"I'm just an ordinary person without any perception of light." (Nataly) - An Exploratory Phenomenological and Hermeneutic Study of Music and Imagery with an Adult with Visual Impairment Living in an Institution

Berger, Jesper Bull

4. term

Music Therapy, Master

2026

2026-09-01

This thesis explores how the music therapy method Music and Imagery can support an adult with visual impairment living in an institutional setting. Drawing on critical disability studies and visual impairment research, it presents an interpretive qualitative single-case study of two selected Music and Imagery sessions from an eleven-session course, conducted by a music therapist who is visually impaired. The study uses an exploratory phenomenological and hermeneutic approach, with abductive analysis informed by Guided Imagery and Music theory and Resource-Oriented Music Therapy. The findings indicate that therapist accommodation and attentive presence are necessary conditions for relational recognition and mutuality, which in turn are required for genuine participation in therapy. Accommodation is understood as an integral part of therapy rather than mere practical preparation. The analysis identifies different configurations of participant autonomy (articulated, offered, negotiated, rehearsed, refused, failed, and enacted) and shows how the co-created therapeutic space functions as a rehearsal field where the participant uses various resources to make therapy useful and meaningful. Through interaction with music and sound, the participant co-authors an ordinary, homely and accessible imaginal dwelling, where movement, agency and relational bonding are possible, contrasting with the strain of institutional everyday life. Music appears less as a transformative agent in itself and more as a connecting relational texture. The thesis suggests specific affordances of Music and Imagery for people with visual impairment: visual cues are not required; sound and music are accessible modalities; ordinary forms of autonomy in social interaction can be activated despite VI-related interdependence; limited physical movement or interaction is needed; and the method provides predictable and stable conditions. For practitioners, it highlights the importance of physical accommodation, therapist attentiveness, and the therapeutic relationship as constitutive conditions for participation, as well as the need to reflect on their own ableist assumptions, the participant’s possible internalised ableism, and perceptions of interdependence that might affect experienced equality in the relationship. While not claiming generalizability, the study offers nuanced insight into how what happens around the core musical activity may be crucial for what becomes possible within the music journey for visually impaired people in institutional care.

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan musikterapiformen Music and Imagery kan støtte en voksen med synsnedsættelse, der bor på institution. Med udgangspunkt i kritiske handicapstudier og forskning i synsnedsættelse præsenteres et kvalitativt enkeltcasestudie af to udvalgte Music and Imagery-sessioner i et samlet forløb på 11 sessioner, gennemført af en musikterapeut med synsnedsættelse. Studiet anvender en eksplorativ, fænomenologisk og hermeneutisk tilgang og analyserer data abduktivt med inddragelse af teorier om Guided Imagery and Music og ressourceorienteret musikterapi. Resultaterne peger på, at terapeutens konkrete tilpasninger og opmærksomme nærvær er nødvendige for, at deltageren kan opleve relationel anerkendelse og gensidighed – og at disse igen er forudsætninger for reel deltagelse i terapien. Tilpasning forstås som en integreret del af terapien, ikke blot som praktisk forberedelse. Studiet beskriver forskellige former for autonomi hos deltageren (artikuleret, tilbudt, forhandlet, øvet, afvist, mislykket og udlevet), og hvordan det fælles terapeutiske rum fungerer som et øvefelt, hvor deltageren gennem egne ressourcer gør terapien brugbar og meningsfuld. I samspil med musik og lyd skaber deltageren en forestillet, hjemlig og tilgængelig “bolig”, hvor bevægelse, handlekraft og relationel tilknytning er mulig, i kontrast til belastningerne ved det institutionaliserede hverdagsliv. Musik fremstår mindre som et selvstændigt forandringsmiddel og mere som en relationel, forbindende tekstur. Afhandlingen peger på særlige muligheder ved Music and Imagery for mennesker med synsnedsættelse: visuelle cues er ikke nødvendige, lyd og musik er tilgængelige modaliteter, sociale former for autonomi kan aktiveres trods synsrelateret afhængighed, og metoden tilbyder stabile og forudsigelige rammer med begrænset krav om fysisk aktivitet. For praktikere fremhæves betydningen af fysisk tilgængelighed, opmærksomt nærvær, relationen som betingelse for deltagelse samt refleksion over egne og deltagerens eventuelle ableistiske antagelser og oplevet ulighed i afhængighedsrelationer. Studiet gør ikke krav på generaliserbarhed, men tilbyder nuanceret viden om, hvordan forholdene omkring den musikterapeutiske kerneaktivitet kan være afgørende for, hvad der bliver muligt i selve musikrejsen for mennesker med synsnedsættelse i institutionsregi.

[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]

Music therapy ; Visual Impairment ; Music and Imagery ; Resource-Oriented ; Disability Studies

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