Arts-based research practices in music therapy research: Existing and potential developments

Poetry, drama, music, dance, and visual art are increasingly used in healthcare research to learn about the experiences of healthcare workers and recipients, to gain access to marginalized voices, and to communicate research findings to a wide range of people. Despite this emerging inclination towards the recognition of the value of the arts for healthcare research, creative arts processes have had limited use in music therapy research to date. In this article, we reflect on the small body of existing music therapy literature about arts-based research and explore possible reasons for the current neglect of these methods. We provide examples from Alison's doctoral research that demonstrate the value of using arts-based research for developing a deeper understanding of the profession of music therapy. Our reflection on the current literature leads us to propose further uses for arts-based research practices, for developing rich and evocative findings, accessing the voices of people who receive music therapy services, and communicating music therapy research findings to a broader audience eager for this information.

► Few MT researchers have described their work as “arts-based research” (ABR).
► This is remarkable as ABR practices are employed in other health care disciplines.
► ABR offers ways to develop rich, evocative findings and to understand complexities.
► MTs could use ABR to understand MT from multiple perspectives and to engage wider audiences.