An Exploration of Music Therapists\u27 Experience of Simultaneous Trauma During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Inquiry

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many music therapists continued to provide services to those in need. Literature on the COVID-19 pandemic explores themes of loss, grief, lack of structure, and loss of normalcy. However, there is a need for further research in this area of study. Specifically, there is a need to investigate the phenomenon of simultaneous trauma, as both the therapists and their clients have experienced traumatic effects of this pandemic. This qualitative study explored two music therapists’ lived experience of simultaneous trauma during the COVID-19 outbreak through virtual semi-structured interviews focusing on several aspects of their experience serving as an essential worker during the pandemic. After virtual interviews and transcriptions were checked by the participants, both sets of data were thoroughly examined through interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). The following themes emerged regarding participants’ experience of simultaneous trauma in their clinical work during the COVID-19 pandemic: 1) acknowledging trauma, 2) loss of normalcy, 3) unsettling uncertainty, 4) loneliness and isolation, and 5) music as a place for simultaneous healing. Simultaneous trauma is supported by the findings of this study, which signifies the importance of music therapy as an essential practice during a global pandemi