Date of Award
Spring 5-17-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Expressive Therapies
Major
Expressive Therapies
First Advisor
Leticia Prieto Álvarez, PhD, MT-BC/NMT, LMHC
Second Advisor
Sherry Penn-Crawford, PhD
Abstract
Counseling and music therapy scholars recommend that students and clinicians engage in self-inquiry to explore their cultural values to build multicultural competence. I created an arts-based method for deep reflection using theory and techniques in the literature regarding culture-centered music therapy, including ethnographic inquiry, the cultural unconscious, intersubjective theory, active imagination, embodiment, and artistic reflection. I engaged with music from my own cultural background, which included Ashkenazi klezmer music and Yiddish folksong, to reflect on my cultural values and to build a living relationship with the music. Thematic analysis revealed eight themes, including the function of the music, personal memories evoked, emotions evoked, personal or cultural values uncovered, connections to the cultural unconscious, moments of intersubjective connection, empowerment, and catharsis. In addition to improving multicultural humility, I found this process healing and empowering through reconnecting with ancestors and intrapersonal cultural resources. Furthermore, engaging deeply with my own cultural music improved my ability to understand the social function of each piece of music, enhancing my understanding of how cultural music can be utilized in clinical practice. I argue that cultural and traditional musics carry generations of wisdom and are technologies of survival that must be preserved and protected and can be used in clinical work for cultural identity formation and social reconnection.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Penn, Rachael, "A Method for Developing Multicultural Musical Fluency: Reclaiming a Relationship with Traditional Ashkenazi Music" (2025). Expressive Therapies Theses. 51.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_therapies_theses/51
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Community Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Music Therapy Commons, Transpersonal Psychology Commons
Comments
I would like to offer a very special thank you to my aunt, Sherry Penn-Crawford, PhD, whose encouragement over many years and wisdom made this journey possible. This thesis is dedicated to my father, Howard Penn, PhD, who would have been proud to see how I have learned to use the power of music to help others and would have enjoyed this music.