ABSTRACT
Hospitalisation and treatment for severe and life-threatening illnesses impact a child- or adolescent-in-context, influencing and being influenced by the nested social structures within which the child exists. Music therapy can be a resource-oriented and health-promoting presence while also being trauma-preventive for children and youth impacted by serious illness and hospitalisation. Music therapy offers a family-centred means of connecting with innate resources and thereby helping to buffer against (re)traumatisation in intensive paediatric medical contexts. This chapter explores the role of music therapy as trauma-preventive social-ecological engagement in paediatric medical contexts, while reflecting upon the unique contributions of Norwegian perspectives and theory in this area. Examples from research and clinical practice in Norwegian paediatric medical contexts will be used to illustrate key theoretical constructs including social and ecological perspectives on health and music, and a health-promoting and resource-oriented approach to care.
