News from Latin América Region. Music Therapy in Panamá

Greetings to all from the Latin America and the Caribbean region!In this update, I would like to share with you news from Panamá, Central América.To know details about music therapy there, I got in touch with Patricia Zárate Pérez, music therapist and founder of the Music Therapy Center of Panamá.When asked about the current situation there, she said:“In our community, there is still confusion about what music therapy is and its benefits. Currently, there is a small number of music therapists providing services. We have 5 music therapists in our country, who offer a diversity of approaches. All of them are trained abroad. Vilma Esquivel, graduated in USA, Paola Casal, trained in Europe, Melanie Taylor -who is not practicing at the present- graduated in USA. All three originally from Panamá. Sandra Schvetz, born in Argentina and trained there as well, and myself. I was born in Chile and studied music therapy at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA.”Some of the milestones in Panamá:

• Pioneering work by Professor Maria Correa was the beginning of the music therapy profession in Panamá. She worked as a special teacher at the Panamanian Institute of Special Education (IPHE) and the Experimental School. Professor Correa was initially trained in the verbotonal method and later she trained in Argentina in the 1980's. Her area of work was children with hearing impairment and with Down Syndrome at IPHE. Later, she taught Music Therapy at the Experimental University of the Americas (UDELAS). Melanie Taylor, another music therapist, continued her pioneering work by introducing Music Therapy as a complementary course in UDELAS.
• At the moment, there is no music therapy graduate program in Panamá. The Music Therapy Center of Panama (CMP) in collaboration with the Danilo Perez Foundation and the Experimental University of the Americas (UDELAS), offers a 6 months Diploma Program on Music Therapy. Patricia is the program director. This year, the program has 24 students.
• Every year, the CMP organizes the Latin American Music Therapy Symposium (https://pazmusic2003.wixsite.com/simposio), which aims to educate the community about music therapy. Presenters from North, Central, and South America meet as part of the Panama Jazz Festival educational section (www.panamajazzfestival.com)

• Music therapists in Panamá offer services in both public health institutions and private practice. Populations served vary from families, orphanages, nursing homes, the Children's Hospital of Panama and the Foundation for children with cancer (FANLYC) among others.

I invite you to check out the program for the VI Latin American Music Therapy Symposium in Panama to be held on January 15-29, 2018 where music therapists from Argentina, Colombia, USA, Canada, among other countries are already scheduled to present.Hope you enjoyed learning about music therapy in Panamá as I did. A pleasure to be in touch with Patricia!Feel free to contact me at latinamericacaribbean@wfmt.infoLooking forward to hearing from you!Marcela Lichtensztejn, MT-BC, LCAT, NRMTRegional Liaison for Latin America and the Caribbean