Lesson 2

Children's Music Therapy in Child Psychotherapy

Empirical research in modern child psychology began towards the end of the 19th century; however, it was not until the turn of the century—influenced by experimental psychology and pedagogy—that scientific interest in the lived experience of children truly emerged. This shift was reflected, for instance, in the proclamation of the "Century of the Child." This led to an increase in sociological, psychological, and pedagogical knowledge regarding developmental conditions that foster growth in children, while simultaneously fostering a growing appreciation for children's play and creativity.

Pioneering work in the field of child psychotherapy is associated with the names Hermine Hug-Hellmuth, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, and Ada Müller-Braunschweig; they were the first to utilize children's drawing, painting, and modeling as means of expressing conscious and unconscious impulses.
Around the same time—specifically during the 1920s—music began to be used in special education settings under the influence of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical teachings; key figures in this movement included Karl König (1902–1966), Julius Knierim (1919–1999), and Johanna Spalinger (b. 1926). Concurrently, and influenced by Carl Orff (1895–1982), the field of music education saw far-reaching and lasting changes in how children's musicality was understood and nurtured. In the post-war era, the development of children's music therapy as a distinct discipline became linked to musicians and music educators, most notably Juliette Alvin (1897–1982), Paul Nordoff (1909–1977), and Gertrud Orff (1914–2000).