Nordoff-Robbins music therapists’ experience of Csikszentmihalyi’s ‘Flow’ during clinical improvisation: an interpretive phenomenological inquiry

Abstract

Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory has been explored in relation to a wide range of topics, from sports performance to education. There has been a substantial amount of research on flow and music. There have been a few studies conducted exploring flow in the context of music therapy, however there is a paucity of research related to this topic. Two studies have explored flow as it slows up during music therapy clinical improvisation, both of which are unpublished. Two interviews were conducted and analyzed to explore how music therapists working with the Nordoff-Robbins approach experience and talk about flow during clinical improvisation. Results included four themes related to the participants’ experiences of flow: 1) therapists’ internal experiences during clinical flow, 2) therapists’ experiences of the music during clinical flow, 3) perceived conditions of clinical flow, and 4) beliefs about the therapeutic value of clinical flow. Clinical flow experiences were characterized by many aspects that are easily equitable to characteristics described by Csikszentmihalyi (1990) and Csikszentmihalyi et al. (2018). Participants also discussed flow characteristics related specifically to the improvised music. Participants’ responses suggest that their flow experiences during sessions were predicated largely on the therapeutic relationship. They also believed that flow experiences during clinical improvisation are often shared between the client and therapist. Participants further shared the belief that flow experiences during sessions have positive impacts on therapy. The results of this study suggest that flow might be a useful construct for understanding significant moments that occur during clinical improvisation. Keywords: Flow, Improvisation, Nordoff-Robbins