Music Therapy in Paediatric Rehabilitation: The Application of Modified Grounded Theory to Identify Categories of Techniques Used by a Music Therapist

A modification of the Grounded Theory method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was used to identify and categorise the techniques employed by a music therapist in work with three children who have neurological and/or spinal injury in the Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service at the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Through viewing videotapes of nine individual sessions with three patients and undertaking detailed transcription and analysis of five of these sessions, eight categories of techniques used by the paediatric music therapist were identified. These are: cueing, synchrony, choices, orientation, preparation, feedback, incorporation and humour. Outcomes of this project offer clarification of techniques used by a music therapist working with children in a rehabilitation service.