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Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education | Special Issue 7 (1) 2015 Special issue Music therapy in Europe: Paths of professional development in partnership with the European Music Therapy Confederation The European Music Therapy Confederation: History and Development Monika Nöcker-Ribaupierre ABSTRACT This article provides an overview of the European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) history: the ideas and efforts of visionary pioneers which led from a European networking group to a strong and effective European-wide working and acting association, and to increasing political acknowledgement. It describes the difficulties and challenges along the way and highlights recent developments including political implications. KEYWORDS historical and political development; professional status; future implications Monika Nöcker-Ribaupierre, Dr.sc.mus., MT- DMtG, is the German pioneer in neonatal music therapy: research and practice in NICU at the University Hospital Munich. She served 16 years as the German delegate, Secretary General and Vice-President for the EMTC. Today she is Vice-President of the International Society for Music and Medicine (ISMM) and Chair of Freies Musikzentrum in Munich. She is also member of several scientific and music therapy related editorial boards. Email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION profession and the official beginning of music therapy in Europe. From this time onwards and Music as a means to help people to deal with or to during the next decades, music therapy underwent overcome difficult physical and emotional situations rapid development. The first training courses were is as old as mankind. Decades ago medical implemented, the first music therapists began to doctors, nurses and musicians started to work with work, and the first professional organisations were the healing impact of music in clinics, rehabilitation established. Table 1 shows this development and or educational centres. It was over the course of th the diverse theoretical roots from 1958 onwards the 20 century that music therapy developed as a (Nöcker-Ribaupierre 2010). health profession through the efforts of research It is obvious that this development over 50 and progress in scientific knowledge. years, along with the differences in theories and In Europe in the 1950s, music therapy pioneers education had a long lasting input on the possibility began to develop new theories about the healing of understanding and accepting each other both on power of music, the clinical input and its effects. a national level and internationally. This theoretical elaboration led to methods and training courses: Juliette Alvin, Mary Priestley and Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins in the UK, and Alfred Schmölz in Austria. They laid down the roots for the development of music therapy as a © Approaches / GAPMET 23 ISSN: 1791-9622 Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education | Special Issue 7 (1) 2015 Professional Country Training courses Theory associations 1984 ÖBM Austria 1959 1997 WIM psychodynamic, humanistic, old-oriental 2010 BEMT Belgium 1985 1998 psychoanalytic humanistic, psychodynamic, integrative, Bulgaria 2008 1959 corresponding with art/expressive approaches humanistic, creative, psychodynamic, Cyprus 2010 CyMTA behavioural, neurological Czech 1989 anthroposophic 2006 CAMAD humanistic, psychodynamic, integrative, art Republic 2008 educational 2008 CZMTA therapy, medical, anthroposophic 1982 university 1969 Denmark 1995 BA/MA humanistic, psychodynamic, integrative 1992 1997 PhD humanistic, psychodynamic, behavioural, Estonia 1990 1990 combined with art therapies Finland 1973 1973 psychodynamic, eclectic, functional France 1970 2002 psychoanalytic, behavioural 1960 East 1969 (East) humanistic, psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, Germany 1969 anthroposophic 1973 DGMT integrative, Nordoff-Robbins, Orff 1978 university 1999 BVM psychodynamic, music-centred, Guided Greece - 2004 ESPEM Imagery and Music psychodynamic, eclectic, special needs and Hungary 1992 1995 MZE development centred Iceland - 1997 in practice eclectic 1992 psychodynamic, Orff, Nordoff-Robbins, Italy 1990 1994 CONFIAM humanistic Latvia 2002 2005 Nordoff-Robbins Lithuania - 1997 in practice eclectic Luxemburg - 2004 GML humanistic, integrative, psychoanalytic Netherlands 1965 1962 (Art Therapy) structuralism, humanistic, creative, art-therapy humanistic, psychotherapeutic, special Norway 1978 1960 education, cultural engagement 1996 PAMT Poland 1973 eclectic, humanistic 2003 Kajros Portugal 1990 1996 development psychology, psychoanalytic Serbia 2002 2001 psychodynamic, integrative combining music, dance-movement, art and Slovenia 2000 (arts therapies) 2004 SZUT drama therapy, creative therapy 1986 Spain 1977 eclectic, all main music therapy models 1992 university Sweden 1974 1981 psychodynamic, functional psychodynamic, medical, Gestalt, Switzerland 1986 1981 psychoanalytic, anthroposophic 1958 BSMT 1958 UK 1976 APMT Nordoff-Robbins, psychodynamic, humanistic 1968 (full programme) 2011 BAMT Table 1: Beginnings and theoretical orientations of music therapy in Europe (source: Nöcker-Ribaupierre 2010) © Approaches / GAPMET 24 ISSN: 1791-9622 Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education | Special Issue 7 (1) 2015 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT conference, so that music therapists were able to attend an important meeting every year. The development of music therapy as a profession In 1994, Tony Wigram was nominated as the in the form of a European wide organisation began acting President at the pre-conference that took in 1989 (van den Berk 2014). Until that time, there place in Capri, Italy. The following years prepared were solely professional exchanges between the transition from a pioneer networking group to countries by personal contact between individual more structured functioning and to the creation of music therapists. Then, a few music therapists the European Music Therapy Confederation chose to meet together to share their experiences (EMTC) which was officially launched at the and their knowledge, and to do networking. th conference in Leuven, Belgium in 1998. In 1989, at the end of the 5 International The transformation of the EMTA into the EMTC Conference ‘Music Therapy and Music Education was the transition into a professional body with the for the Handicapped’ in Noordwijkerhood, aim to take over the responsibility for the Netherlands, there was a first a meeting of all professional and political future. In Leuven, Tony participant music therapists. This turned out to be a Wigram resigned as the acting President of the starting point for many European contacts to EMTC, but for many years remained in the officially exchange knowledge and to develop background as the spiritus rector. international cooperation. It was agreed that the members of the EMTC Also in 1989 a pioneer cooperation existed must be limited exclusively to professional between the following European music therapists: associations of qualified, practising music Tony Wigram, Patxi del Campo, Gianluigi Di Franco therapists. Each member country was represented and Helen Odell-Miller. In expectation of a by a single delegate. This delegate was voted by European development, they decided (during one the national member associations to whom s/he of their meetings in 1989 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) was responsible and independent of the number of to found a European professional music therapy national associations or music therapists in any group. On a late summer evening, on a Spanish given country. During this meeting in Leuven, the piazza with a bottle of champagne, they celebrated country delegates voted their board: a President the ‘birthday’ of their idea of the European Music and two Vice-Presidents, each responsible for a Therapy Association (EMTA). In the course of the geographical area of Europe: South, Middle and first ECArTE conference in St. Albans, UK, they North (De Backer, Nöcker-Ribaupierre & Sutton invited the attending music therapists to the first 2014). For the first time, the principle of a EMTA meeting to work “towards a European triumvirate representation elected at the same time Federation of Music Therapy Associations” under was adopted. The country delegates were thrown the leadership of Tony Wigram. into ‘professional adulthood’, as they were now In November 1991, the Stichting Muziektherapie enforced to develop individual strength and to take organised the pre-conference ‘Music Therapy in over officially the responsibility for their countries. Health and Education in the European Community’ At this stage, the main task of the EMTC was to in Groesbeck, Netherlands. Tony Wigram, Patxi del organise European conferences in the form of a Campo, Gianluigi Di Franco and Helen Odell-Miller professional meeting. These conferences turned invited music therapists from different countries to out to be a most powerful driver for the professional join this conference and to discuss guidelines for development of the profession. Since the initial the future. This was the first pre-conference for the conference held in 1989 in Cambridge, eight development of the EMTA and the preparation of European conferences were organised with an the first European Conference in Cambridge. increasing number of participants from all over the The initial European conference took place in world: 1992 in Spain (Vitoria-Gasteiz), 1995 in Cambridge in 1992 where 10 music therapists from Denmark (Aalborg), 1998 in Belgium (Leuven), different European countries discussed with other 2001 in Italy (Naples),