Paper
Changing the tune from cannibal corpse, obituary and deicide: emotionally focused therapy with metal heads and their families
- issue: Issue 3 / 2008
- authors: Itzhak Lander
- keywords: israel, metal heads
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abstract
Background. Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest: metal music first appeared during the 1970's. This musical genre has a worldwide following and Israel a strong metal scene relative to its population. Defining ideological elements as manifested in its lyrics and imagery include escapism, anti-collectivism, individualism, and social criticism. Devoted fans, often called "metal heads" comprise a distinct subculture geared to these outlooks. In Israel this subculture assumes a fundamentally countercultural stance.
Apart from the music itself a distinctive aspect of metal head culture is its fashion. Original dress consisted of tight blue jeans, black t-shirt, motorcycle boots and sleeveless jacket emblazoned with patches of metal artists. With the growing influence of black and death subgenres by the early 1990's black jeans and army fatigue pants replaced blue jeans and military style coats replaced patch clad jackets. Short hairstyles and eventually shaven heads began to grow in popularity. By the early 2000's baggy trailing ripped jeans, chain attached to a hitcher at the front of the pants, studded belt, clunky shoes and black t-shirt with skull motif predominated. Piercing and hair dye was often used.
Commonality amongst metal heads is also found in their typical interest in a range of subjects including horror films, science fiction, politics, weaponry and militaria, fantasy, Celtic and Nordic culture and mythology.
The extreme black and death heavy metal subculture emphasizes the satanic, pagan and occult and is vehemently anti-Judeo-Christian. Its lyrics and imagery celebrate the cold, dark and morbid, blood, gore and violence, and painful aspects of existence such as war, poverty and apocalypse. Vocals tend to rely both on both loud raw screams and low pitched death grunts.
Adolescent black and death metal heads typically present for therapy at the firm insistence of parents who report themselves to be in extreme conflict with their child's identification with and participation in the metal head subculture.
Most prominent here is parental concern with their child's preference for loud unusually sounding foreign language music, heavy deviant style of dress in a hot middle eastern climate, idiosyncratic bedroom decoration highlighting metal themes of satanism and militaria, and acts of apparently senseless violence toward non-metal head peers. Often parents also stress their worry regarding extreme discord between their child and wider societal institutions, in particular school and police. They ponder how their child will adjust to compulsory army service upon finishing high school. In addition, most parents refer to their child's substantial alienation from the family, especially from parents.
Purpose. This paper highlights a family systems approach as a viable treatment alternative to individual psychotherapy for adolescent metal heads. Emotionally Focused Therapy, originally developed for use with spousal conflict and disharmony, is modified for use with this special needs population. Emotion is emphasized as the primary agent both of interactional discord and change. Family members reprocess the emotional responses underlying their typical interactions, so they may attain new interactional positions, the corrective emotional experience and new interpersonal behaviours evoked promoting positive and secure bonding. Emotionally Focused Therapy highlights the importance of family member attachment needs. Typical interactional shifts emphasized in EFT are cyclical de-escalation, blame-softening and withdrawer engagement.
Key findings. Six case studies are presented which outline recurring patterns and dynamics in metal head families. Most important here are the deep attachment fears both of adolescent and parents which become transformed into anger and escalating destructive interactional positions. Primary attachment fears are closely associated with the adolescent's flight toward autonomy and identity and shift from the family to the peer group. These mutual fears are reinforced by the adolescent's egocentrism and difficulty in taking a "third person perspective" as well as parent's authoritarian and laissez-faire parenting. Promising clinical results with respect to increased pro-social behaviour, cooperation with community institutions as well as renewal of attachment to family, are presented. The difficulty of recruiting parents and teenagers to Emotionally Focused Therapy when both engrossed in negative interactional cycles is outlined and possible solutions suggested. Recommendations for further investigation of family systems therapy with this population are suggested.
Contacts: Itzhak Lander, Sapir Academic College, Israel, E-mail: Larrie@zahav.net.il