Music Therapy Observation Paper

My observation took place at a temporary detention facility at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center. This is the location of my music therapy practicum. It is a temporary holding facility that also provides schooling at a high school level for juvenile delinquents. I observed teenagers in the early adolescence age, between twelve to nineteen years old in a group music therapy. There was one boys group and one girls group. Demographics were predominantly African American and one Hispanic. Between the groups there were a total of twenty adolescents and five guards. The adolescents all come from low socio-economic statuses. The groups were static throughout each session. The boys were wearing green jumpsuits with grey sweatshirts and personal shoes. The girls were wearing orange jumpsuits with grey sweatshirts and personal shoes. The guards were wearing standard navy blue uniforms and jeans. The group sat in a semi-circle facing the music

There were observable indications in both groups of puberty by the amount of acne on their face and the vocal depth of the males aged fourteen and older. The groups exhibited one characteristic of Piaget’s formal operations stage through “thinking realistically about themselves, other individuals and their world” (Newman & Newman, 2015, p. 348). In terms of emotional expression, most of the adolescents exemplified both internalizing and externalizing problems, specifically delinquency. Externalizing problems was predominant because of the behaviors that led to incarceration. I do not know the behaviors that led to incarceration. Although the adolescents were incarcerated and the norms were different than outside, there was evidence of the central process of peer pressure playing a role with the psychosocial crisis of group identity versus alienation (Newman & Newman, 2015). This was more prevalent in the boys group than the