The evaluation of music therapy process in the intersubjective perspective: the music therapy rating scale. A pilot study

luation of music therapy process in the intersubjective perspective: the music therapy rating scale. A pilot study Original Research (2077) Total Article Views Authors: Raglio A, Traficante D, Oasi O Published Date August 2011 Volume 2011:2 Pages 19 - 23 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/POR.S21891 A Raglio1, D Traficante2, O Oasi3 1Sospiro Foundation, Cremona, Italy; 2Education Technologies Research Center (CRTI), 3Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy Abstract: This study presents a tool (Music Therapy Rating Scale [MTRS]) to evaluate the progression of the relationship between the patient and the therapist during music therapy sessions. The rating scale was developed from an intersubjective framework and from an improvisational music therapy technique. It mainly consists of two behavioral classes: non-verbal communication (NVC) and sonorous-musical communication (SMC). Five levels for each class are given (from 0 to 4). Every 15 seconds, two sets of two music therapists coded the behaviors in seven sessions with different patients. The patients were seven children (four males; three females) aged 3–10 years (mean age = 6.28), diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The reliability indices were computed and there was a substantial agreement in the assessments of the video raters (non-verbal relationship: ρ = 0.70; sonorous-musical relationship: ρ = 0.77). A digital output of the program to use the MTRS is presented and clinical implications are discussed.