The Krysta approach to psychotherapy incorporates techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and internal family systems therapy. It focuses on addressing the different parts of a client's self through guided questioning based on the ABC model of cognition. The goal is to have clients understand their parts without judgment through curiosity, to help them actualize their true self from within. Key aspects include identifying parts like managers and exiles, exploring activating events and beliefs from each part's perspective, and facilitating unconditional self-acceptance.

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The Krysta approach to Psychotherapy
Music in Psychotherapy
December 5th, 2016
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to:
Krysta Warner
Berklee College of Music
Kwarner1@berklee.edu

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INTRODUCTION
Throughout my life I have placed labels on my being as many people do and too
often defined myself through what others have told me what I have or what I am. By that,
I am referring to my relationship with my own mental health. At fourteen, I was
diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Panic Disorder. I can’t remember
which one presented itself first, as memory and concentration is often a result of
persistent anxiety, but I remember worrying about worrying everyday. It was a strange
loop I had myself in. I went through roughly six months of cognitive behavioral therapy
for my panic attacks, which helped tremendously. I stigmatized myself against
medication and with my perfectionist attitude; I aimed to control it myself in my own
way. I learned how to recognize my symptoms as a fight or flight response, practice my
breathing, and push through the discomfort until finally after a few months, my panic
attacks became less and less. Although my OCD continued to be a part of my daily life. It
was my pacifier and my stabilizer when anxiety presented itself. Eventually I began to do
rituals even when I wasn’t feeling anxious, and so began the vicious cycle of creating my
own anxiety from something that I once use to think helped me function. In the past year,
I have had trouble in being resilient towards my OCD and anxiety and felt I could not
control it alone anymore. I resorted to the Internet in hopes of finding a therapist who
could help me, and stumbled upon multiple research studies through Massachusetts
General Hospital. Each research study required an initial intake where a psychiatrist asks
you all of the questions you don’t want to answer. I laid in multiple MRI machines, had
electric shocks buzzed through my fingertips to study emotional learning in individuals
with OCD, I documented every thought, ritual, or behavior I did as a result of my anxiety,

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filled out paper work on top of paper work, self-assessment on top of self assessment,
exposures on top of exposures, all focused on my symptoms. My therapist was kind and
understanding of my busy schedule and was anything but hard on me to do my therapy
homework perfectly every week. But with my perfectionist attitude, anxiety of failure and
my obsession of doing or saying something wrong, I felt more stressed from the structure
that came with a CBT approach focused solely on reducing my symptoms. Some of it
was useful, and a lot of it I still implement into my daily life when I feel consumed by my
OCD. Although, through these studies I realized a few things, MRI machines are loud,
scary, and a lot smaller than they look, compensation checks take awhile to find your
mailbox, hospital gowns are drafty and I am more than just a diagnoses or a symptom.
For much of my life I have told myself that I am anxiety, I am OCD, and I am the
depression that comes with the guilt of seemingly unwarranted anxiety. But lately, I feel I
am having a prolonged epiphany, which has been brewing in my mind for a few weeks
now. I didn’t like focusing on myself as a plethora of symptoms or as a victim of my
anxiety, because in a way I felt that added fuel to the fire. I needed to change my mindset.
And I needed to let the part of myself that was uncomfortable asking for help and talking
about myself in a way that wasn’t, by my own definition, what I should be, get in the way
of that. I could not “should” myself any longer, as it was proving to be exhausting.
I finally found a therapist that presented a new approach called Internal Family
Systems (IFS) that broke down all the different pieces of me. I wasn’t just someone
diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, but began to view myself as someone with a lot of
different parts. And while these parts are defense mechanisms and have the best
intentions to protect me, they sometimes are maladaptive to my functioning. To name a

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few, there is the counter and obssesor, the perfectionist, the critique, the drinker, the
avoider, and then there is the self, myself. More specifically, IFS focuses on having a
conversation with theses different parts and to hear their side of the story, and the
reasoning behind why they do the things they do. For example, I addressed my critique
and gave it space to talk about why it feels the need to be critical. It explained that it felt
like it needed to help myself be the best that I can be and that maybe sometimes it is
harsh, but that it is always in my best interest. By having a conversation with my critique
without judgment but through the lens of curiosity allowed me to begin to better
understand myself as a whole.
Through my own experience with different therapeutic approaches, I have been
able to dig deep into practicing self-awareness, and to be okay in the moments of
discomfort or anxiety I experience. This has been reflective in my work at site this
semester and is something I not only feel is a necessity in my personal life, but also my
professional life as a music therapist. In a way, I am beginning to view my struggle with
mental health as a blessing in disguise. Some of the best lessons I have learned
throughout my life have been rooted in my own struggles. As a result it has molded me
into an empathetic individual that takes pride in listening to others points of view and
stories. This has leaded me into the direction of helping others in their struggles with
mental health through something that almost everyone can relate to, music.
I. UNDERLYING THEORY
The Krysta approach to psychotherapy incorporates aspects of cognitive therapy
and internal family system techniques with beliefs reflective of existential and person
centered therapy. These beliefs will be complementary by means of creating a space for

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clients to feel safe and comfortable in expressing their concerns or needs that come with
life’s experiences and obstacles. I have chosen a cognitive and internal family system
approach based on the schemas, or ones mental structure based on preconceived ideas in
cognitive therapy and the relationship to the different parts of oneself that is described in
IFS as well as my personal experience with successes in some specific techniques in
both.
In IFS, different parts are described in three main categories, which include the
Managers, Exiles, and the Firefighters. The managers job is to keep an individual safe
and functional through defense mechanisms such as criticizing oneself in order to make
them the best they can be, as described in my experience in the introduction. The exiles
are the parts of the person that are the emotions and memories that may have been hurt in
some way and feel vulnerable and are often confined by the managers and firefighters.
Lastly, there are the firefighters, which are similar to the managers but are quicker to act.
They can be viewed as the “superheroes” in a way that they react when the exiles began
to overflow the person with emotions and they fly in to save them in that moment. They
are usually associated with impulsivity and often include behaviors like drinking,
excessive eating, overworking, or impulsive sex to name a few. The Krysta approach will
not only utilize the idea behind IFS that a person has different parts or versions of
themselves, but will also implement a person centered approach in that these parts all
deserve to be heard and acknowledged through catharsis.
Similar in that IFS focuses on addressing each part of oneself and the relationship
among them, CBT focuses on addressing a thought or behavior and the relationship
among them as well. The Krysta approach will focus on both ideas and meld them into

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one, addressing that thought process and behaviors can vary depending on which part of
one-self is present. The ABC’S of cognitive therapy, or the idea of “as I think so I feel,
and do” will be considered when exploring different parts of oneself and the reasoning
behind certain behaviors and ideas of the managers, exiles, and firefighters. As an
example, I will explain the Krysta approach in regards to my own experience.
Much of my own struggle with anxiety stems from my own worries of failure,
displeasing others, and strives for perfectionism. At some point in my life, I discovered a
coping mechanism that at first was useful in that it kept me distracted from thinking
about my anxieties. This included counting, toe and finger tapping to name the primary
behaviors. It eventually blossomed into something that began to create more anxiety in
that I felt I shouldn’t be wasting my time doing useless behaviors that didn’t contribute to
my daily functioning. There was the part of me that was hurting, depressed, ashamed and
longed for emotional relief. Then there was the critic that stepped in and told myself that
I could not ask for help, as others would view me as unstable and incapable of becoming
a reliable music therapist. As I continually denied myself the help I needed, I sometimes
would feel overwhelmed with my repressed emotions and would resort to excessive
sleeping or drinking and felt avoidant in many aspects of my life. I was finally able to set
my critic aside for a moment and get the help I needed. Through my experience in
different therapies I began to realize that while my OCD was a large part of my inability
to function happily, there was much more to myself that needed to be addressed as well
in which a highly structured CBT approach could not provide. Although, I learned much
about how powerful thought processes and the way I spoke to myself affected many of
my behaviors. Much of my struggles were related to irrational beliefs that consumed my

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daily functioning. These beliefs and inner dialogue often came from my managers and
firefighters. Some of these presented irrational beliefs in the following ways:
 Maintaining approval: My critical self was not allowing me to ask for help
because it believed that others would view me as weak or incapable of
functioning in school, work, or in my social life. It told me to ignore my feelings
in order to be successful in things that I needed to get done such as school work
and working, as others view that as productive and admirable.
 Harmfulness for happiness: My drinking self stepped in in order to substitute any
negative feelings and promised it could add to my happiness in that moment. It
told me that life would be unpleasant in that moment without it and that it could
help solve my problems by numbing any feelings I felt uncomfortable expressing.
 The past is not the past: My fear of disappointment self was constantly reminding
me that I had been resilient towards my anxiety for so long that if I were to ask for
help, I would be back tracking into who I use to be. It told me since my anxiety
has impacted my life greatly in the past, that if I expressed that again, it would
define me indefinitely.
I recognized the connection between my irrational beliefs and what parts of me
were churning the inner dialogue that was causing me distress. Each part, the critic, the
drinker, the fear of disappointment self, were in my best interest, but fueled my
maladaptive behaviors and as a result increase my OCD symptoms and anxiety at times.
Therefore, the Krysta approach is based on what I have learned from therapies and what I
have felt has been helpful in better understanding myself as a complex person with many
different parts that want to be heard.

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II. THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
The first step in the Krysta approach is to determine each part of the client that
they feel is pushing against their true self or diminishing the feelings of their exiles. This
process will be done through open conversation about what they feel they have been
struggling with, and will not be directive in a way of having the client make a list of these
parts themselves, but to work through it together in conversation. The therapist would
then provide information about IFS and how it works. Modeling on the therapists part is
essential in that it provides a frame for the client to work from. For example, regarding
my critic, I would first identify where I feel the critic lies within my body. I would then
explain that I am to listen to what the critic has to say in regards to why it is the way that
it is. The other part of my self would acknowledge and thank the critic and leave the
conversation without judgment. The therapist would then deduce information given by
the client and therapists discussion and ask them if they feel they would like to address a
part of themselves as explained by the therapist. During this process of addressing the
client’s part of themselves, the therapist would guide the client through a number of
questions regarding the specific part. To better understand how this would go about, it is
best to provide an example; therefore I will continue to use the example of the critic.
When addressing the critic, the role of the ABC’s of cognitive therapy will be
applied. Guided questions towards the critic from the therapist will explore what the
activating event was that led the critic to react the way it did. For example, an activating
even for the critic in my case would be a panic attack. The therapist would then ask what
the critics beliefs are in regards to how they processed the event they experienced. Some

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of these beliefs are irrational, such as the belief that the critic may think that the panic
attack was an overreaction and that I should have just gotten over it. The last part of the
guided questions from the therapist would then invite the critic to step aside for a moment
so that the persons self that is listening to the critic can reflect on how that experience
affected them emotionally without judgmental dialogue from the critic. In my case, I felt
that my experience with the panic attack was a way for me to realize that I needed to
address some things I had been suppressing, and that my mind and body was trying to tell
me that.
The goal of the Krysta approach imitates the idea of actualization in person-
centered therapy in that, by having the client address each part of themselves without
judgment but rather with curiosity, and going through the ABC’s of each part, allows the
client to realize that they are able to grow and enhance themselves from within.
III. THERAPEUTIC CONTENT
It is important to note, that while the Krysta approach is largely based on
techniques from IFS and the ABC’s of cognitive therapy, the goal of this approach is
reflective of person centered actualization through understanding and enhancement from
within. It is recognized that psychological problems are interpersonal and while external
forces may be triggering for an individual, the difficulties an individual faces lies within
and is reactive in different ways in regards to their own managers, exiles, and firefighters.
INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICTS
Anxiety and Defenses: Anxiety is viewed as one part of a person, the key words
being one part. It is created by how our inner dialogue and parts of ourselves react

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to a situation or thought. The critic creates anxiety because it is always telling the
persons self to be better at everything and that they should have done this instead of
that, or said this instead of that, and this can carry a tremendous amount of weight on
an individual. This can be applied to every aspect of oneself, even in defense
mechanisms that maybe are not as loud as the critical self. Some people use humor
to joke about pain that they may be experiencing in order to make others laugh and
hide behind this positive regards from others. Although, the exiled part, the part that
feels pain and the anxiety that is not being let out authentically outside of humor is
still there.
Self-Esteem: There are a number of ways that people attempt to prove themselves as
who they think they should be. This could include a perfectionist that prides
themselves in maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, a workaholic who is convinced
that they are only as good as how much money they have in their bank account, or
the person who defines themselves through how loved they are by others. Although,
one cannot put a price tag on themselves as human beings or rate themselves based
on external forces, but instead must address self worth internally and find confidence
through actualization. To speak with oneself and have a perspective of why one may
feel less because of a thought or situation is important in understanding how one can
better function in their daily life.
Unconditional self-acceptance: By acknowledging parts of oneself that an
individual may not be proud of or particularly like is important regarding accepting
oneself. Not often do people like to admit that they have a problem with overeating
or excessive drinking, or that they intentionally slept in instead of going to work, but

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to be flawed at times is to be human. To go through life without any pain or
struggles would be no life at all in that you would not learn anything from your own
experiences. It is easy to accept all the good parts of ones-self and the parts that are
functional, happy and liked by others. But to accept the uncomfortable, awkward, or
dysfunctional parts and be okay with talking with them is much harder. To accept
both unconditionally and to acknowledge that they are there is the key to
actualization and enjoying ones life to its fullest extent.
Responsibility: To take responsibility for every part of oneself is crucial in this
approach. One cannot control how others act or think, but can control how they react
or think. This is done through the conversation of each part, no matter how
uncomfortable or upsetting it may be at times. Not to say that the client is confined
to constant discomfort when addressing their managers and firefighters, but also to
not run at any emotional upset that may occur. To deny that different emotions are
present depending on what part is being addressed is to not listen and take
responsibility for what words are produced in the conversation between oneself. This
approach is meant to think of oneself without judgment or confrontation, but with
kindness and recognition.
INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS
Intimacy and Sexuality: In the Krysta approach, intimacy and sexuality are viewed
as two separate entities in themselves. Intimacy is needed to have successful
romantic relationships as well as friendships. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate
intimacy from sex, as a common irrational thought regarding anxiety and sex is that
one cannot solely enjoy sex for pleasure, but that there must be something more to

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the relationship than physicality. When one can identify the parts of them that preach
the irrational beliefs regarding an inability to engage in intimacy with a friend or
significant other, then they can begin to develop an understanding of how to change
their preconceived notions regarding not only intimacy, but also sex.
Communication: Communication is a necessity in life in regards to healthy
relationships on a personal and professional level. To better communicate with
others, it is first important to be able to communicate with oneself and to have a
dialogue when needed in moments of emotional upset or use of coping mechanisms
that are not beneficial to the individual. When an individual can understand
themselves and be open to communicate their anxieties internally, this will reflect
into their relationships of communication with others and aid in maintaining healthy
relationships.
Hostility: Hostility is a reaction that stems from frustration in irrational beliefs and
repression of ones exiles through engagement with ones managers and firefighters in
a way that is not communicative, productive, or positive. It is when an individual
ruminates in the negativity or critical aspects of oneself and does not take time to
address these feelings in a healthy manner.
Control: To have control of oneself is often something that many people struggle
with. In this approach, the key to gaining control is to speak to the parts of oneself,
the managers and the firefighters, which sometimes overrule what is desired from
the self. By speaking to these parts the individual can better understand where that
part of themselves is coming from and to take the reins of it and attempt to change
its behavior or way of thinking into something that is more productive and kinder to

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the individual. It is also important to note that this approach also focuses on being
content in knowing that control is something one cannot constantly provide for
others without depriving themselves emotionally. “The emotionally healthy person
can live in the delicate balance between caring enough about others to be effectively
related but not caring so much about others as to become prisoner of their approval”
(Cognitive Therapies Chapter, pg. 299).
INDIVIDUO-SOCIAL CONFLICTS
Adjustment versus Transcendence: For and individual to believe that they can go
above and beyond through convincing themselves that they must be a specific kind
of person to transcend above any conflict, is to tread into dangerous territory. One
must be flexible in their self-awareness and to not repress feelings that they don’t
want to address but to rise above the repression and to not worry about societal
standards or what is expected of them, but what they feel is best for them.
Impulse Control: Impulse control is a large part of the Krysta approach in that it is
a main part of addressing the firefighters, the ones who thrive on impulsivity. These
are the parts of oneself that tell the individual that they should drink a lot because
they deserve to have fun or not feel sad, or you should buy copious amounts of
clothes because it will distract you from the stress of having to study for final exams.
These actions feel good in the moment, but usually end up making the initial distress
worse, or even causing distress that may not have been present until after the flame
goes out.
BEYOND CONFLICT TO FULFILLMENT

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Meaning in Life: To find meaning in life is likely a challenge that most everyone
faces at some point. Most likely, if one is searching for an existential explanation for
why we exist, they are likely to be disappointed. Meaning is found through
understanding oneself and finding satisfaction with ones self-perceptions and
acceptance of all parts of who they are. The goal is to continue to explore oneself
internally and to not define any emotion as good or bad, but as simply present. To
find meaning, is to find the existence in yourself with what you want to do, not what
others expect you to do or what you feel obligated to do.
Ideal Individual: The ideal individual is present in us all. It is the idea that one must
meet certain requirements and stepping-stones in life to be who they should be. It is
the critic telling the self to be better always, the perfectionist to always be right as to
impress, the workaholic to do more to be admired for their perseverance. The Krysta
approach is focused on addressing each of these parts and not to perfect or
drastically change then to create an ideal individual based on external forces, but to
focus on actualization as goal in replacement of achieving a perfect or ideal self. To
be okay with where you are, and who you are.
IV. THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
My belief in regards to aspects of a therapist is to be authentic, honest, and to non-
judgmental. I also believe in providing a means of direction for the session in a way that
is not as rigid as assigning clients to write everything that they do, feel, and say, as I did
in my experience with cognitive behavioral therapy for my OCD, but rather directive in
means of modeling and prompting questions as in IFS when speaking to the clients
managers, exiles, and firefighters. Debriefing after these internal dialogues have been

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explored with the client is also very important, as it can be a lot of information to process
alone in speaking to parts of oneself, as it is something that can sometimes take practice
to understand and feel comfortable in doing. Clarification on the therapeutic process
while engaging in these conversations with ones managers, exiles, or firefighters would
also be an important aspect of the session. Having a prepared list of questions to guide
the client through the session when approaching the ABC’s of each parts ways of
thinking is necessary not only for clients cognitive processing in the moment, but also for
the therapist to provide a means of structure within a concept of therapy that can be
difficult to come into at times.
I know this in my experience with my therapist when I was addressing my critical
self, in that I didn’t quite know if I was engaging correctly. He guided me with questions
and prompts such as “What is your critical self saying right now?” and “Ask the part of
yourself that is being judgmental or upset with your critical self to simply listen to their
story and reasoning.” Through these prompts and questions I was able to engage and
listen to my critical self with empathy and understanding of why it is the way it is at
times and that it honestly had my best interest at heart.
It is also important to acknowledge that everyone is different in their needs for
therapy. For me, I benefitted from CBT for my panic attacks, but the structure of it
regarding my OCD was not a good fit, as I felt boxed in and overwhelmed by the
constant journaling and recording of my behaviors. I have connected with IFS as an
approach for myself, but just as CBT did not resonate with me, IFS may not resonate with
every client as an approach for therapy. As a therapist, it is important to be self-aware of
my own limitations and what I can or cannot provide for a client and if therapy is not

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useful for an individual to make sure that I help them in finding another means of support
through another therapist that could better support the clients needs.
V. MUSIC THERAPY APPLICATION
Population Adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder
or Depression
Objectives 1) Stabilize mood in session
2) Improve coping skills
Session Outline 1) Drum check in and group
drumming/discussion
2) Blues Songwriting Activity
3) Debrief and discussion
Measurement of Objectives 1) Self report
2) Pre and Post test with Wong and Baker
Likert scale for anxiety and depression
The Krysta approach will not only incorporate what has been discussed in the
previous pages, but will also incorporate the therapist’s own philosophies and beliefs into
the session depending on who is facilitating. If the Krysta approach does not resonate
with the therapist on every level, it is still important for them to be authentic, honest, and
non-judgmental of group responses and discussion and participation. The goal of the
Krysta approach is reflective of person-centered therapy in that actualization of an
individual in order to achieve emotional enhancement from within.
Upon beginning the session, the music therapist will set up the room so that group
members will be facing each other in a circle. The music therapist will then arrange
different percussive instruments such as drums, maracas, shakers, and tambourines in the
center of the circle for group members to choose a preferred instrument. Prior to
beginning with the drum activity, the therapist will invite group members to assess their
current mood for a pre-test using the 1-10 Wong and Baker scale for Anxiety and
Depression. The therapist will then go around the circle and ask everyone their name, as

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well as introduce themselves to the group in order to begin to establish communication
between client and therapist. The therapist will then invite group members to choose a
percussive instrument. Once everyone in the group has an instrument, the music therapist
will invite them to play how they are feeling today on the drum. Individuals would then
play on their drum. The music therapist would then ask the group, “In regards to that
feeling, speak to it with empathy and without judgment, and what would you say to it?”
and then the group would go around once more and play what they want to say to the
feeling on the drum. If group members express any confusion about prompting questions,
it is the music therapist’s duty to practice rephrasing or clinical improvisation in the
group activity in order to clarify, or meet the group where they are. After each group
member has played the therapist will then thank the group and lead them into the group
drumming intervention. This will be presented in a way to thank and affirm group
members for sharing, and also to provide support from other group members in their
acknowledgment of what others have shared. For example, in order to lead into the next
part of the drumming, the music therapist could say something along the lines of,
“I want to thank everyone for sharing, and I think we can all thank each other by playing
together and acknowledging what we have shared on the drum, as well as what
others have shared by playing together.”
This statement affirms and also redirects into the next activity and verbally demonstrates
what is expected in regards to group participation. The music therapist would then begin
the group drumming by explaining that they are going to start playing first and to think
about thankfulness for everyone’s own honesty in sharing, as well as others honesty in
the group. The music therapist would then begin drumming, authentically in regards to

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how the expressed what they were feeling that day, but also in a way that provides
structure for other group members to work off of. The music therapist would then use
body language such as a head nod, eye contact, and slight smile to gesture to the next
person in the group to join in on top of the drumming. This would continue either
organically in how the group catches onto the idea of going around in the circle, or if
more prompting is needed, the music therapist would continue to use psychical gestures
to prompt others to join. The group drumming would continue on for as long as needed
for the group to gain, or maintain cohesion. It is also important to note that the music
therapist needs to be aware of group members affect and level of participation in
drumming in order to determine whether the group wants to keep going, or if that he
drumming activity would come to an end. After the drumming has ended, the music
therapist would then ask the group how they felt about the experience. Prompting
questions such as,
“How did it feel to address that part of yourself that was affecting how you are feeling
today with empathy and without judgment?”
“How did it feel to play in a group together knowing that the motive behind it was to
acknowledge not only how you are feeling, but how others are feeling?”
These question and activities are consistent with the Krysta approach in that they prompt
group members to not only consider how they are feeling, but to address that part of
themselves and to metaphorically through the drumming, have a conversation with that
part.
After a brief discussion with group members reflecting on the drumming
intervention, the music therapist would then transition into a songwriting activity. Lyric

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writing worksheets and pencils would be given to each individual, and modeling on the
music therapist part will be provided. The group members will be asked to think back to
the previous activity and what they expressed on the drum and to write down what they
want to say to that part. The worksheet provided would look as follows:
Today I feel ____________and I want to say
Today I feel ____________and I want to say
Positive regard to self/feeling: _____________________________
Example:
Today I feel anxious, and I want to say
Today I feel anxious, and I want to say
I hope you start to feel better and that this feeling won’t stay
I hope you start to feel better and that this feeling won’t stay
The music therapist would provide the group with time to reflect and to think about what
they want to write in their own verse. The music therapist will also provide verbal
guidance in suggesting that rhyming is not a necessity and to simply write what they are
feeling. If group members need assistance in consolidating their thoughts or coming up
will a positive regard statement, it is the responsibility of the music therapist to aid in the
individuals lyrical creation in order to support what they are feeling.
Once group members have had time to finish writing their verse, the music
therapist will model the form with the guitar and vocals. Group members will also be

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invited to play their instrument of choice if desired. The music therapist will sing through
the example verse provided on the worksheet once, and then invite the group to sing
along the second time in order have group members to better understand the form. The
music therapist will then go around to each member of the group and ask what they
wrote. As previously stated, if what the client has presented does not quite fit the form of
the blues structure, it is the responsibility of the music therapist to help consolidate the
individuals’ phrase by using as many of the clients own words as possible.
After each group member shares what they have written, the music therapist will
then sing what they have presented once through and then invite group members to sing
along with the newly developed verse for each person. This will be done to affirm what
each person has shared. After each group member has shared, it is the goal of the music
therapist to find a common theme based on group responses to create a final verse for the
group to sing along to. For example, if many of the responses regarded how the group
members felt sad, anxious, tired, overwhelmed, or frustrated the music therapist could
generalize the feelings to fit into a verse. For example:
Today we feel bummed out, but what we want to say
Today we feel bummed out, but what we want to say
We know that it’s hard at times, but we will persevere
We know that it’s hard at times, but we will persevere
The music therapist would present this verse to the group similarly in the way they did
with their own example and then invite the group to sing it along together.
After the blues songwriting intervention, a group discussion lead by the music
therapist can provide a means affirmation and connection with other group members.

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Based on what is shared, group members may find similarities in what others have shared
and this not only affirming for the person who is sharing, but also for other group
members. It is also provides a mean for self-assessment in that moment which is
important given that the session will then conclude with a self-report of the Wong-Baker
Likert Scale for Anxiety and Depression in which each group member will be asked to
rate their current mood on a scale from 1-10.

22. 22
Sources
Evolution of The Internal Family Systems Model By Dr. Richard Schwartz, Ph. D. (n.d.).
Retrieved December 04, 2016, from https://www.selfleadership.org/about-
internal-family-systems.html