BW: What do you mean when you describe music as a “container for conflicting emotions,” and how can this apply to treating addiction?
SJ: Music has an immense power to represent and express emotions, even when our feelings are complex or ambivalent. Dissonance and its resolution are a normal part of music, so when it’s mapped to cognitive dissonance it simultaneously validates all elements in the conflict, and it may even help lead to a resolution.
Addiction can be seen as an example of parts in conflict, because there are two psyches — the sober part and the “user.” The problem is that these parts are never there at the same time. But by anchoring, we can bring them together. We can associate each part with its own musical motif, which serves as a trigger to invoke that part. If the motifs are musically compatible, we can then play them simultaneously to bring the conflicting parts of the psyche together.
Then at least there is a chance they can work out a solution. With the combined intelligence of both parts, the individual may be able to find another way to, for example, have fun, and excitement while still being responsible. This process is called “collapsing anchors.”
BW: What is “guided imagery with music”?
SJ: It’s a receptive form of music therapy in which the client goes into deep relaxation and listens to music carefully chosen with the help of a music therapist. While listening, the client free-associates, with the music helping them to explore their problem in depth and from many perspectives. This can lead to very profound insights.
BW: How does taking turns playing different instruments or musical roles help in comprehending different points of view?
SJ: Making music together with others is great for social cohesion. It has helped anti-social teens to learn cooperation, which has been shown to carry over into their social lives in general. A music therapist can guide the activity to foster a greater sense of empathy through musical role-playing.
BW: What are “chunks”?
SJ: We can perceive the world at varying levels of detail, and there are pros and cons depending on the situation. Small chunkers are good with details, but they can lose sight of the big picture, getting lost in endless minutiae and wasting time. Big chunkers are good at sizing up a situation quickly, but they may be at a loss for where to begin making changes. The key is to always focus on the most useful level of detail for the situation you’re in.
Music can be perceived at various levels, or chunk sizes as well. Are you listening to one instrument, or to the entire orchestra, or just to the horns? Are you focusing on the lyrics, or the notes? Are you focusing on your favorite passages as they occur, or are you trying to take in the whole song as a single musical moment? If we cultivate the habit of varying this, we can get more out of the listening experience, and we can also learn a valuable perceptual skill that can carry over into life in general.
BW: Rapport seems important for good communication. You say it’s about “matching but not mocking and manipulating.” Do you call on your talents as a jazz musician here?
SJ: I did a nine-month NLP practitioner training with Anne Linden in New York. On the first day, we talked about establishing and maintaining rapport, and how it’s the basis of everything else. At the end of the whole course, I had an insight that NLP is “jazz communication,” because so much of what we learned in the course I had already been doing as a musician. In jazz, we learn to really listen to others and be spontaneous yet still cohesive. The jazz experience is a perfect template for improving communication skills, because it shows you that you may have to work diligently at first, but if you hang in there it will become effortless and natural in time.
BW: How are the techniques of “marking out, pacing, and leading” used in music therapy?
SJ: People often give nonverbal clues as to what words or phrases are particularly important to attend to. They may blink, scratch their chins, raise their speech volume, etc. This is called “marking out.” An astute observer can understand more by paying attention to these cues. This is similar to how composers and performers emphasize key musical events or passages. “Pacing” and “leading” refers to a method of influencing others by first establishing rapport (pacing), then gradually changing while maintaining rapport (leading).
For example, if someone is talking in an agitated way, you could match their rhythm at first, then gradually smooth out your own speech pattern. If you start smooth, they may never follow you. We do this kind of thing all the time in jazz improvisation. The main point is that you have to pace before you can lead.
By the way, it may seem counterintuitive at first, but with a resistant client you can actually match them by mismatching. For example, if they don’t want to play music with you, then fine — you can play two completely different songs. But then over time you can start to coincide more and more — this will probably happen naturally.
BW: How would you use the Milton model?
SJ: The Milton model is kind of the opposite of the meta-model. While the meta model tries to elicit more specific information, the Milton Model, named for hypnotherapist Milton Erickson, is deliberately nonspecific. It may even be vague or surreal.
Using the Milton model, the therapist can bypass the client’s conscious mind, which may offer resistance to specific statements, and communicate directly to their subconscious mind, but in a way that is respectful and nonmanipulative because it allows the client to understand the words in whatever way makes sense to them.
For example, instead of sounding like a cliché hypnotist and saying, “When you wake up, you’ll forget this whole session,” you can say something like “Be sure to remember to forget all the things you don’t need to remember.” The subconscious mind accepts this and carries it out in whatever way is most beneficial to the client.
Many songs have obtuse lyrics that can best be understood via the metaphorical and lateral thinking process of the right hemisphere. By engaging this part of us, which is often underutilized in today’s world, music can help us to experience more balance and thus a higher quality of life.
This article was first published in Brain World Magazine’s Winter 2013 issue.
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