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Objectivist and Constructivist Music Therapy Research in Oncology and Palliative CareAn Overview and Reflection1 Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and St. Vincent’s Health, Victoria, and the Department of Medicine and Faculty of Music, The University of Melbourne, Australia Correspondence: Clare O’Callaghan, Social Work Department, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Locked Bag 1, A’Beckett Street, Victoria, Australia, 8006; e-mail: clare.ocallaghan{at}petermac.org
Objectivist and constructivist music therapy research in oncology and palliative care since 1983 is detailed, and the meaningfulness of evidence gathered is considered. Objectivist approaches are informed by positivism and commonly use experimental, hypothetically driven methodologies incorporating researcher-designed measures. Constructivist approaches are informed by varied theoretical frameworks (e.g., postmodernism, phenomenology) and commonly aim to understand participants' subjective experiences. Methodologies include grounded theory, ethnography, and discourse analysis. Both research approaches have uncovered varied and evolutionary understandings about how music therapy can help people deal with loss and maintain life quality when affected by life-threatening and end-stage illnesses. Furthermore, constructivism and palliative care are compatible in that both focus on understanding individualized and multiple interpretations of experience. It is contended that objectivist and constructivist research will never be able to capture an absolute "truth" about music therapy’s effectiveness; however, findings from both approaches can be conceptually generalized to comparable clinical contexts.
Key Words: music medicine • music psychotherapy • music therapy • oncology • palliative care
Music and Medicine, Vol. 1, No. 1,
41-60 (2009) |
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