• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.69-94
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• 2018

This study was conducted to analyze music therapy studies supporting the psychological and emotional needs of Korean women according to a feminist perspective in music therapy. A total of 34 studies were analyzed by general characteristics, characteristics of the intervention, and characteristics of a feminist perspective. Results showed that the research focus was initially on subjects who suffered from mental illness and that more recently the focus has shifted to include more diverse subjects, such as career women, women who migrate for marriage, and women who study abroad, and to reflect contemporary social issues. In terms of a feminist perspective, the studies were analyzed according to the following themes as the characteristics of a feminist perspective: empowerment, social and political perspectives, cooperativity, egalitarianism, and diversity. Results showed that social and political viewpoints were reflected in the selection of subjects and that empowerment was reflected mostly in the contents of interventions. This study highlights the need to incorporate a feminist perspective in more diversified music therapy practices to bring social changes as well as individual changes for women.