Music Therapy, Regression and Symbolic Distance in Substance Abusers and Their Preferred Music
Abstract
The author explores the relationship between recovering substance abusers and music. Music can play a significant part in the self-destructive, obsessive behavior of addicts, contributing to a loss of control over emotions. In therapy, music changes from being a means to becoming the goal. Emotions, memories, and life stories evoked by music are validated and contained. The stories of two addicts are related. They both speak about a regressive experience while listening to music, during which boundaries between themselves and their music are erased. Rehabilitating music-listening habits of addicts can help them to incorporate music into their lives as a source of enjoyment and enrichment.
This paper has been withdrawn.