Music, adversity and flourishing: Exploring experiences of a community music therapy group for Australian youth

Community music therapy is a widely accepted approach that has its origins in the British community music scene and was carefully developed with respect to participatory values dominant in Norwegian practice. This article describes the way an Australian community music therapy programme for youth has been experienced by a group of diverse young people participating in a programme that is for youth who share an enthusiasm and a passion for music and often bring formidable talent to the group. They are also young people who are experiencing adversity due to chronic illness, mental ill-health, unstable homes lives or acute personal crisis or challenge. Qualitative analysis of interviews identified a number of themes including It is like a family; We understand one another’s life experiences and It is good for me, and also identified that diverse group members responded first to the emphasis on the value of music-based experiences, but strongly benefitted from the understanding afforded of the challenges they faced as a result of adverse life experiences. Possible distinctions between traditional group music therapy with adolescents and community music therapy are considered, with implications for programme descriptions and the level of focus on music and support adopted by facilitators.