Musikterapi & Ätstörningar - Att bygga broar : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om musikterapeuters upplevelser av att arbeta med barn- och unga som diagnostiserats med en ätstörning

Sammanfattning

Having an eating disorder can have negative consequences for the individual in both the short and long term. Both body and mind can be affected to the point that the condition becomes life-threatening. This work aims to illustrate how music therapists experience their work with children and young people diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders within Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) in Sweden. This work is a qualitative interview study based on three semi-structured interviews with music therapists who are actively working within CAP. The result shows that music therapy has a great potential as a form of treatment within CAP due to its non-verbal approach. The results show that music therapists feel that music therapy can strengthen mentalizing abilities in patients suffering from an eating disorder diagnosis, primarily anorexia nervosa. The results also shows that comorbidity can be viewed as high for this target group. The medical context in which the music therapist finds themselves within CAP can be problematic as the psychosocial profession does not receive as much space as medical interventions. This makes the collaboration between the music therapist and other professions important for the therapeutic process. Finally, music therapy's multifaceted approach enables a holistic view of the patient - in other words, music therapy is for the person and not just the diagnosis. Music therapy and mentalization can build bridges between who you once were, who you are now and who you want to become.