Donnelly, Susan (2023) The role of music in recovery from the effects of domestic abuse in women's refuges: a community music approach. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
Abstract
This research is set within the women’s refuge and explores the effects of domestic abuse and the use and avoidance of music within the recovery journey. Women’s refuges are by their nature hidden and inaccessible. Their inhabitants may also have experienced isolation and oppression, which may lessen their ability to acknowledge their own support needs. The recovery benefits of creative activities such as music have long been known (Pavlicevic & Ansdell, 2004 and Curtis, 2012a & 2012b), but how might music interact with recovery within this unique setting over a period of two years?
My approach to practice and research aligns with that of community music. This approach values: facilitation, democracy, transformation, inclusivity, equality, and reflexivity. The community music approach ensured that all work was ethical and empowered the participants. Thirty-six adult participants engaged with the project over a period of two years, with eight participants consenting to regular discussions to be used for interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The use of participatory action research (PAR) and IPA ensured that participant voices were forefronted. Additional perspectives were gained from linked refuge workers, clinical professionals, and an NHS strategic lead. As a practitioner-researcher with lived experience, my ethnographic understanding of the data gave further insight and informed lines of inquiry, offering ‘inside positionality’.
The findings suggest that music offers an accessible and adaptable tool for psychological recovery and maintenance which can be used within the women’s refuge and beyond. They also demonstrate how PAR can be developed into an effective tool for autonomous psychological maintenance.
The conclusions highlight recommendations for provision within the refuge setting and insights related to effective community music research. They also have relevance for refuge providers, local authorities, social prescribers, and the NHS in terms of provision and legislative duty.
Metadata
Supervisors: | Burland, Karen and Windsor, W. Luke |
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Keywords: | Music, community music, facilitation, recovery, domestic abuse, women's refuge, participatory action research, interpretative phenomenological analysis, social epistemology, longitudinal, community music research, social prescription |
Awarding institution: | University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Music (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Mrs Susan Donnelly |
Date Deposited: | 14 May 2024 08:46 |
Last Modified: | 14 May 2024 08:46 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:34875 |
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