From October to December 2022, an open lecture series by Nigel Osborne took place for artists and psychotherapy professionals. Each lecture delved into crucial aspects of music and rhythm’s impact on trauma, methods of work, and the organization of the recovery process.
Currently, Ukraine hosts more than 7 million internally displaced persons, around 4 million from conflict zones, and individuals who have experienced, and hence, have psychological wounds due to combat actions. The experience of forced displacement itself is traumatic. Nigel Osborne, in his lectures, provides professional academic knowledge aimed at understanding and reframing trauma, offering tools to transform experience into a process of restoration.
The lectures were based on articles available on this website.
1. The Human Nature of Culture and Education
PhD DLitt DHumLitt FRCM FEIS FRSE:
Trevarthen, C.; Gratier, M.; Osborne, N. (2014). The human nature of culture and education. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 5 (2): 173–192. doi:10.1002/wcs.1276. ISSN 1939-5078. (Hoboken, New Jersey, USA). Osborne, N. (2017) Handbook of Musical Identities – The identities of Sevda from Graeco- Arabic medicine to music therapy Editors: MacDonald, Hargreaves and Miell. ISBN 9780199679485. Oxford University Press. (Oxford, UK and New York, USA) 722-735
This presentation begins with an exploration of the roots of music and art in human development, from ancient societies to the present day, as well as how art can change a person and help them deal with life’s challenges. It then moves on to a specific example of using music to support children who have become victims of war.
2. Music for Children in Zones of Conflict and Post-conflict
PhD DLitt DHumLitt FRCM FEIS FRSE:
Osborne, N.(2009) ‘Music for children in zones of conflict and postconflict: a psychobiological approach. In Communicative Musicality’. Editors: S. Malloch & C. Trevarthen. Oxford University Press ISSN 0077-8923. (Oxford, UK and New York, USA) 331-356 Osborne, N. ( 2012). ‘Neuroscience and real-world practice: music as a therapeutic resource for children in zones of conflict’ Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Neurosciences and Music. New York Academy of Sciences (New York, USA) 69-76
In this lecture, Nigel explores how music and art can support war-traumatized children, including therapeutic approaches to auditory perception, listening, the autonomic nervous system, heart, breathing, movement, metabolism, and emotions. We will then delve into broader psychological and social aspects.
3. Love, Rhythm, and Chronobiology
PhD DLitt DHumLitt FRCM FEIS FRSE:
Osborne, N. (2009) Towards a Chronobiology of Musical Rhythm in Communicative Musicality Editors: S. Malloch & C. Trevarthen. ISSN 0077-8923. Oxford University Press (Oxford, UK and New York, USA) 545-564
Osborne, N. ( 2017) Love, Rhythm and Chronobiology in Rhythms of Relating in Children’s Therapies – ‘Connecting Creatively with Vulnerable Children’. Editors: Daniel and Trevarthen. ISBN 9781784502843. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. (London, UK and Philadelphia, USA) 1-19
Nigel delves into the intersection of music, art, and time in this lecture. We focus on how music relates to body frequencies, the “rhythm window,” the integration of body movements and embodiment of rhythm, and how this combination can support music therapy activities for children affected by conflict. The presentation also addresses broader issues of chronobiology and trauma.
Chronobiology (from ancient Greek χρόνος, “time”) is a branch of science that studies the periodic (cyclic) phenomena occurring in living organisms over time and their adaptation to solar and lunar rhythms. These cycles are referred to as biological rhythms.
4.The Psychobiologist who taught musicians how to sing
PhD DLitt DHumLitt FRCM FEIS FRSE:
Osborne, N. (2020) Imagination, intersubjectivity, and the music therapy process. The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination ed. Anna Abraham Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK) 635-656 Osborne, N., (2022,) The Psychobiologist who taught musicians how to sing in Rhythm, Sympathy and Human Being, Oxford University Press.
Colwyn Trevarthen researched “split-brain” with Nobel laureate Roger Sperry at the California Institute of Technology, worked with cognitive psychology pioneer Jerome Bruner at Harvard, and played a leading role in the revolutionary rethinking of child development science during his time in Edinburgh. This presentation explores his work in the field of “communicative musicality” and traces the profound impact of this theory on utilizing creativity and art in therapeutic work with trauma.