There are two aspects to this essay, which uses the idea of bereavement processes to explore both the development of a bereavement policy in a special school and also the loss of the music therapy training course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Both sections of the essay are connected by the concept of the unspeakable. The first section follows a clinical case of a music therapy group during which the death of a group member was not acknowledged, while the second section looks at our professional organisation's difficulty in acknowledging the loss of a UK training course. Both aspects are discussed in terms of unspeakable elements which if left unexpressed can hinder a reparative process. The thinking about this leads on from the findings of two previous BJMT articles, both from Volume 24 (2010): 'Organisational Anxiety, Envy and Defences: In and Out of the Music Therapy Room', by Louise Neale (2010:42-48) and 'A Death in the Family', by Rosanne Tyas (2010:22-28).

Selective Mutism (SM) is often referred to as a rare disorder affecting children when they first enter the education system. Current research suggests the prevalence of SM amoung children with English as an additional language (EAL) is under-reported due to a lack of awareness and resources within schools. Usual treatment of SM in schools in the UK combines a behavioural approach with speech and language therapy. There is a small amount of literature that suggests that music therapy might complement this approach. This article describes a heuristic research case study which aimed to develop theory about the way that music therapy can be used in the treatment of foundation stage (nursery and reception class) children with SM and EAL. Eleven sessions of music therapy with a four-year-old boy with SM and EAL in a UK nursery school were videotaped, and meaningful moments selected and analysed in order to generate themes informing a theoretical understanding of the therapeutic process. A creative synthesis of themes provided a theoretical framework which incorporated key elements of music therapy practice, suggesting that music therapy could be a useful intervention in the treatment of SM. Keywords: music therapy, selective mutism, English as an additional language, heuristic case study