The music of my life: The impact of the Musical Presentation on the sense of purpose in life and on self-consciousness

Musical Presentation (MP) is a therapeutic tool in which people in a group setting present themselves through musical pieces of their choice and subsequently receive feedback from their peers. MP is assumed to increase patients' sense of purpose in life and self-consciousness which are perceived as critical agents for effective psychotherapy in general and with drug abusers (DAs) in particular. The present exploratory study examined the effectiveness of MP among 52 participants. In the first phase of the study, 11 students (STs) went through the MP procedure and 15 served as controls. The results showed that MP improved STs' self-consciousness and enhanced their sense of purpose in life. In the second phase of the study, 13 DAs from rehabilitation programs for ex-prisoners went through this procedure while 13 DAs served as controls. The results showed that MP enhanced DAs' sense of purpose in life, but did not affect their self-consciousness. Results are discussed in light of Frankl's approach to purpose in life and Johari's Window conceptualization. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.