Listening to the rhythms of the unconscious in dreams

Introduction: What does the analytical music therapy (AMT) approach have to offer the field of music therapy in terms of listening to manifestations of the unconscious, in both music and speech? Since Freud, dreams have been thought of as the royal road to our unconscious. Mary Priestley, the founder of AMT, integrated concepts from Freud, Klein and Jung in her work with her client's dreams. Method: This paper will explore the AMT techniques Priestley developed to work with dreams and situate them in Freudian theory, drawing on literature of AMT, other psychodynamic music therapy approaches, as well as the author's own training in AMT. The author will also examine what an analytical perspective on musical events during improvisation can teach us about how the unconscious may manifest in music. Results: Musical events such as sudden rhythmic shifts, polyrhythmic moments and rhythmic ruptures in a musical improvisation can indicate noteworthy moments in which the client encounters his or her unconscious. By recognizing and working with these moments, the music therapist may facilitate further exploration of unconscious content. Discussion: The implications of these shifts on how meaning can be generated within the frame of AMT will be discussed. The author argues that it is clinically useful to distinguish an understanding of the Freudian dynamic unconscious from a more general sense of the unconscious.