“In this moment, I can see his landscape”: A qualitative interview study of music therapists’ experiences with attunement dynamics in improvisational music therapy with autistic children

Introduction This practice-based research explores how six autistic children and their music therapists perform and co-create attunement dynamics in music therapy, examining factors that hinder or facilitate these dynamics. Theoretically, the study is grounded in critical autism studies and strength-based approaches, focusing on individuals’ resources, quality of life and wellbeing.Method A diverse research team of autistic and non-autistic members conducted six qualitative in-depth interviews with experienced music therapists, who selected video scenes from their own practice. Using an interpretative hermeneutical approach, we performed a multi-modal micro-analysis of the scenes and created sketches of each of them.Results The findings consist of two thematic areas: The first explores the interview partners’ rich vocabulary describing the experiential, dynamic, ubiquitous, and mutual nature of attunement as a core element of therapy, including phases of attunement, un-attunement, and re-attunement. The second identifies three core components essential for attunement dynamics: (i) implicit and explicit expectations within the physical space (e.g. school settings), (ii) affective involvement and the therapist’s presence, and (iii) awareness of the co-creation of a shared frame and interest.Discussion By exploring therapeutic interaction through the lens of attunement dynamics, the research emphasizes attentive listening to individuals’ ways of moving, sensing, and communicating. It contributes to critical autism studies and the de-stigmatization of autistics’ social and communication skills, offering four interrelated strategies in music therapy: (i) cultivating not knowing; (ii) structuring safety and building trust; (iii) sensing and acknowledging differences in doing and being; and (iv) embracing autistic perception and more-than-human perspectives.