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Here in India, where I live and work, the month of February heralds the start of Spring. So, in this monthly buzz I look forward to spreading various colours of the season through information from the region where diversity is in nature, culture, language, music and food, manifested in all aspects of human lives.
As the WFMT Regional Liaison for South East Asia, it is my privilege to learn about music therapy across the globe. It is so inspiring to get connected with people who are working towards the same professional goals but from different perspectives and views whilst sharing contextual and professional challenges.
Coountries included in South East Asian region include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Music therapy is developing in this region at all levels: training, practice and research. It is not yet a registered health care profession in any of these countries and national associations are yet to be formed. Those practicing are mostly musicians or clinicians with expertise in traditional healing systems. The advances in research have brought an awareness for the need for a specialized music therapy profession, and have inspired many kinds of music therapy courses and training programs by both certified and non certified professionals in the field.
In India approximately 30 certified music therapists practice music therapy in health care sectors. There are three institutions: the Chennai School of Music Therapy (CSMT), Center for Music Therapy Education and Research (CMTER) at Sri Balaji Vidyapith University (SBVU) and Music Therapy Trust (MTT). All are runned by certified professionals for music therapy training, research and practice in community, clinical, rehabilitation and areas of special needs.
CSMT and MTT were the first to offer postgraduate diplomas in music therapy and CMTER offered the first graduate program in the country, “Master’s in Medical Music Therapy”. This has a hallmark in the adoption of a choice-based credit system (CBCS), which is recommended as the major reform in higher education by the University Grant Commission (UGC) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The Center has recently launched a Doctoral Degree Program in collaboration with IMC University of Applied Sciences, Krems, Austria. In this collaborative initiative, the faculty of CMTER and and Master’s students from IMC, Krems can also register for the program.
CMTER is engaged in high quality music therapy research in the areas of traditional healing practices, interdisciplinary collaborations, community health and wellbeing, mind-body medicine and educational and professional training. The aim is to optimize the use of music for the benefits of patients as well as as to improve wellbeing by using music as a cultural resource and defense for health.
The ethos at Sri Balaji Vidyapith University, is based on the salutogenic approach to health which focuses on finding sources of good health and wellbeing for the patient, so music therapy can make a significant contribution. In salutogenesis, music therapy integrate with a resource-strengthening approach to supporting recovery and to maintain, restore or improve the health of patients. This orientation in mainstream medical practice has broadened the scope of music therapy and its acceptance by medical professionals and local people. As a result, therapeutic practice has been expanded to conventional medicine for improving the holistic wellbeing of medical professionals, the wellness of different communities and by collaborative research initiatives to develop an evidence-based platform for the approach in the southern part of India. CSMT and CMTER work in collaboration creating clinical internship opportunities for students of the Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s program. The institutes also organize workshops, national and international conferences every year.
The Music Therapy Trust (MTT) is a pioneering institute in providing music therapy practice and training in the northern part of India. MTT has extended their hands to
Nepal to introduce music therapy in health care especially for individuals with disabilities. Students from MTT reach out to Nepal during the internship program.
In Indonesia, there are currently a few overseas trained and around 30 locally trained music therapists. Some provide home visits in private practice and a small number are practicing in the private health care sector, in schools and in family clinics where music therapy is focused on relaxation sessions for pregnant women. Music therapy is yet to gain acceptability in bigger hospitals and educational institutions. For local training, Universitas Pelita Harapan's Conservatory of Music offers a concentration in Music Therapy as part of the Music Major at Bachelor's Degree level. The department organizes seminars and workshops that involve leading music therapy practitioners and researchers to raise awareness of people in the field.
In Thailand approximately 10 professional music therapists are working at present. The College of Music, Mahidol University in Bangkok has a graduate program in music therapy. The training focuses on various approaches and current trends in the field of music therapy from an international perspective. The University is internationally known and recognized for its high calibre research and training. Students get the opportunity to work in clinical training sites at Mahidol University Hospital, rehabilitation centres and local education facilities for young children and children with special needs.
Although music therapy in this region is in an infancy stage, the continuous, persistent efforts to establish music therapy by professionals, musicians and researchers indicate that progress is promising. Overall acceptability and understanding of music as a therapy to be integrated into the mainstream practice of medicine has been realized in private hospitals. I hope this root will grow into a tree in future years.
Music is part of life of the people of this region, where celebrations of all sorts are mediated through this cultural resource. Now the clinical orientation to use music in health care is slowly developing, which is mostly based on traditional healing strategies. That is why diversity in appreciation, creation, and application of music is still a challenge as well as strength of music therapy of South East Asia.
Practice of music therapy needs to be facilitated and an advanced level of research in interdisciplinary fields should be initiated. The network of communication between associations and countries also need to be improved for the benefits of professionals working towards the common goal of establishing music therapy. In this process, students will also be encouraged to come forward to join the music therapy community for advanced study and career. The World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) has made a significant contribution in this context, by helping professionals to get connected and to share new ideas and thoughts from different regions and cultures.
I hope to continue to support and facilitate communication between music therapists, students and researchers in the field across the countries of South East Asia. I look forward to establishing new connections and to give more information on the development of music therapy in this region. I thank WFMT for providing us this platform.
You are welcome to contact me with questions or to share any information pertaining to the field.
Dr. Baishali Mukherjee
