title: Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy for severe music performance anxiety: assessment, process, and outcome of psychotherapy with a professional orchestral musician.
abstract: This paper reports on the process and outcome of therapy using intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) with a professional musician who had suffered severe music performance anxiety over the course of his entire 30-year career. In this paper, we describe the nature of the therapy, the case history of the musician, the first assessment and trial therapy session, and the course and successful outcome of therapy. The patient underwent 10 sessions of ISTDP over a period of 4 months. This paper reports on the first 6 sessions, which were most relevant to the understanding and treatment of the patient's severe music performance anxiety. This case study is the first reported application of ISTDP to a professional musician. We believe that this case study provides initial support that moderate to severe performance anxiety, in at least some cases, has its origins in unresolved complex emotions and defences arising from ruptures to early attachment relationships.
authors.affiliation: Room 404, Bldg J12, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Tel 612 9114 0711, fax 612 9351 3838. dianna.kenny@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Dianna T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kenny
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arthey
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abbass
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D060805:Performance Anxiety / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome