

I can think of a couple of experiences where you know, I’ve been in public and I was upset and I sort of used music to sort of – not necessarily cheer myself up – but sort of (to) console myself a little bit. (Eva)

•

This fall has been a little difficult because like right now I am going through, or like I’m dealing with a breakup right now, so there have been moments where my mood has really fluctuated . . . times that I’ve just been feeling like really down and bad. Like I have a playlist on Spotify that is kind of like sad songs, so those moments when I’m feeling sad, and I just kind of feel like leaning into it and just feeling it, I’ll like listen to those songs like I’ve made into a playlist and (it) will kind of help me, like you know sometimes when honestly I just need to like cry it out, I’ll do that and listen to those songs.

(Kay)

•

On the other hand, there’s sometimes when I’m feeling down and I’m like I don’t really feel like, like I don’t want to feel sad right now and I don’t want to experience these emotions right now. It’s not one of those time when I want to lean into feeling sadness, but then I have other music that I’ll turn to that kind of like will just alter my mood and make me feel not necessarily like oh okay everything is fine, but can just make me feel a little more comforted, like motivated to like direct my emotions and attention elsewhere. (Kay)

•

Yeah. I think the biggest thing I have been noticing lately, or at least like when thinking about that question (The first interview question. Why did she

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mark on the survey that music is very important to her?), is how much I use music to regulate my mood, especially, I don’t know, I listen to music like all the time. (Then she said the following, at the very end of the survey.) Like as we have been talking I’ve just been reflecting on how much I use music every day to regulate my mood, and like how important that is for me. (Kay) •

I tend to listen to pretty sad music, and I think that’s a way for me to sort of connect to my emotions, more like through a song because sometimes it’s hard for me to understand what I am feeling. And I think when I listen to a song, that’s like - - that’s how I get myself to actually connect with my own emotions, so I think it’s important for me to process what I am going through.

(Cas)

•

It helps me like ground myself. I listen to it on the way to class or whenever I am driving somewhere. I almost always have my headphones in if I am walking to a class or walking to a meeting or something. I think that’s another way of like . . . like preparing myself for the day or for the class, like trying to like bring my mind back to my body a little bit and do a little space on my own before I am sitting in a class of like a hundred people. I definitely (use music) to get out of my own head, if I’m anxious. (Cas)

The relationship between music and emotions is well documented and many theorists believe rudimentary forms of music and song actually preceded language.

(Darwin & Rousseau as cited by Ready, 2012, p.7) It is difficult to imagine that any human being, worldwide, has reached young adulthood without having been consciously aware of having several experiences of being moved emotionally by music or turning to

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music when they are feeling or wanting to feel some emotion. As stated earlier, using music to help regulate one’s emotions is nothing new and it certainly is not something one first discovers as a young adult. The aim of this research was to explore and understand how the development and widespread use of portable music players may influence, change and shape the ways young adults use music. The survey and interview data demonstrate that young adults do use their portable music players and the music they listen to through them, to assist them with emotional regulation. What is significant here is not so much about what is happening, as it is about how the increased personal control the listener has can enhance and/or alter how, where and when it is happening.

Due to the portability, personal control and privacy the PMP provides, young adults are using music to assist them with emotional regulation more consciously and deliberately, and it does not appear unwarranted to say they are also doing it more effectively. Kay describes using music to either help her move away from, or alter, a feeling she is experiencing or to lean into a particular feeling. She says, “Yeah definitely, it’s really nice to have both those options of like okay, music to help myself pull myself out of it, or just be like I’m going to use music to fully embrace what I’m feeling right now.”

Never before in the history of mankind have human beings had the access to, and control over, the music they listen to than this generation of young adults. They have online music libraries with millions of songs to choose from, they can create playlists of songs to fit any mood or event and they can listen to the songs they’ve chosen in virtual privacy even if they are on a crowded train or bus. They are not at the mercy of radio stations or disc jockeys that interrupt their music listening with commercials, they can

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skip a song for any reason and they can use the repeat function to listen to a song 100 times in a row if they feel like it. All of these technological advances have given young adults a device which they can program to suit their own individual wants and needs.

Like Goldilocks, they are able to have a portable music player that is just right for them and they can utilize it most effectively to meet their emotional needs.

Finding #4. Listening to music via a portable music player provides the listener with transitional space. (The following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 3 & 4.)

D.W. Winnicott developed the concept of transitional space by observing infants who were in the midst of making the transition from the safe, internal holding environment created by their mother to the uncertainties of the external world.

Transitional space refers to an intermediate, or third, area of experience which lies between one’s internal and external worlds, and it is a place where fantasy and reality overlap. The way architects define transitional space provides a visual image of Winnicott’s concept: a screened in porch which is attached to a house is an example of an architectural transitional space, in that it lies in-between the structure of the house itself and the outdoor environment. The porch simultaneously serves as a buffer between the (internal) house and the (external) outdoors, as well as a link between the two.

Much like the infants Winnicott observed, young adults are also transitioning from a position of psychological and financial dependence upon their parents towards psychological and economic autonomy. This intermediate area of experience between inner and outer reality gives the individual a space in which to explore her feelings and

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contemplate changes in her life. A place where young adults can use the space and take the time to understand who they are, who they might want to be and what they may want to do. So how can listening to music via a portable music player provide young adults with the transitional space they need in order to achieve this developmental milestone?

One of the findings of Kristovich’s research, which looked at adolescent’s use of music, was that adolescent’s use music: To recapture lost feelings and grieve what is past . . . and it provides transitional space for new symbolic gestures to emerge . . . it creates a space for adolescents to reinstate primitive feelings in their attempt to go back and rework their identities . . . music offers an opportunity for interaction with an ‘other’ without the risk of an unwanted response from the other. (2001 p.65) Some of May’s experiences appear to support Kristovich’s finding. When May discusses listening repeatedly to a song she played for her grandmother before she died and how when she listens to it now, several years later, she realizes how the song has helped her work through her grief, and she can think and feel differently about her grandmother and her death. She also has had a similar experience with using music to work through her anger and resentment for an ex-boyfriend.

The five young adults who participated in the interview process describe some experiences they have had which may be considered transitional phenomena.

Interestingly, they frequently used words or phrases like “in the zone, I’m in my own space, in my own world, I’m drifting,” etc. to describe these experiences even though the concept of transitional space was not mentioned in either the survey questions or during the interview. The participants shared the following experiences: (italics are mine)

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•

Especially if I am sort of trying to zone out and process things and kind of use the song to do that . . . but I am caught up in music . . . my music is not - how can I put this? It’s not stuff just sort of handed to me. Like the music I listen to, I choose very deliberately, I do this when I don’t really need to be mentally present for anything . . . it’s just when I am sort of aware that I have this space, whatever that space may be to sort of tune out for a while. (Eva)

•

Yes, and it’s sort of like . . . the music kind of takes me to a different reality, like you know the stuff that I am dealing with, the stuff that’s gone on in my life that I need to process or think about or understand better . . . it’s rather that I am drifting from what’s around me so that I can better process the things that I know are affecting me and not try to shut them out. (Eva)

•

It’s at times that could otherwise easily be wasted . . . that I sort of try to use as time to reflect on things that I know are effecting me, whether it be hurting me or making me happy. Whatever it is, to try and understand them and myself better. Then I think those emotional states tend to heavily influence the music that I want to listen to in the first place, and the music sort of pops into my head, so I think - - and I am sure that’s part of the reason . . . I feel the need to listen to a song that I use in its entirety, or properly, whatever that may mean at the moment because it’s part of me processing things, whatever those things are. (Eva)

•

There were lyrics or pieces of a melody that I would fixate on you know especially when I was going through some of the worst of my depression.

And that was relevant and I was self-aware enough to understand that it was

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relevant and to understand that these weren’t random and they were representative of something deeper than I was feeling. And in that sense, I think it really helped me to better understand myself and my emotions and ultimately be able to handle them better because you know being able to use music to get to some deeper problem, you know maybe I wouldn’t understand it as well as I do now if I didn’t have that music to sort of give me some edge.

Or to at least give me a starting place. (Eva) •

I also think like I’m kind of - - whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, when I’m listening to my phone with my headphones hooked in, I’m very much in my own little space when I’m listening . . . I am experiencing all alone . . . when I reflect on that, I still think of myself as a high schooler maybe, or a middle schooler listening to music with my headphones in. I still see myself as like being kind of in my own space and like processing whatever emotion I was feeling, like on my own, in my own space and my family couldn’t hear that . . . where I was kind of in my own world. (Kay)

•

I think it’s like another way of like . . . preparing myself for the day or for the class, like trying to bring my mind back to my body a little bit and (have) a little bit of like space on my own before I am sitting in a class of like a hundred people. So yeah, just like kind of filling the space between. (Cas)

•

I tend to listen to pretty sad music, and I think that’s a way for me to sort of connect to my emotions, more like through a song because sometimes it’s hard for me to understand what I am feeling. And I think when I listen to a song, that’s like - - that’s how I get myself to actually connect with my own

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emotions, so I think it’s important for me to process what I am going through.

(Cas) •

I put myself in the zone to relax. Listening through headphones you’re kind of like in the zone of the music too. You don’t hear any other things around your environment . . . no distractions I guess. I always get songs stuck in my head . . . I honestly have no idea why . . . I’ve always wondered why that happens . . . sometimes if I’m daydreaming I’ll like hum songs. (May)

•

If a new song (came out) and I like it, then I’ll listen to it, but if the song really relates to my life at a certain time, I will listen to it constantly, but typically when that happens, it’s like a sadder song because I’m stuck like in a rut, I guess. So one song that I still listen to . . . I was enrolled in guitar lessons . . . my grandma had cancer . . . I learned to play the song “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day because she wanted to hear me play it before she passed away, so I don’t play the guitar anymore, and I think her death has a lot to do with that, because I just wanted nothing to do with the outside world, and I still listen to that song. I know how to do the chords and stuff with my hands still, but only to that song even though I played the guitar for like 3 years . . . that’s like the only one I remember. I still listen to that song. Not like how I did back then when I would sit there and cry and sulk about it . . . Now I guess when I listen to it on repeat, it’s more like a remembrance thing . . . And because I’m over her death now, I guess that song will help me remember certain things about her. And then like rather

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than being sad now I guess it will make me in a happy mood that she’s like in, with peace. (May) Transitional space is that intermediate area between our internal and external worlds and these young adults have beautifully articulated how listening to music via their PMPs has provided the space for them to get in touch with and explore their feelings, to understand who they are and to contemplate the multiple changes they are in the midst of as they make the transition from dependence upon their parents to the independence of adulthood.

Eva chooses music very deliberately to help her drift away from her external world, to tune out, zone out and be transported to a different reality where she can better process the events going on in her life that are having an impact on her, rather than just shutting them out. Perhaps Eva’s emotional states are emanating from archaic reverberations of something deeper, some unformulated experience which is poised to emerge from her internal world, and listening to the music that “pops into” her head is subsequently utilized as a sort of quasi psychic sonar system which helps her to locate and identify the source of her feelings? In his book The Haunting Melody, Theodore Reik described the power of music to get in touch with the contents of our emotions and internal worlds. He said, “The intangible that is invisible as well as untouchable can still be audible. It can announce its presence and effect in tunes, faintly heard inside you . . .

What does it mean when some tune . . . occurs . . . again and again, so that it becomes a haunting melody” (1953, p.12)? Ferenczi gave this answer to a similar question, “I wonder whether there are tone associations that are not determined by verbal contents . . .

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A rhythm that corresponds to an affective state is probably sufficient to produce the associative emergence of a tune without text” (Kohut, 1955, p.134).

Cas uses music to give her some space to ground herself before joining a large group and to help her search for, and understand, her own feelings. Kay uses music to provide her with the transitional space to enter her own world where she can process her feelings privately.

May explains how she has used music to provide her with the transitional space to process and reconcile her feelings about her grandmother’s death from cancer. May learned how to play a Green Day song “Wake Me up When September Ends” on her guitar so she could play it for her grandmother before she died. She has continued to listen to the song since then, only now she says listening to the song no longer makes her cry and feel sad. Now she can remember certain things about her grandmother and feel happy because she is in peace. At another point in the interview, May also described the same process taking place when she listened to music that reminds her of a former boyfriend. She was very angry and upset when they broke up, but now she can think of the good times she had with him. It seems May has utilized music, and the transitional space it has provided for her, to allow her to work through the sadness and pain she experienced when her grandmother died and she had to say goodbye to her former boyfriend. She has been able to make an emotional shift or transition from a place where she felt sad or angry, to a place where she can now remember both of these people whom she has loved in a more gratifying way.

Like Eva, who has songs “pop into” her head, May talks about getting songs “stuck in her head” and has no idea why this happens. She finds it annoying at times and

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tries to listen to something different to get it out of her head. She also finds herself humming songs while daydreaming, and says, “I guess I listen to music when I’m not listening to music per se.” Reik understood May’s experience and explains it this way, “The tunes which suddenly come into a man’s head can be shown to be conditioned by some train of thought to which they belong . . . without his knowing anything about it . . .

The connection with the tune is to be sought either in the words which belong to it or in the form which it comes” (Kohut, 1955, p.135). This explanation gives support to the proposal that analyzing a client’s responses to both the music and the lyrics of the songs they listen to, could be illuminating.

Finding #5. Repeated listening to music or songs provides various intrapsychic experiences, such as: emotional constancy, auditory mirroring and twinship experiences. (The following data which substantiated this finding also contributed to answering sub-question numbers 3, 4, 7 & 8.)

In his book The Haunting Melody, Theodor Reik describes the power of music to get in touch with the contents of our emotions and internal worlds. He said, “The intangible that is invisible as well as untouchable can still be audible. It can announce its presence and effect in tunes, faintly heard inside you” (Reik, 1953, p.12). And a 2001 study by Lamont, found that a fetus can hear music while in the womb and a year after their birth (without having listened to the music since birth) the child was able to recognize and prefer the music they had listened to in utero. “It appears that for music even prenatal experience is encoded in memory, and can be accessed in the absence of language or explicit awareness of the memory” (Levitin, 2008, p.225). The purpose for

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asking interview participants to describe their experiences while listening to a song repeatedly, was to determine if it might provide them with access to their internal worlds and result in any of the intrapsychic occurrences listed above. (For definitions of these intrapsychic experiences see Chapter I.) Today, attachment theory is the most influential theory of emotional development in human beings, and emotional constancy is associated with attachment. Research shows us that we become who we are in the milieu of our relationships with early caregivers and the influences which shape us are implicit and nonverbal. (Wallin, 2007) Attachment can be understood as the internal, and largely unconscious, mechanics of relationships. Simply stated, we are attracted to those who we are attached to and we are generally happy to give love and support to those we are attached to. This applies to all our relationships including those with our children. Children need consistent signs that they are loved and cared about, and they do not know that we love them unless we show them that we do. Piaget’s cognitive development model includes a concept he called object permanency, which occurs when a child develops the ability to know an object still exists even if it is out of sight. Typically, the experiences a child has while playing games of peekaboo or hide-and-seek with family members is sufficient enough for them to develop object permanency. However, for children love can be a temporary emotion and emotional constancy is not an automatic or universally given developmental achievement. It requires parents or significant caretakers be diligent about demonstrating their love and commitment to their children.

The attainment of a strong and consistent sense of emotional constancy would seem to be one of the most important internal psychological achievements of childhood.

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However, if a child grows up in a home where she experiences emotional neglect or a profound lack of attunement and has no one who supplies her with a reliable supply of love and support, it is likely she won’t develop emotional constancy and will need to continually seek it out in others. One of the most reliable and risk-free ways a young adult may seek and find emotional constancy is through the songs he or she listens to. A portable music player allows the listener to listen privately to the same song or playlist as many times as they would like, and whenever they are feeling the need for love or support. Gilbert Rose believed that along with a witnessing presence, music can also provide the listener with self-recognition, self-soothing and a sense of identity.

Music enables a person to recognize and feel what had been unformed, and therefore inexpressible, as if by a responsive empathic presence, it helps repair the loss or damage to a reflective inner ‘other’. Like mourning it facilitates internalization. By enhancing mindfulness it helps to create symbolic representations of past traumatic experiences better to tame the associated terror and desomatize the memories and reunite the self (2004, p.121).

Auditory mirroring is a term this researcher created while developing the proposal for this study. It is fairly self-explanatory and refers to the experience one might have while listening to a song in which the singer is able to accurately mirror the listener’s feelings and experiences. When the listener hears herself being reflected in the singer’s voice, emotional tone, words and in the music itself she feels validated, understood and comforted by the knowledge that she is not alone - someone else knows what she is going through because they too have experienced and felt these same things.

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Twinship needs refer to a child’s yearnings during early development, to experience both a sense of being alike and belonging to one’s family. Twinship experiences can also be employed as a means of passing on family traditions and axioms to the next generation. The existence of another individual who is a reflection of the self can provide one with a sense of belonging. These we experiences continue to be important throughout our lives, and young adults keep seeking out others like them in order to attain a sense of belonging among their peers and in their social groups.

All of these needs are important to an individual’s healthy psychological development and young adults continue to pursue them in a number of ways, including through the music they listen to. These needs are among the reasons some young adults may knowingly or unknowingly choose to listen to a song or a playlist repeatedly. There are many other reasons besides early negative relational experiences that one may have these needs. Traumatic developmental issues such as hospitalizations, chronic illnesses or impairments in functional areas of the brain which may be either innate or acquired can also produce them. Palombo says, “Individual’s with neuropsychological impairments engage in a nonconscious, active search for others to complement their sense of self and help them to restore their sense of self-cohesion” (2017, p.3). The five participants in Phase Two of this study talked about various times when they listened to a particular song, playlist, or band and may have had an experience of emotional constancy, auditory mirroring or twinship. Descriptions of these experiences are shared below: (italics are mine) •

If a new (song) comes out and I like it then I’ll listen to it, but if the song really relates to my life at a certain time I will listen to it constantly . . . I guess

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sometimes songs just stick with you, like the lyrics of the songs describe what you’re going through. I think that music helps you get closer to people too.

My one (friend) is in a band and they are actually doing pretty good surprisingly and like going to that, you meet people. You meet friends, you meet people that have the same music interests as you. (May) •

All the time because there is - - there is always lyrics to like just relate to what I’ve seen or what is happening that just like come into my head and it was also a way of comfort when - - like when me and my younger brother were little and our parents use to argue . . . I just have to quote a song that we both know.

Like just say a lyric . . . it brought him comfort . . . I am really good at memorizing music because I love it . . . so it’s just a way of comfort in a situation by knowing the lyric and relating it back to the situation that is occurring because it brings comfort. That you know that this is not only happening to you, but is a thing that happens. (Gia)

•

It definitely helped me to feel less alone and less isolated I think part of my depression was you know as many people that are depressed (I) was feeling like I was alone and no one could really understand what I was going through, but when I heard music articulating not only literally, but also through the instrument, what that pain does feel like and what it is like to go through that.

(Eva)

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If there is a song that I am particularly relating to . . . and I feel like I need to listen to it a few times to really get an emotion out or calm down or whatever it may be, I’ll repeat it . . . I don’t know, it’s just kind of how I am and how I

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interact with my music . . . When I get a song that I’ve been listening to you know kind of stuck in my head . . . it makes me feel good, maybe I want to listen to it again . . . it’s just more about feeling like I can reconnect with the music . . . the goal is to be able to re-establish some connection that I felt to the music, which is why I chose it as something I wanted around in the first place. (Eva) •

I was raised on Green Day. It was one of my top favorite bands. One of their songs was actually a lullaby of mine. And actually it was the first album I ever owned, and they were sort of representative as well of this freedom of thought and freedom of speech that my parents allowed me that I really appreciated and I really needed. You know I am a very strong person in terms of being able to stand up for myself in what I believe and I am not afraid to be sort of a solitary voice for something . . . and Green Day was a great musical example of that. Of them basically utilizing dissatisfaction with whatever they were around and making art out of it, making a statement out of it and bringing awareness to it . . . And I just developed this bond with their art . . . something about it I really took to and I really connected with it . . . they’re still among the artists that best spoke to me. (Eva)

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My favorite (band), like their lyrics are amazing, The Avett Brothers, are my favorite band. I would say I actually love them because I can turn to their music in like a variety of situations. They have such a breadth of different, I guess I could say like moods of music . . . they definitely have some really sad songs that I turn to when I’m feeling that way, but they also have . . . uplifting

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(songs). I like their lyrics, because they very accurately represent for me the struggle of like being human, and like the human condition. (Kay) •

The Avett Brothers . . . their new album came out and I was really excited . . .

I listened to it in its entirety, and there’s this one song on the album called “I Wish I Was” and it’s so beautiful, but also really sad and (it) kind of mirrored the emotions that I had felt . . . and that was like, I’m sad right now, I’m kind of going through a breakup, and at the time it was the same, I was thinking about the same person . . . so it was like sharing that song and hearing the singer articulate like so clearly how I had felt of just like really being nervous to like push this person away that I cared so much about. That was like so powerful. (Kay)

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The thing that I find with the lyrics is that to hear someone else describe so like accurately how I’m feeling, it feels really . . . I guess it feels really validating and comforting to know, like wow, someone else knows exactly how this feels to feel . . . Yeah, like it’s just comforting to be like wow, I’m not alone in this experience. (Kay)

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If I just listen to a song and it really moved me, in a way like either that I thought like the artist’s voice was amazing and I like felt really deeply just like the sound, or if the lyrics I felt like resonated with me, basically that day, I would probably listen to that song a lot . . . Yeah, I think it’s just if I connect to it strongly, I tend to listen to it more than once . . . and yeah, it is like relieving to listen to a song that sort of mirrors the emotional or maybe physical state I am in. (Cas)

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May has listened to a song repeatedly which resulted in both experiences of emotional constancy and auditory mirroring. She felt understood because the lyrics expressed what she was feeling. She also has experienced twinship when she attends concerts with friends who share her love of music and feels a sense of belonging to a group. Gia has summoned the lyrics of familiar songs to comfort her younger brother and herself when their parents were arguing. With both parents angry, and no one else there to comfort them, she was able to recall lyrics that provided them with an auditory mirroring experience and reassured them that they were not alone. Gia also mentioned several times throughout her interview that she uses music to calm herself. It appears she turns to music frequently to find a song with a vocalist who provides her with a calming presence, so Gia has found a reliable source of emotional constancy.

When Eva was struggling with depression, she discovered that listening to music provided her with an auditory mirroring experience at the times when she felt alone and thought no one understood what she was going through. The music and lyrics expressed and articulated what her pain felt like, and by listening to it she felt less alone and isolated. She also describes her lifelong connection to the band Green Day and their music. Eva had, and continues to have, experiences of twinship with the band and their music. She was raised on their music, and her parents actually used one of their songs as a lullaby for her. Eva identifies with the band and still listens to their music. Her parents fostered her development of, and appreciation for, freedom of thought and speech, and Green Day’s music has continued to reiterate and reinforce the importance of their values. This illustrates how twinship experiences can be utilized as a way of passing on beliefs and values to the next generation.

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Kay has an experience of twinship when she listens to her favorite band, The Avett Brothers. She can experience herself as being a human being among other human beings, which gives her a sense of belonging to a group. She also had a powerful experience of auditory mirroring when she listened to their song, “I Wish I Was.” Her feelings were validated, she was comforted, and she felt less alone, because the song captured and accurately articulated her own experiences in a recent romantic relationship that was ending. Listening to that song also appears to have allowed Kay to recognize her own, and her partner’s, unique relational patterns. Cas also describes auditory mirroring experiences when she listens to a song repeatedly, if the singer’s voice or the lyrics resonate deeply with her. She feels a sense of relief when a song mirrors either her emotional or physical state.

Finding #6. Unanimous endorsement of the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

The five interviewees all support an original goal of this research, which was the belief that it would be beneficial for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to. Understanding the internal worlds of young adults is a significant and ongoing objective for the therapists who work with this population, and the primary focus of this study was to explore and understand how the widespread use of portable music players may influence, change and shape the internal worlds of young adults. In a relatively recent article by Grayson (2013), he gave several reasons why he believed introducing music into his clinical work had been beneficial, such as: it moved the therapeutic process along more quickly, it facilitated a more spontaneous sharing, it made

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more room for unconscious influences, it moved a client closer to a free associative experience, it helped a client get in touch with his frozen feelings, and the images and affective associations enabled integration and some resolution of conflict.

He also tells the reader how exploring a young client’s music helped to “create a certain sense of mutuality by having the stimulus of songs for both of us to explore. The activity of listening to and contemplating the music enhanced the development of an analytic space and a play space for our work and our relationship” (Grayson, 2013, p.44).

He clearly states that if not for the vehicle of the songs, they would have never gotten at these issues as quickly as they did. While working with another adolescent who shared the music he listened to via his portable music player, Grayson viewed the experience as “A unique opportunity he offered me to enter his world in a new fashion. He had brought this music in with the partly conscious and partly unconscious intention that he would share something more about himself with me” (2013, p.41).

Integrating song analysis into psychotherapy may be helpful when addressing the potential limitations of using a more classical talk therapy method, which focuses on using a primarily left-brain, explicit, cognitive approach with clients. At times, this way of working may not be sufficient enough to grant both therapist and client access to, and an understanding of, the unconscious, emotional determinants of the client’s difficulties.

This may be particularly true when working with adolescents and young adults. These limitations have continued to vex many psychotherapists, and perhaps particularly those who have used a more orthodox talk therapy approach successfully with many of their clients, yet have also experienced clients who clearly understood their difficulties on an intellectual level but remained unable to achieve lasting change.

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A quote from Lombardi which is very similar to, and supportive of, my earlier (see Chapter I) thought that perhaps music, like string theory, has the ability to connect two essential functions that oppose each other at times. He said, This simultaneous presence of two modes of being, one characterized by boundlessness or infinity, the other by a finite spatiotemporal order, is what Matte Blanco (1988) calls a bimodal structure, a form of mental functioning that reconciles two antithetical modes: ‘the realm of the illogical’ (Freud, 1940), of infinite affects and the unconscious, and the orderly logic of consciousness and thought (2008, p.1224).

Being aware of this bimodality is crucial in the daily work of psychoanalytically informed therapists and exploring and analyzing the music young adult clients listen to, may hold the potential for giving them a way of working with their clients which can lead to the necessary integration of these two modes of experience and being.

Difficulties with mood regulation are among the most common presenting problems cited by those seeking therapy, and the participants in phase two of this study have all described various times when they have struggled with emotional regulation and the ways they utilized listening to music via their portable music players to assist them in managing their emotions. In order for therapists to help their clients learn how to successfully self-regulate, they first need to gain access to and understand their unconscious patterns of affect regulation. Music has been defined as the language of the unconscious by many (see Sterba, 1965) and if this is true, that music speaks to human beings in the language of the unconscious, then certainly for those clients who say music

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is an integral or important part of their lives, exploring the music they listen to in psychotherapy has the potential to be helpful in this manner.

The last decade or so of research in the interdisciplinary fields of neuroscience, attachment, trauma and relational theory also supports this proposal. That research has produced a number of findings which emphasize the primacy of right-brain, implicit, emotional processes in interpersonal relationships, and the relationship between a psychotherapist and her client is clearly an important interpersonal relationship. How might exploring the music a client listens to in a therapy session enhance and strengthen the connection between therapist and client? The therapeutic relationship is also one which holds the promise of helping to free a client from the unconscious causes of their suffering, and the results of this study will hopefully encourage many interested psychotherapists to incorporate the analysis of the music their young adult clients listen to into their clinical work with them.

Due to the widespread use of portable music players, psychotherapists also have access to the music their young adult clients listen to in a way which wasn’t available for past generations. Exploring and analyzing the music their young adult clients listen to, in much the same way they would analyze their dreams, promises to be yet another royal road to their unconscious, internal worlds.

The participants responses to the final interview question, “Would you think it would be beneficial if you were in therapy, to be able to talk about the music you listen to with a psychotherapist?� are given below:

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Absolutely I think it would. I think that the music that people listen to says a lot about them. Like I saw a poll before and it was like if you ask a person what their favorite song is right now, that’s how they’re feeling. I feel like if somebody is in therapy whatever their favorite song is, I’m sure it’s most definitely how they’re feeling. I mean it couldn’t be, but I would think that it would be. (May)

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Yeah, it would benefit a lot because you would see - - you would have a good idea about how that person was feeling. And whether it is something to be concerned about or is it something that you can help them through? Because a lot of times people express themselves through music, through the music that they listen to. (Gia)

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Oh absolutely. I was in therapy for a really long time and I absolutely did that. Yeah, and I think it really helped my therapist better understand what I was going through, and you know what sort of week or day or month I had had. Because there were definitely lyrics or pieces of a melody that I would fixate on, you know especially when I was going through some of the worst of my depression. And that was relevant and I was self-aware enough to understand that it was relevant, and to understand that these were representative of something deeper that I was feeling. And in that sense, I think it really helped me to better understand myself and my emotions, and ultimately be able to handle them better because you know being able to use music to get to some deeper problem, you know maybe I wouldn’t understand it as well as I do now if I didn’t have that music to sort of give me some edge.

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Or at least give me a starting place. I mean, of course, you know if I didn’t have music I am sure something else would have come up and I would be that riveted. But you know the fact of the matter is music is here and I think to ignore tools like that, for me personally, wouldn’t be smart. I know that the music that I listen to has a big impact on me. Not just in effecting me, but in representing sort of symptoms of how I am feeling or what state I’m in. So, I mean I absolutely think that understanding the music I listen to is helpful for me and my hypothetical therapist.

(Eva) •

Hmm. That’s interesting, yeah. I think that could be really useful. I mean at least for someone like me. I think someone who can identify that they do use music so frequently to help regulate their mood. And yet for me, like I use music kind of like to process. Like one, (to) process my mood and also just like process being a human, so I think that could be really useful, and also when I just told you about that experience with that song, I think all the time really music and lyrics can help you articulate how you are feeling in a way that you can’t do in your own words. So like if you could find a song that’s like wow, this is really exactly how I feel in these moments. Yeah, if you were able to share that with your therapist I think that could be really helpful.

(Kay)

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I definitely do. I’ve had experience with that like showing a song that I - like it. I had been having a hard time explaining how I was feeling about something, sometimes I like to show people, or like in that kind of situation,

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the therapist, the song, because I feel like it better explains it in a way that I couldn’t. And especially with like also I am - - this is a little off that question.

But I am also starting to learn guitar and like I notice that I am starting to - - I am like more motivated to learn songs that I’ve connected with, so I might share it in that way. But yeah, I definitely think showing a therapist a song is - - can be really helpful because it is hard to explain on your own.

Yeah, because then like - - I feel like with a therapist you kind of say how you are feeling, and they say it back to you in a way you can understand. And with a song, it could be like a song that meant a lot to me, has made me cry a lot. And I like sort of know why, and you share it with them and they can sort of explain in their own words how they see your reaction to it, by like what it means, and that can bring even more clarity to it as opposed to just feeling the emotions, like understanding them. (Cas) These responses clearly demonstrate the participants’ understanding of how the multiple ways they use the music they listen to via their portable music players would be beneficial to share with a psychotherapist, if they were in therapy. As Lepisto (2013) says, “We psychotherapists and psychoanalysts who treat children and adolescents, are in the best position to study the meaning of technology on intrapsychic development, relationships, and dynamic motivations” (p.37). The participants were also able to articulate their understanding that the music they listen to can say a lot about them, about who they are, what they need, what they are feeling, and what they struggle with. As Kay said, sometimes music gives her the words and the language to understand what it is

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that she is feeling, and it also has helped her to simply process what it means to be a human being, to be a part of the human race.

It was also interesting and worth noting here, especially in light of the participants unanimous support of sharing their music with a psychotherapist, that all of the interviewees discussed how much they appreciate being able to listen to their music privately via their PMP. With the exception of Eva (who had already shared her music with her therapist), the others related their concerns about being judged by others or having the music they listen to critiqued by them, if they were listening to music together.

May and Gia had strong feelings about being judged by others, and Kay thought that other people do not like to share their emotions and vulnerabilities today - that it is a taboo. Kay said she would even have reservations about sharing the music she listens to with a friend or family member. Cas does not like it when other people ask her what she is listening to, and she said she has no interest in hearing what they think about her music.

This should be welcome news for all psychotherapists, that these young adults view the profession positively enough that they would like to share their music with a psychotherapist without fear of being negatively judged. Grayson confirms these young adults’ faith in psychotherapists, in this description of his work with an adolescent client whose cell phone use as a PMP was explored in therapy. Grayson eventually understood how it functioned as a transitional object as a means of “protection against the narcissistic injury of anticipated rejection and criticism . . . (until) he experienced the interactions with me as something safe and reliable and as an experience that was manageable� (2013, p.40).

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Eva points out that if she didn’t have music to help her understand herself better, she would have found something else. This is certainly true. Perhaps she and her therapist may have analyzed her dreams, literature, or the art she was drawn to?

Additionally, both May and Kay expressed their recognition that, although they would be interested in exploring the music they listen to with a psychotherapist, this may not be true for every young adult who enters psychotherapy. These statements by participants point out that song analysis is not the only, nor necessarily the most suitable, method to use when working clinically with individual young adults. However, that has never been the envisioned outcome of this study.

Clearly, not every young adult has the same level of interest in music that these study participants do. Encouraging psychotherapists to integrate song analysis into their clinical work, with those young adult clients for whom music plays an integral role in their intra-psychic lives has always been the aim – just as dream analysis has never been touted as the sole method psychotherapists should utilize to access all their clients’ inner worlds. This issue was addressed from the outset of the study and therefore these participants’ statements are actually an acknowledgement of a limitation to utilizing this method clinically, which was anticipated.

Mixed Methods Findings and Discussion Finding #1. Survey responses provided an expanded and informed way to identify and select five eligible participants, with specific characteristics, to interview further.

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Interviewing participants can provide a richer and more enlightened understanding of the multiple ways young adults utilize the music they listen to via a portable music player, in psychologically significant ways. A principal assumption of a mixed methods approach to research is that when a researcher combines the quantitative data generated by survey responses with the qualitative data drawn from participants’ own descriptions of their personal experiences, this combined strength provides a more comprehensive understanding of the research question than either form of data can by itself. The survey alone limits a researcher’s ability to expand upon and grasp the meanings of participants’ responses. However, the interview process allows the researcher to develop a deeper understanding of the participants’ responses by exploring them more thoroughly. The themes which were drawn from the data produced a number of findings, which will contribute to a greater understanding of the multiple ways young adults utilize music listened to on a portable music player in psychologically significant ways, and this expanded understanding will contribute to the knowledge base for other psychodynamic psychotherapists and the psychotherapeutic community as a whole.

Finding #2. Qualitative interviews provided a more complex, rich and detailed understanding of the multiple meanings portable music players hold for the young adults who use them, and the various ways the music listened to via these portable players is utilized by the study participants in a number of psychologically significant ways. These detailed descriptions further explained the survey results.

The interviews with participants further added to a more thorough understanding of the research questions, through their personal and detailed descriptions and examples

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of the multiple meanings young adults attach to their portable music players, and the various ways they utilize the music they listen to through them. Participants shared the reasons they prefer to listen to music via a portable music player, and the ways they are able to use them to achieve a number of personal aims.

The most frequently used portable music player is the smartphone, and participants prefer using their smartphones for a number of reasons including; its portability, the large library of music it can hold, the personal control and choice they have over everything they listen to, and the privacy while listening to music that it affords them. Some participants have also personalized their smartphones to such an extent that they have songs and playlists which they use for various purposes from waking them up first thing in the morning, to helping them go to sleep at night, and multiple events in between.

The participants also use their PMPs as transitional objects and depend upon them to assist them with their emotional regulation, and their PMPs are also utilized as a self organizing selfobject. Participants are attached to their smartphones, and the music they listen to via them, to the degree that they would be upset if they were to forget the PMP at home and have to get through the day without it. However, if they were to permanently lose their smartphone and the music they have stored on it, participants report that they would truly be distraught. The music is what would be irreplaceable if it weren’t stored elsewhere, the smartphone itself could be replaced. This was an unanticipated and surprising finding from the interviews, and resulted in a new understanding of how, due to advances in technology, young adults’ transitional objects hold different meanings for them compared to a young child’s.

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There are also numerous ways participants utilize their portable music players intra-psychically such as providing them with the transitional space needed to go within and get in touch with their internal worlds, and to have experiences of emotional constancy, auditory mirroring and twinship. All five of the interview participants endorsed the proposal that sharing the music they listen to with a psychotherapist, would be beneficial.

Revisiting Assumptions from Chapter I It is useful to reexamine the seven assumptions which were initially presented in the first draft of Chapter I. This study was founded upon both the researcher’s personal experience of listening to music via a portable music player and her curiosity around the experiences an adolescent family member was having while listening to music via their PMP, as well as professional experiences with clients who have shared their music in therapy. It is important to note here, that due to the fact that the current study did not include a follow-up interview with the phase two participants in order to ask them if they believe these assumptions are true or false, there is no immediate opportunity to confirm the validity of these seven assumptions. In lieu of participants’ input regarding the validity of these assumptions, each assumption will be addressed based solely upon the analysis of this study’s findings. Corroboration of their validity will perhaps come as a result of future research in this area and/or psychotherapists’ clinical experiences with young adults.

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Assumption #1: A portable music player serves a self organizing function for the listener due to the increased personal control and privacy it provides over

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his or her use(s) of music. This is found to be true and is described under Finding #2.

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Assumption #2: The portable music player functions as a transitional object.

This is found to be true and is described under Finding #1.

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Assumption #3: Listening to music via a portable music player, enhances the listener’s ability to get in touch with their internal world, and the music itself functions as a transitional space. This is found to be true and is described under Finding #4.

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Assumption #4: Repeated listening to a particular song or songs, can provide the listener with several important psychological experiences such as: identification (twinship), mirroring (in this case an auditory mirroring) and an experience of emotional constancy. This is found to be true and is described under Finding #5.

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Assumption #5: That similar to dreams, the music young adults are drawn to – their favorite, or most listened to songs – will reflect certain aspects of their inner worlds, such as unconscious conflicts and experiences (latent content) and their external worlds, such as present-day concerns or events (manifest content). This is found to be true and is described under Finding #’s 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5.

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Assumption #6: Due to the current proliferation of portable music players and the ever-increasing percentage of the population who uses them, it would follow that a significant number of the clients who present for therapy also listen to music via a PMP. This is yet to be determined, however the

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participants in phases one and two of this study do support this assumption.

See Finding #’s 1 & 6.

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Assumption #7: This proliferation of portable music player use, gives therapists access to a mode in which they can explore and analyze clients’ uses of music which may potentially result in an increased understanding of the clients’ internal worlds. This assumption is also yet to be determined.

Future corroboration by psychodynamic psychotherapists will be needed in order to determine if this assumption is found to be true. Phase two participants’ responses all indicate support for this assumption, and can be found under Finding #6.

Summary of Interpretations of Findings Phase One produced the following four findings: 1. The use of portable music players by young adults is pervasive, and smartphones and laptops were the two most commonly cited devices used by survey participants. However, smartphones are by far the most frequently used portable music player, with nine out of ten participants choosing the smartphone as the portable device they use most often.

2. Eight out of ten participants stated that they prefer to listen to music on their portable music players versus on a radio, stereo or other stationary player. The most frequently cited reasons for this preference are: the enormous volume of music they have instant access to, and the portability, personal control and privacy the PMP affords them.

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3. The importance of music in the lives of participants was clear. Fifty percent said, that for them, listening to music was “extremely important” and another twentyfive percent said it was “very important,” and participants reported listening to music for an average of four hours twenty minutes each day.

4. On all seven questions regarding the multiple ways participants may use music to regulate their mood, the majority of responses confirmed that they do use music in these ways. All survey participants were also able to identify several additional aims they have had for listening to music.

Phase Two produced the following six findings: 1. Portable music players do function as transitional objects for the young adults who participated in Phase Two of this study.

2. The portable music player provides the listener with a self organizing selfobject function, due to the increased personal control and privacy it offers the listener over his or her uses of music.

3. The portable music player assists the user with emotional regulation.

4. Listening to music via a portable music player provides the listener with transitional space.

5. Repeated listening to music or songs provides the listener with various intrapsychic experiences such as emotional constancy, auditory mirroring and twinship.

6. Interview participants unanimously endorsed the initiative for psychotherapists to explore the music their young adult clients listen to.

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The mixed methods findings included the following: 1. Participants’ survey responses were used to provide an enhanced and informed way to identify and select five eligible subjects to take part in the interview process.

2. The qualitative interviews with participants provided a more complex, rich and detailed understanding of young adults use of their PMP as a transitional object which assists them with their emotional regulation, and it also can function as a self organizing selfobject, how listening to music via the PMP provides the listener with transitional space and repeated listening to a song or playlist can provide the listener with various intra-psychic experiences, and a unanimous endorsement of exploring music in psychotherapy. All of which, should be of interest to psychodynamic psychotherapists.

These findings were fully discussed, and the mixed methods findings and discussion, integrated the benefits of combining both quantitative and qualitative research data in order to expand and deepen the understanding of the phenomenon under investigation

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Chapter VI

Conclusions and Recommendations Introduction The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed method study was to extend the understanding of the multiple ways in which young adults use music via a portable music player to potentially access, explore, influence and shape their internal worlds. These findings may be of interest to psychotherapists in general and psychodynamic psychotherapists in particular. Discovering and implementing new and promising approaches to deepening one’s clinical work has always been an ethical aim of social workers. The conclusions from this study follow the research questions and the findings, and therefore address the following: 1. Theoretical and clinical implications; 2. implications for clinical social work; 3. social implications; and 4. validity and limitations.

The following discussion of the conclusions has been derived from this research, and the chapter will close with the researcher’s recommendations for future research and a final reflection on this study.

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Theoretical and Clinical Implications All of the participants in phase two of this study enthusiastically endorsed the idea of sharing the music and songs they listen to with a therapist. The question now becomes will the community of psychodynamic theorists and practitioners be interested in or willing to integrate song analysis into their theories and clinical work? If so, what are the theoretical and clinical implications? In this section a brief description of the psychodynamic theories and concepts which were used to both inform the aims of the study and to explain the results will be outlined. Next, the rationale for integrating song analysis into one’s clinical work will be explicated and finally, the theoretical and clinical implications of doing so will be addressed.

Classical psychoanalysis, which was developed by Freud, is a one-person psychology in that the analyst provides little information about himself in order for the client to use him as a blank screen to access the material in the unconscious. Freud was brilliant, and many of his ideas are still used universally today and are very relevant to this study. His belief in the primacy of the unconscious processes, his understanding of the impact of early childhood experiences in shaping the personality, and his method of allowing his patients to talk freely about their feelings, memories, and dreams were all incorporated into the conceptualization of this study.

Object Relations is a two-person psychology which places the relationship between therapist and client at the center of the work. Together the therapist and client collaborate on the task of examining the client’s internal world and its impact on the client’s relationships. Object relations also understands the impact of early childhood experiences on either a child’s healthy or unhealthy development. Winnicott’s concepts

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of transitional objects, transitional space, and transitional phenomena were all used to explain how young adults use their portable music players.

Self Psychology was developed by Heinz Kohut, it is a derivative of object relations and it is a one-person psychology. Although today, many may think of self psychology as a two-person psychology due to the emergence of both the concept of intersubjectivity, the development of relational theory, and the resultant tendency by some to emphasize the possible intersubjective aspects of self psychology, Kohut actually determined Self Psychology was actually a one-person psychology. This was because of his understanding of the self as being composed of many self objects, and therefore throughout the course of treatment the therapist is always striving to understand how he or she is being experienced as a selfobject by the client.

The result of this approach is

that the experience of the client is the focus of the treatment – not the experience of the therapist.

Kohut’s primary emphasis was on an individual’s development of either healthy or unhealthy narcissism. He understood how childhood events and experiences effect development, and he believed that if parents were able to be empathic and responsive to their child’s needs for mirroring and twinship experiences he or she would develop healthy narcissism. However, if the child experienced a chronic unresponsiveness to his needs, unhealthy narcissism would result. According to Kohut the use of empathy is the therapist’s primary instrument for psychoanalytic observation, and long-term empathic immersion in the transference is used as an intersubjective data gathering process.

He also developed the concept of the selfobject, which he said was defined by an individual’s experience of its functions. Kohut’s concepts of mirroring, twinship and

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selfobject experiences were very instrumental in the initial development of this study.

They have also been used to understand the needs of young adults, to determine how they utilize their portable music players, the music they listen to via them and to explain the research findings.

Relational psychoanalysis is a two-person psychology which has been influenced by several different schools of thought, including: interpersonal psychoanalysis, object relations, self psychology and attachment theory. Schore has stated that the growth of relational psychotherapy, has been the result of the contributions by many psychodynamic clinicians such as Kohut, Mitchell and Bromberg, and that, “The organizing principle of this work dictates that ‘the self organization of the developing brain occurs in the context of a relationship with another self, another brain’” (Schore, 2014, p. 389).

In relational therapy there is an increased attention to the personal

connection between the therapist and client and the emotional link between the two. In 2006 the American Psychological Association (APA) formally endorsed the relational foundations of psychotherapy and the centrality of the therapeutic alliance.

Empathy, mutuality, genuineness and collaboration are also privileged in the work and the therapist’s focus is on understanding a client’s unique self-experiences in the context of her relationships. Enactments are also a primary focal point in relational psychoanalysis and they are understood as a client’s re-experiencing (not remembering) of repetitive, unconscious patterns of relationships from childhood. This approach has the potential to lead to the creation of a new relationship with a client which is supportive, strengthening and enlivening. In Ginot’s book, The Neuropsychology of the Unconscious, she speaks to the primacy of helping a client to recognize and understand

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the meanings of their enactments, because otherwise he or she will inevitably keep repeating old emotional and relational patterns in spite of a stated desire to change them.

These archaic patterns are learned early in life and are deeply embedded in their brain/mind processes, and this is why learning new ways of responding to cues in one’s environment are hampered by each individual’s archaic, reflexive and automatic defenses. Ginot said, On a subjective level, repetitions feel natural and necessary – they are all we know . . . What we largely fail to appreciate is how the brain/mind’s habitual ways of functioning resist new alternatives in real time, when old self-systems are activated. At the most fundamental but important level, this resistance is rooted in the biological reality that dictates that any felt and implemented changes need to first be registered and encoded on a neurological level. As brain/mind processes dictate, only neural shifts can lead to a psychological one, a fact that further explains the roadblocks to change. This process is especially significant in light of the countless networks and connections that constitute the brain/mind functioning. (p. 124).

In order to combat this largely unconscious resistance, a therapist needs to be dynamically involved with the client’s persistent but failed self-other emotional patterns.

She must remain actively engaged especially after repeated enactments, and be able to convey empathically both her observations and emotional experiences to the client. This enhances a client’s ability to more fully see and understand these patterns. Becoming more knowledgeable of neuroscientific findings allows a therapist to empathize more deeply with just how difficult it can be for a client to alter their system of defenses. The

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foci of therapy in the Relational approach is also useful when considering which therapeutic stance might be most suitable for working with young adults.

The last decade or so of research findings in the fields of neuroscience, traumatology and attachment, have all emphasized the primary role right-brain processes play in relationships and emotional regulation. Schore and others (2014) highlight several findings from this body of research: the limitations of using a primarily (italics mine) left-brain conscious, rational approach with clients, the dominance of right brain unconscious, emotional processes in the therapeutic relationship, and the necessity of finding and implementing more novel and affective methods for accessing and processing the contents of clients’ internal worlds. Schore says that as a result of the research, there has been a paradigm shift and, “both clinicians and researchers are now shifting focus from left-brain, explicit conscious cognition to right-brain, implicit unconscious emotional and relational functions” (Schore, 2014, p.388).

This paradigm shift is particularly relevant to this study for several reasons. First, the majority of the psychological disorders and symptoms which prompt people to initially seek therapy involve varying degrees of difficulty with accessing, processing and/or regulating emotions. Second, the prevalence of clients with a history of early developmental trauma and neglect has been identified and the challenges inherent in achieving successful treatment outcomes with them have also been recognized. And finally, the basis of psychoanalytic work is the belief in the unconscious determinants of behavior and the influence of one’s past on their present experiences. Music seems particularly well suited for accessing the unconscious emotional life of all clients, but especially those who have an early history of developmental trauma and neglect.

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When past traumatic events are inadvertently reactivated in therapy, it may provoke an enactment. When trauma occurs the balance between the right and left brain hemispheres changes and other areas of the brain which are involved in the storage and integration of incoming data are disconnected, which results in these experiences being organized not as clear coherent memories, but in disjointed sensory and emotional traces.

(Schore, 2014) So, during an enactment the client is not remembering a past event, they are literally re-experiencing and acting out the event. These emotional and relational patterns are both persistent and resistant to change and verbal interpretations and insight have often been inadequate in effecting lasting change. However, music may provide psychotherapists with an unparalleled nonverbal portal to their clients’ unformulated emotional and relational patterns, because the experience of listening to music typically involves the processing of both lyrics and melodies, so the listener is simultaneously using both the left and right hemispheres of their brain. Other writers’ work, such as that of Julie Jaffe who is a musically trained analyst, would appear to support this study’s aims. She believes what earlier writers such as Ehrenzweig said, He implied that words are necessary to communicate on a secondary-process level about nonverbal, primary-process aspects of music, but – and perhaps most important – his observations also lead to the more inclusive suggestion that both the oral and aural roads form connecting pathways to mental life, rendering an either/or explanation reductionistic” (Jaffe-Nagel, 2013, p.19).

This information indicates there may be tangible therapeutic benefits to the clinical utilization of the music young adults listen to. It can assist psychotherapists with

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accessing, understanding and integrating these disparate emotional and relational memories of their clients.

While reading through the findings from this study it is clear that the young adults have utilized their portable music players and the music they listen to through them in numerous ways which have helped them with their emotional regulation and other intrapsychic needs. Participants also believed it would be beneficial to explore these experiences with a psychotherapist, if they were in therapy. What are the theoretical and clinical implications of exploring and analyzing music in psychotherapy? In spite of giving this question much thought and consideration, it is difficult to discern any apparent theoretical conflicts or challenges to integrating song analysis into current psychodynamic models. Because the rationale for, and the methods of, song analysis are virtually indistinguishable from those employed in dream analysis, it appears that song analysis should be compatible with any theoretical orientation in which dream analysis is already being utilized. It simply provides the psychotherapist with another avenue to explore the internal worlds of their young adult clients.

There have also been several writers who have discussed this idea. As far back as 1926, Van der Chijs published a paper on the topic of the psychanalysis of music and he said it should be possible to find the latent content in music in the same way one does with dreams. In 1935 Mosonyi said, Dream and music are both irrational, unbound, unproportional and thus correspond to an infantile type of reaction . . . the condensation in dreams is supposed to parallel the compression of different motives, the simultaneity of

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different melodies, and the syncopated rhythm. Music is a compromise formation like the dream, the myth and the slip-action (Sterba, 1965, p.101).

Manifest and latent contents, compression, affects, and compromise formations should all be familiar to most therapists as they are all aspects of dream analysis.

What might the clinical implications of integrating song analysis into psychodynamic work be? As stated in Chapter I, psychotherapists are already well trained as phenomenological researchers in that they listen closely to what their clients are expressing both verbally and non-verbally, they are reflecting on the potential meanings of these communications, developing hypotheses, and repeatedly checking to determine if the hypotheses are accurate, need to be altered, or need to be ruled out.

(Finlay, 2011) Therefore, even though a therapist may never have analyzed a client’s song or playlist before, they already have all the skills necessary to do so. At this point, it does not appear that the integration of song analysis into one’s clinical work would alter the foundational underpinnings of any of the psychodynamic theories utilized in this study.

Perhaps the most challenging barriers to integrating song analysis into one’s clinical practice would be the therapist’s own forms of resistance to either implementing a new mode of working with their clients or due to their own concerns about any deviations from their theoretical frame. A personal lack of interest in or enjoyment of music would also likely be a barrier. As stated in Chapter I and as several of the participants in this study also pointed out, not everyone listens to and enjoys music to the same degree. Recent neuroscience research by Matthew Sachs, a PhD student at USC supports this understanding. He found that people who get the chills while listening to

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music actually have structural differences in their brains. “They have a higher volume of fibers that connect their auditory cortex to the areas associated with emotional processing, which means the two areas communicate better . . . People who get the chills have an enhanced ability to experience intense emotions” (Clay, J., 2017). Sachs also found that having a memory attached to a song can make listening to it an even more emotional experience. This current study’s participants were also aware that some of their friends don’t appear to experience and/or use music in the same ways they do.

From the initial stages of this study, there was never an assumption that all or even most psychotherapists would be interested in exploring the music their clients listen to clinically.

Another potential source of a therapist’s resistance to implementing song analysis in their work with young adults might emanate from their own dislike of, or unfamiliarity with, new technology. As Dauphin tells us, some therapists have negative views of modern technology and many have voiced concerns about the potentially negative effects of technology on younger generations. For those reasons some therapists may be resistant to utilizing a client’s portable music player in therapy. He also cites an interesting APA statistic: The average age of Division 39 members is 62 years old, and the average age of an APA member is 50 . . . adults invest a great deal . . . in attempting to remain youthful . . . Nonetheless, we implicitly and explicitly understand that the young are gaining on us fast, especially when it comes to mastery of technology (Dauphin, 2013, p.46).

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Dauphin also points out the difference in the ways the young and old learn how to use technology. For the young it is typically through play, but for the 62 year old it is often when they are pressured to do so due to contemporary work requirements or social expectations. Older generations also frequently joke about needing younger people in their lives to show or teach them how to use technology. Dauphin says, “These jokes reveal and conceal an important shift in the dynamics of power relations between young and old. . . It is worth considering that this power shift frightens us to some degree if we are willing to acknowledge it” (p. 47). If we don’t acknowledge this, we are more likely to adopt several defensive strategies such as banning the use of technology in therapy sessions or interpreting the use of it as resistance or a potentially troublesome form of enactment.

Dauphin’s observations are illuminating and certainly worth considering.

However, this article was published in 2013 and although only a few years have elapsed since then, it is a significantly long time ago as measured in technological advances.

Technology keeps moving at such a rapid rate and it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with all the changes. However, it is now also clear that significant numbers of those in older generations are listening to music via their smartphones and other portable devices, so the resistance of older psychotherapists to exploring the music their clients listen to may not be widespread.

Implications for Clinical Social Work This study has a number of positive implications for clinical social work. The findings determined that young adults do use their portable music players as transitional

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objects which assist them with emotional regulation. They also use the music listened to via their PMPs in psychologically significant ways which will likely be of interest to the social workers who work with young adults. Listening to music has provided countless generations with help in understanding and regulating their emotions and it is also likely that it has given many of those listeners some access to their internal worlds. However, with the advent of portable music players and the personal control and privacy they have provided the user, it appears the ways human beings have historically utilized music have been enhanced. Portable music players have also given listeners more access to music which can assist them with their intrapsychic needs. This is the first time in history that the music young adult clients listen to is so readily available for joint exploration with their psychotherapists. It is hoped that many psychotherapists will take advantage of the new opportunities this technology provides them, because it is likely that it is in the actual sharing and mutual analysis of music that curative and enduring change is possible.

The more recent recognition of the prevalence of early developmental trauma in society, and discussed in Chapter I, certainly is pertinent for those psychotherapists who work with young adults, and the need to find ways to get beneath clients’ verbal systems may be more essential today than ever before. Theoretical and research literature on music is plentiful and has established the value of using music to help those individuals who have alexithymia, which means they have trouble identifying, regulating and naming their emotions and also those who are experiencing the effects of too much stress, anxiety or depression. All of these problems were identified by individual participants in this study as difficulties they had experienced at one time or another and they utilized

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listening to music through their portable music players to assist them in addressing their own specific needs.

As social workers we rely upon and are bound by the ethical standards of our profession to guide our work. One of those ethical standards states: “Social workers continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice. Social workers should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession” (NASW, 2008). With that principle in mind, it was anticipated that the findings from this study would encourage more psychodynamic psychotherapists to consider integrating the analysis of the songs young adults listen to into their own clinical work.

The intention of this study was not to imply that psychotherapists can replicate the work music therapists do – music therapists’ work with clients is more exclusively focused on utilizing a variety of musical interventions in order to accomplish individualized goals. It seems as if there has been this unspoken yet inviolable understanding that one must be a music therapist in order to have music play any role at all in one’s clinical work. However, discussing the music therapists’ young adult clients listen to and exploring the latent and manifest meanings those songs may hold for them is not something one needs any additional training to accomplish. Those psychotherapists who analyze clients’ dreams on an everyday basis already have the skills needed to investigate the music in a client’s life.

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Social Implications The social implications of this study include the benefits our individual young adult clients will experience as a result of our work together. The ripple effects of their increased ability to understand themselves and others are also likely to benefit the people closest to them and members of society at large. Generally, when an individual decides to enter therapy it is due to some difficulty they have been struggling with for quite some time and they have determined they need help in order to improve their situation. The more effective therapy is, the more likely it is that they will achieve their desired goal and significantly improve the quality of their everyday lives.

Talking and sharing one’s difficulties with a psychotherapist can be a huge relief and it can also help to give shape to their problems. Providing young adults the opportunity to explore the meanings of the music they listen to in the presence of an empathic, attuned and responsive other will give them the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of their inner worlds. Each of the young adults who participated in this study described multiple ways they have utilized the music they listen to via their portable music players to assist them with a number of needs. Integrating the exploration and analysis of the music they listen to, not only provides social workers with another mode of gaining access to their patterns of affect regulation and dysregulation, it also gives them the opportunity to help their clients gain more insight into the unconscious determinants of their difficulties. This should also contribute to young adult clients’ selfacceptance, and their ability to better cope with life’s ups and downs.

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Validity and Limitations In order to address the issues of validity and limitations it seems necessary to return to the issues of trustworthiness from Chapter III: credibility, dependability and transferability. The credibility of research means that our findings are truthful and actually test the validity of the conclusions we reach. Does the researcher accurately describe participants’ experiences? Dependability means that the research findings can be replicated by others. However, in phenomenological research, no matter what approach is used and what the findings are, it is important to remember that they only offer a selective glimpse of the phenomena being studied. Future researchers will likely describe a different glimpse of that phenomena. Transferability refers to the ability of a particular phenomenon to be transferred to another context. One area of this study was actually done in reverse order, in that the phenomenon of dream analysis was transferred to the analysis of the music one listens to. However, this does not mean that others cannot continue to discover ways to utilize it in still more contexts.

Credibility was established in this study through the use of triangulation, rich thick descriptions of the findings and the use of peer debriefing. The use of triangulation in this study was accomplished by collecting different sources of data, which included a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. A rich and comprehensive amount of participants’ own words were presented to describe their multiple experiences. Two peers were also enlisted to read through transcripts and provide feedback about their own impressions and understanding of participants’ data in order to reduce the potential for researcher bias.

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Dependability was accomplished in this study by creating an audit trail. The audit trail is composed of a detailed account of the process and procedures involved in data collection and analysis. When the interviews were transcribed, they were reviewed for accuracy and then forwarded to the dissertation chair in order to decrease any bias which might occur during the coding process.

Transferability was established in this study by both reexamining the process of dream analysis and determining if it was a good fit with this study’s proposal of song analysis and by providing in-depth participant descriptions of their experiences. These in-depth descriptions were then interpreted through the lens of a psychodynamic perspective, use of the literature review and any additional resources as needed.

There were three limitations which were identified in the methodology section of this paper. The first limitation is that subjects were not chosen randomly, they were recruited via flyers distributed at a local university and community college so all but one survey participant were college students. Also, ninety percent of the survey participants and one-hundred percent of the interviewees were female, and approximately threequarters of the survey participants were White/Caucasian and one-quarter Hispanic.

Three of the interviewees were White/Caucasian and two were Hispanic. Therefore, the young adults who participated in this study, although millennials themselves, are not representative of the millennial generation in the United States as a whole.

The second limitation of this study is the sample size which was relatively small.

There were 30 young adults who participated in the quantitative survey phase of the research, and five of those participants were chosen to take part in the qualitative in-depth interview phase. A larger sample size in the quantitative phase would have likely

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increased the number of participants eligible for in-depth interviews. A higher number of interviewees may have produced additional findings and/or an even more comprehensive understanding of the multiple ways young adults use music to potentially access, explore, influence and shape their internal worlds.

The third potential limitation of this study was researcher bias. As described in the foregrounding section of Chapter I, it is clear that this researcher has had a lifelong interest in music and therefore concern about bias throughout the research process was warranted. Precautions taken were being mindful of not sharing this personal interest in music with participants and having the dissertation chair and two peers read through the transcripts of the interviews and provide feedback. This process highlighted some contradictions in interviewee’s statements and also provided a few alternative views of the material. These precautions helped to minimize any potential researcher bias.

Future Research There are several related topics of interest for future research. This study only looked at the impact of portable music player usage among young adults, yet it is clear that people of all ages listen to music on their smartphones or other PMPs, so it would be interesting to determine if other age groups utilize listening to music in much the same ways or if there are significant differences associated with different stages of life.

Another area for future study would be to look at young adult males’ uses of music, as this study’s participants were overwhelmingly female. Future research might also look at the ways African Americans, Asian Americans and American Indians use portable music players as these populations are not represented in the current study.

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Future researchers may also try to determine if there are any potentially negative outcomes for users of portable music players. For example, is there a significant downside to the complete privacy a PMP allows the listener? An exploration of this issue may be an interesting avenue for future research. It was only touched upon in the results section, but participants’ answers to the question did suggest there may well be a downside(s). Two final ideas for future researchers to explore would be to examine the therapeutic outcomes of clients who have shared the music they listen to with their therapists, and psychotherapists’ experiences and evaluations of the efficacy of integrating song analysis into their clinical work.

Researcher’s Reflections The seeds of this study were planted many years ago and it has taken a long time to actually carry out the research to explore the impact portable music players have had on the ways young adults experience and utilize music. The most enjoyable part of the entire process was listening to each participant describe the breadth, depth and richness of their individual experiences while listening to music through their portable music players.

It was validating to hear their stories emerge with such certainty and clarity – they did not need the results of a study to inform them that music could play an important role in their lives - each participant was already clearly aware how significant listening to music has been for them. It was also very exciting and gratifying to hear all five of the interviewees’ enthusiastic endorsement of the potential benefits of sharing and exploring the music they listen to with a therapist. One of the participants already had that experience while in therapy and she thought it helped both her and her therapist to better

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understand what she was going through. It is likely, in spite of the lack of evidence for it in the literature, that there are many more psychotherapists who have been open to exploring the meanings of the music their clients listen to, and it is anticipated that the results of this study will encourage many more psychodynamic psychotherapists to begin integrating song analysis into their clinical work with young adults.

Summary The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore and describe the various ways young adults experience listening to music via a portable music player. The rationale for the study was to develop an increased understanding of the ways in which young adults use music, which may provide psychotherapists with a new mode of opening up, and accessing, pathways to their internal, emotional worlds.

This chapter has addressed the theoretical and clinical implications of the study’s findings. The validity and limitations of the study, its’ implications for clinical social work and social implications were also addressed. Finally, potential areas for future research were suggested. This study did show that the integration of song analysis into the clinical work of psychodynamic psychotherapists was strongly endorsed by all of the interview participants and therefore it is also likely to be an area of interest many of the young adults seeking therapy would be eager to explore.

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Appendix A Copy of Recruiting Email

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Survey Participants,

My name is Eileen Niemiera and I am a Ph.D. candidate in social work, at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. I am conducting a study for my dissertation in which I am interested in learning about your experiences of listening to music via an MP3, or any portable music player such as an iPhone or an iPad. I am very interested in the multiple ways young adults, in particular, use music listened to in this way. I am hoping you will take the time to fill out a brief (15-20 minute) survey on this topic. The survey will be available through Survey Gizmo. To qualify for this study, you need only listen to music via a portable device, be between the ages of 18-20, and live in the United States. You will also need to sign a consent form (attached) before receiving a link to Survey Gizmo to take the survey. You will receive a $10 Starbucks egift card, upon completion of the survey, to compensate you for your time. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at 708-2782839 (cell) or e-mail me at eniemiera@icsw.edu Thank you for your interest!

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Appendix B Informed Consent for Phase One

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Institute for Clinical Social Work Research Information and Consent for Participation in Social Behavioral Research An Exploration of the Impact of Portable Music on the Internal World of Young Adults: Phase 1 I, , acting for myself, , agree to take part in the research entitled: The Impact of Portable Music on the Internal World of Young Adults.

This work will be carried out by Eileen Niemiera, (Principal Researcher) under the supervision of Dr. John Ridings (Dissertation Chair).

This work is being conducted under the auspices of the Institute for Clinical Social Work; At Robert Morris Center, 401 South State Street; Suite 822, Chicago, IL 60605; (312) 935-4232.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the multiple ways young adults may use portable music players, and the music they listen to via these players.

Procedures used in the study and duration This is Phase 1 of a two phase study. In this phase, participants will complete an online survey consisting of approximately 25 closed and open-ended questions. This survey will include both demographic questions, as well as, questions related directly to attaining an understanding of young adults’ various uses of portable music players. The time involved should not exceed 15-20 minutes to complete. Data will be confidential and will be destroyed after 5 years. I will keep all information on a password-protected document. At the completion of the survey, you will be asked if you would like to participate in Phase 2 of the study, which will be an interview to gather more in-depth information on the same subject. If you are ultimately not selected for Phase 2, I will make the information collected during Phase 2 available to you at the completion of the study, if you are interested. You will receive a $10 Starbucks e-gift card upon completion of the online survey.

Benefits There are no known benefits to the participants for their participation in this study.

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Costs There are no known costs to the participants who participate in this study.

Possible Risks and/or Side Effects Privacy and confidentiality are risks to any study, including this one. However, the risk is very minimal. There are no other known risks related to your participation in this particular study.

Privacy and Confidentiality The names of the participants will remain anonymous, all data collected from the online survey be stored on a password-protected computer, and in a password-protected file.

Data that is collected will not be destroyed until five years after the results are published.

Subject Assurances By signing this consent form, I agree to take part in this study. I have not given up any of my rights or released this institution from responsibility for carelessness.

I may cancel my consent and refuse to continue in this study at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. My relationship with the staff of the ICSW will not be affected in any way, now or in the future, if I (or my child) refuse to take part, or if I begin the study and then withdraw.

If I have any questions about the research methods, I can contact Eileen Niemiera (Principal Researcher) at this phone number: (708) 278-2839 or Dr.John Ridings (Dissertation Chair/Sponsoring Faculty), at this phone number: (773) 263-6225. In addition, I can e-mail Eileen Niemiera at eniemiera@icsw.edu or Dr. John Ridings at jridings@icsw.edu If I have any questions about my rights as a research subject, I may contact Dr. John Ridings, Chair of Institutional Review Board; ICSW; At Robert Morris Center, 401 South State Street; Suite 822, Chicago, IL 60605; irbchair@icsw.edu.

Signatures I have read this consent form and I hereby agree to take part in the above described research project. I am 18 years of age or older. I have received a copy of this consent form for my records. I have had all my questions answered. I understand that a copy of the online consent form may be printed prior to clicking the “Accept” button. If I am unable to print a copy of the consent form, I may obtain a copy by contacting Eileen Niemiera at (708) 278-2839, or by sending an e-mail to eniemiera@icsw.edu I understand that by clicking the “Accept” button, I will be giving my consent to participate in this study.

If you consent to be in this study, click “Accept” If you do not consent to be in the study, click “Reject”

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Signature of Participant

Date

I certify that I have explained the research to _____________ (Name of subject) and believe that they understand and that they have agreed to participate freely. I agree to answer any additional questions when they arise during the research or afterward.

Signature of Researcher

Date

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Appendix C Survey Questions

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PORTABLE MUSIC SURVEY

1. What is your age?

2. Do you currently listen to music using a portable device? (e.g. MP3, smartphone, laptop etc.)

3. Do you live in the United States?

4. Which portable music device(s) do you use? Mark all that apply. (MP3, iPod, smartphone, laptop, ____________________?)

5. Which device do you use most often?

6. Do you prefer listening to music via your portable media device versus listening on a stereo or radio?

7. Why? 8. Approximately, how old were you when you began listening to music using a portable media device? I was ____ years old 9. Currently, approximately how many hours would you say you spend each day listening to music via a portable device? _____hours 10. For you, how important is listening to music? 1 (not at all) through 5 (extremely important) 11. What genre(s) of music do you primarily listen to? (check all that apply) Alternative Blues Classical music Country music Dance music Easy listening Electronic music Heavy metal Hip hop/rap Indie Jazz New age Pop Rock Singer/songwriter Other: ____________________________ 12. Who is your favorite musical artist or group? ___________________ 13. Do you get the music you listen to primarily by downloading it for free?

14. I listen to music to maintain a mood. (SA to SD) 15. I listen to music to alter a mood. (SA to SD) 16. I listen to music to create a mood. (SA to SD)

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17. I listen to music when stressed. (SA to SD) 18. I listen to music to relax. (SA to SD) 19. I listen to music to escape. (SA to SD) 20. To get in touch with your feelings. (SA to SD) 21. Are there any other aims, goals or purposes, you use music for, which are not listed?

22. Are there particular activities, or times of the day when you are most likely to listen to music via your portable media device?

23. Please describe these activities or times.

24. What is your gender?

25. What is your race? (Caucasian/Hispanic/African American/Asian/other) 26. What is your student status? (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, grad student) 27. In what state is your college or university located in?

28. What is your major?

29. What year are you in school?

30. Please provide the e-mail address where you would like your free e-gift card to be sent.

31. Would you be willing to participate in Phase Two of this research? It would entail participating in an interview which would take approximately 60 minutes to complete – you will be compensated for your time. If you are selected, I will initially contact you using the e-mail address you provided for your e-gift card.

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Appendix D Copy of Recruiting Email for Phase Two

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INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS, My name is Eileen Niemiera and I am a Ph.D. candidate in social work at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. You recently participated in a survey of mine in which you answered questions about your experiences of listening to music via an MP3, or any other type of portable music player. At the conclusion of the survey, you indicated you would be willing to participate in a follow-up, in-depth interview with me if you were chosen to do so. I am contacting you now because you have been selected to participate in Phase 2 of this study. This interview process will allow me to further explore your uses of music via a portable music player. The interview should take approximately one hour to complete, and you will receive a $25 gift card, of your choice, (i.e. Starbucks, Amazon, Sephora, Subway etc.) for your participation. The interviews will be conducted by phone, or in my Oak Lawn office. When you arrive, you will need to sign another consent form (as you did before taking the survey) prior to starting the interview. The interview will be audiotaped and transcribed. The data will be confidential, and all interview information will be kept on a password-protected document which will be destroyed after five years. At the conclusion of the interview, you will be asked if you would be willing to participate in a follow-up phone call, if it is considered important or necessary. I will also make the information, collected during the interviews, available to you upon completion of the study, if you are interested.

Please respond to this e-mail to confirm your willingness to participate in this phase of the study, and some days and times you would be available. I will then get back to you to finalize your interview date and time. At that time, I will also provide directions (if needed) to my office.

Thank you again, Eileen Niemiera

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Appendix E Informed Consent for Phase Two

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Institute for Clinical Social Work Research Information and Consent for Participation in Social Behavioral Research The Impact of Portable Music on the Internal World of Young Adults: Phase 2 I, , acting for myself, , agree to take part in the research entitled: The Impact of Portable Music on the Internal World of Young Adults.

This work will be carried out by Eileen Niemiera, (Principal Researcher) under the supervision of Dr. John Ridings (Dissertation Chair).

This work is being conducted under the auspices of the Institute for Clinical Social Work; At Robert Morris Center, 401 South State Street; Suite 822, Chicago, IL 60605; (312) 935-4232.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the multiple ways young adults may use portable music players, and the music they listen to via these players. This research also seeks to understand how an exploration of young adults’ uses of music may benefit psychotherapists in general, and psychodynamically oriented therapists in particular, and perhaps encourage them to explore integrating music analysis into their clinical work.

Procedures used in the study and duration This is Phase 2 of a two-phase study. In this phase, participants will complete an indepth interview. These in-depth interviews will provide a detailed account of the various ways young adults use their portable music players, and the music they listen to via these players. These interviews are also expected to provide psychodynamic therapists with information which may inform, and enhance, their clinical work with this population. It may also encourage all interested psychotherapists to integrate this area of exploration into their work. The time involved should not exceed 60-90 minutes.

The interviews will be conducted in my office and will be audiotaped and transcribed.

Data will be confidential and will be destroyed after 5 years. I will keep all information on a password-protected document. At the completion of the interview, you will be asked if you would be willing to participate in a follow-up phone call, if more information is deemed important or necessary. I will make the information collected during Phase 2 available to you at the completion of the study, if you are interested.

You will also receive a $25 Starbucks gift card upon completion of the interview.

Benefits There are no known benefits to the participants who participate in this study.

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Costs There are no known costs to the participants, for participation in this study.

Possible Risks and/or Side Effects Privacy and confidentiality are risks to any study, including this one. However, the risk is very minimal. Some participants may experience some anxiety when sharing their personal experiences of listening to music. For example they may feel some anxiety about sharing the emotions they feel while listening to a particular genre of music, a particular song, or a memory that surfaces during the interview process. However, the anxiety associated with this study is no more than would likely be experienced in their everyday lives, and participants will have been informed that they have the option to withdraw from the process at any time.

Privacy and Confidentiality The names of the participants will remain anonymous, all data collected from the transcribed interviews, and any notes, will be locked in a cabinet, and all computer files will be stored on a password-protected computer, and in a password-protected file. Data that is collected will not be destroyed until five years after the results are published.

Subject Assurances By signing this consent form, I agree to take part in this study. I have not given up any of my rights or released this institution from responsibility for carelessness.

I may cancel my consent and refuse to continue in this study at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. My relationship with the staff of the ICSW will not be affected in any way, now or in the future, if I (or my child) refuse to take part, or if I begin the study and then withdraw.

If I have any questions about the research methods, I can contact Eileen Niemiera (Principal Researcher) at this phone number: (708) 278-2839 or Dr.John Ridings (Dissertation Chair/Sponsoring Faculty), at this phone number: (773) 263-6225. In addition, I can e-mail Eileen Niemiera at eniemiera@icsw.edu or Dr. John Ridings at jridings@icsw.edu If I have any questions about my rights as a research subject, I may contact Dr. John Ridings, Chair of Institutional Review Board; ICSW; At Robert Morris Center, 401 South State Street; Suite 822, Chicago, IL 60605; irbchair@icsw.edu.

Signatures I have read this consent form and I hereby agree to take part in the above described research project. I am 18 years of age or older. I have received a copy of this consent form for my records. I have had all my questions answered. I understand that a copy of the consent form may be given to me prior to signing. If I am unable to receive a copy of

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the consent form at the time of the interview, I may obtain a copy by contacting Eileen Niemiera at (708) 278-2839, or by sending an e-mail to eniemiera@icsw.edu I understand that by signing this form, I will be giving my consent to participate in this study.

Signature of Participant

Date

I certify that I have explained the research to _____________ (Name of subject) and believe that they understand and that they have agreed to participate freely. I agree to answer any additional questions when they arise during the research or afterward.

Signature of Researcher Revised 14 Oct, 2015

Date

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Appendix F Interview Questions/Guide

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INTERVIEW GUIDE I would like to thank you again for taking the time to meet with me, and participate in this interview process. Again, my name is Eileen Niemiera and I will be interviewing you today for Phase 2 of my study on young adults’ uses of music via portable music players. I need to have you sign this (2nd) consent form, before we begin the interview.

Remember I will be audiotaping this session. Do you have any questions before we get started?

•

Was there anything you would like to say about the about the survey? (e.g. was there something you thought should have been asked and wasn’t, or did you want to say more about a particular question?)

• Ok, so first just tell me a little about your particular interest in music. Why or what makes it so important to you?

1. How would you describe the various experiences you (specifically) have had while listening to music via your PMP? 2. Can you describe why you prefer to listen to music on a portable device?

3. Do you think these experiences would be qualitatively different if you were listening to the same music in a different way? e.g. On a stereo with your family member(s) also listening? At a party? If it was playing so everyone on the train/plane could hear it?

4. Has there ever been a particular song you listened to repeatedly, and if so, are you aware of any particular reason why?

5. Have you been aware of particular songs evoking emotions and/or memories for you, and will you describe what that experience is like for you?

6. Does your PMP hold some special significance/importance for you, and if so, how would you describe that?

7. Would you think it would be useful/beneficial, if you were in therapy, to be able to talk about the music you listen to with the therapist?

8. Do you have any final thoughts or comments?

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