Songwriting as a medium to explore the supervisory relationship in hospice music therapy

This thesis is a culmination of an Arts-Informed Cohort-Pair Narrative Inquiry that focused upon the experiences of a supervisor and a supervisee within their supervisory relationship. Over the course of a six-month music therapy internship, the supervisor and supervisee participants each submitted a monthly song and a written reflection to the researcher describing their experiences. The songs, in which the music and the lyrics were considered data, were analyzed through phases of thematic analysis. At the midpoint of the internship, the researcher facilitated a joint song writing experience. Findings showed that the supervisory relationship was impacted by external, intrapersonal, and interpersonal factors. Themes concerning external factors included the availability of external support systems and the overall work environment. In terms of intrapersonal factors, themes included energy, emotions, and self-awareness. Interpersonal factors included themes regarding factors that impacted the working alliance and the development of rapport. While these findings align with and support previous literature, the findings revealed that songwriting organically included reflexivity regarding many of the foundational aspects of the supervisory relationship.