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Cited by 19Music Therapy and HealthMusicians’ Health and PerformancePsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Identifying attachment ruptures underlying severe music performance anxiety in a professional musician undertaking an assessment and trial therapy of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)

Open access
Kenny, Dianna T., Arthey, Stephen, Abbass, Allan·2016·SpringerPlus
DOI 10.1186/s40064-016-3268-0PMC PMC5026982
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Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Kenny has proposed that severe music performance anxiety that is unresponsive to usual treatments such as cognitive-behaviour therapy may be one manifestation of unresolved attachment ruptures in early life. Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy specifically targets early relationship trauma. Accordingly, a trial of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy with severely anxious musicians was implemented to assess whether resolution of attachment ruptures resulted in clinically significant relief from music performance anxiety. METHODS: Volunteer musicians participating in a nationally funded study were screened for MPA severity. Those meeting the critical cut-off score on the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory were offered a trial of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy. In this paper, we present the theoretical foundations and rationale for the treatment approach, followed by sections of a verbatim transcript and process analysis of the assessment phase of treatment that comprised a 3-h trial therapy session. CASE DESCRIPTION: The 'case' was a professional orchestral musician (male, aged 55) who had suffered severe music performance anxiety over the course of his entire career, which spanned more than 30 years at the time he presented for treatment following his failure to secure a position at audition. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: The participant was able to access the pain, rage and grief associated with unresolved attachment ruptures with both parents that demonstrated the likely nexus between early attachment trauma and severe music performance anxiety. CONCLUSION: Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy is a potentially cost-effective treatment for severe music performance anxiety. Further research using designs with higher levels of evidence are required before clinical recommendations can be made for the use of this therapy with this population.

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  • No participants' score fell below the generally accepted clinical cut-off of 105 on the K-MPAI.

    “Despite reductions in MPA scores, however, no participants’ score fell below the generally accepted clinical cut-off of 105 (Kenny, 2016a).”

    From Examining a Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Music Performance Anxiety in Student Vocalists (2020) · cites this paper as Kenny, 2016a

    The Methods section (page unavailable) identifies 105 as the K-MPAI threshold for eligibility. It does not report post-treatment scores or establish that no participant fell below 105 after reductions in MPA scores; this paper focuses on one musician’s assessment and trial therapy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Psychodynamically oriented therapy has shown promise for the treatment of severe forms of MPA.

    “Psychodynamically oriented therapy, targeting unresolved complex emotions and defenses arising from ruptures to early attachment relationships, has shown promise for the treatment of severe forms of MPA (Kenny et al., 2014b, 2016; Kenny and Holmes, 2015; Kenny, 2016b).”

    From Examining a Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Music Performance Anxiety in Student Vocalists (2020) · cites this paper as Kenny, 2016b

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2 of the 50 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Davanloo H Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy-central dynamic sequence: phase of challenge Int J Intensive Short-Term Dyn Psychother 1999 13 4 237 262 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1182(199912)13:4<237::AID-SHO151>3.0.CO;2-8 · DOI
  2. Davanloo H Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy—central dynamic sequence: phase of pressure Int J Intensive Short-Term Dyn Psychother 1999 13 4 211 236 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1182(199912)13:4<211::AID-SHO150>3.0.CO;2-V · DOI
  3. Freud S (1933) New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. The Standard Edition. Hogarth, London
  4. Halpern J (2004) Treating attachment disorders: from theory to therapy By Karl Heinz Brisch (Translated by Kenneth Kronenberg). The Guilford Press, New York 2002. Int J Psychoanal 85(1):219–222
  5. Kohut H The analysis of self 1971 New York International Universities Press

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Authors
Kenny, D. T., Arthey, S., & Abbass, A.
Affiliations
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • Dalhousie University (CA)
Corresponding author
Kenny, Dianna T.
ORCID
Venue
SpringerPlus
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-09-17
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
1591-1591
ISSN
2193-1801 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s40064-016-3268-0
PMC
PMC5026982
OpenAlex
W2519286028
Cited by
19
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2
FWCI
2.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • SpringerPlus (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Australian Research Council (LP0989486)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Musicians’ Health and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
music performance anxiety, intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy, professional musicians, orchestral musicians, trial therapy, process analysis, auditions

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