This PhD-research project at the Music Therapy Research Centre Vienna focuses on the particular importance of attachment theories for working with families in an early childhood music therapy setting. In a short-term music therapy setting, the infant and his/her caregiver attend weekly music therapy sessions, each of them videotaped and accompanied by parent counselling. The main purpose of this resource-oriented therapeutic work is to reinforce sensitive attunement of the parental behavior to the infant´s signals and needs.

As part of a mixed-methods-pilot-study the researcher wants to identify special music therapeutic techniques, which are particularly suitable to support mutual attuned, adequate and sensitive parent-child interaction. The central aim is to conceptualize and evaluate an attachment-based music therapy approach for infants (0–4 years old) and their caregivers.

Project management: Eva Phan Quoc

Currently: concept development, feasibility study

Contact: phan-quoc@mdw.ac.at

This research project is supported by the Andreas Tobias Kind Foundation, Germany.