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Wow! What a great time to be a Music Therapy student. This year’s WCMT was a tremendous platform for many of the great minds of the music therapy profession to congregate and share innovations, perspectives and rich reflections of clinical practice! The common denominator for the congress was the relevant notion of forward thinking music therapy – how we can respond to the ever-changing landscape of healthcare in both local and international contexts. The congress was a swirl of culture, generous glimpses into the windows of some exciting clinical work and a plethora of rich experiential workshops! There was chant singing with hundreds of attendees, building a back-story for my hip hop alter-ego, some insights how to develop clinical improvisation and some brand-new evidence into many different populations! A couple of highlights for me –
- Mike Viega’s Hip Hop discourse presentation. It was incredibly inspirational to hear Mike talk about the applications of Hip Hop theory and empowerment, which is quite relevant in my home-town of Adelaide, Australia!
- I may be a little biased as Professor Kat McFerran is one of my supervisors at the University of Melbourne, but her spotlight session was extremely boundary-pushing, thought stimulating and just an absolute pleasure to hear.
Both presenters are exemplars evolution of music therapy and truly articulate the third wave of Music Therapy. Whew!The congress provided a plethora of various opportunities to communicate, network and socialise with a diverse range of music therapists on a global plane! The JMTA were outstanding hosts, with many talented local ensembles performing at the congress, giving us all such a rich taste of Japanese culture! Integral to the WCMT for me, was the sense of connectedness and community. It was truly wonderful to see how music therapists, students and other health professionals can come together to support the growth, innovations and diversity of music therapy theory and practice!Thanks,Tom
