A qualitative study of intuition as experienced and used by music therapists

Abstract: A study investigated how intuition is used by therapists within a music therapy session, including the role of physical senses and emotions, conditions surrounding the experience of intuition, the role of intuition in the therapy process and therapeutic relationship, consequences of the therapist’s use of intuition, and the role of intuition in clinical improvisation. Subjects were six music therapists, three men and three women, highly experienced with a variety of clients and treatment settings; coincidentally, all considered improvisation a fundamental part of their work. Data were collected through interviews over the course of a year. The intuitive experiences of the subjects were assigned to the categories of physical messages, emotional messages, auditory messages, visual messages, or spiritual realm. The conditions surrounding intuitive experiences included trust, deep listening, self awareness, previous experience, and relationship to the client. Additionally, because improvisation had become a major theme in subjects’ discussions of their intuitive experiences, aspects of the relationship between improvisation and intuition were also explored.

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