Music therapists’ experience of self in clinical improvisation in music therapy: A phenomenological investigation

•Inter-disciplinary study that considers music therapy and sociological social psychology.•Phenomenological inquiry-music therapists’ experience of self in improvisation.•Findings suggest that improvisation is a discourse that impacts upon self.•Such inquiry may highlight reasons for continuance and burn-out in the profession.

How do music therapists experience themselves in clinical improvisation in music therapy? The aim of this inter-disciplinary study is to show how music therapists describe and experience the life-world of the self in clinical improvisation through phenomenological investigation. Informed by sociological social psychological theory proposing that the self develops in social discourses, this study explores the self within improvisation as a musical and inter-subjective space that is commonly used in music therapy practice. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of transcripts from semi-structured interviews with two music therapists revealed five central themes in relation to the life-world of the self in improvisation. These included mindful meeting of equals, importance of the fundamentals, flexibility and adaptability, personal fulfilment and, balancing the professional and musical self. These findings support the idea of improvisation as a social discourse and suggest that this may have significant implications for clients and therapists who employ such a means of relating.