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As a music therapy student with two different cultural backgrounds (Austrian and Japanese), I am very sensitive to issues connected to cultural identity and other questions related to that. Even though I study and live in Vienna at the moment, I feel a strong desire to learn more about the music therapy landscape of Japan. When I was there several years ago, I got to know some music therapists. I had the chance to observe some music therapy sessions in three different institutions across (Shin-Yamaguchi, Tokyo, and Nagano). What I experienced was same, yet different: the music therapists that had studied abroad (in the U.S., in Europe) used a similar approach (music as a medium to interact and to display social and emotional circumstances). One music therapist organized a group of music therapy students who performed in a day care center. It seemed one of the main purposes of music therapy in Japan was to give joy to its listeners. This often happened in the form of a musical performance.Whether it is music therapy in Austria or in Japan, what I feel is that in the end its essence is the same; it’s about getting in touch with the best part in other people and encouraging them in their development and quest for deeper joy and freedom. Sometimes it’s simply being happy together. And music is often a key to experiencing that! Harue Peham, Music Therapy Student at University of Music & Performing Arts, Vienna
