Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
Regional LiaisonsIntroduction
Dear Colleagues,
During the 12th World Congress of Music Therapy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the WFMT Council and Members decided to appoint Regional Liaisons to the WFMT Council (see Bylaw revisions 2008). The rationale is to have a music therapy representative in all parts of the world. A list of the assigned countries can be found in the appendix of the WFMT Constitution on the website. The duties of the Regional Liaisons are as follow:
• To be the contact and network person in a specific geographic area• To distribute information related to WFMT • To provide information to specific topics relevant to WFMT • To bring ideas, suggestions, and information specific to the geographical area and
relevant to the WFMT mission and work.
The eight Regional Liaisons are highly respected and well-known music therapists in the geographical area they are residing. Let me invite you to learn more about our Regional Liaisons and feel free to contact them should you have any question related to music therapy in their region.
Best regards,
Dr. Petra Kern, MT-BVM, MT-BC, MTAWFMT President
WFMTMUSIC THERAPY
WWW.WFMT.INFOThe World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) is dedicated to promote and develop music therapy as an art and science internationally. The Federation supports the global development of clinical practice, educa-tion, and research to demonstrate its impact and contribution to society.
Photograph by Petra Kern
2
Regional Liaison for Africa
Ms. Sunelle Fouché, M.Mus (Music Therapy)
Director of the Music Therapy Community Clinic
SOUTH AFRICA
Sunelle graduated from the University of Pretoria’s Masters in Music Therapy program. In 2002, she co-founded the MusicTherapy Community Clinic (MTCC). The MTCC is a non-profitorganization that provides music therapy services to underprivileged andpreviously disadvantaged communities in Cape Town, South Africa. In her role as music therapist with the MTCC, she has conductedgroup and individual music therapy sessions with children and youth whoare referred for reasons relating to trauma (e.g. exposure to the ongoinggang violence in their community, domestic violence, death of a family member, neglect andabandonment); with children and adults who have been infected or affected by HIV&AIDS; andwith children and adults admitted to the local tuberculosis hospital.
She is currently serving as the director of the MTCC and her duties include facilitating clinical music therapy sessions and mentoring and supervising music therapists and students that join theorganization. Before co-founding the MTCC, she did group and individual music therapy work with children withAutism, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy and with adolescents with eating disorders. Since 2006,she has served as external examiner for the University of Pretoria’s Masters in music therapyprogram. Regional Liaison Statement:My work at the MTCC has allowed me to form close links with music therapists practicing in Cape Town and other areas in South Africa. Music has been part of the healing rituals of many traditional African cultures since the beginning of time. I believe that music therapy practitioners in South Africa and other regions in Africa have much to contribute to the development of music therapy globally. As regional liaison on WFMT I will serve the region of Africa to the best of my ability and am looking forward to this experience.
Contact: [email protected]
3
Regional Liaison for Australia/New Zealand
Ms. Anja Tait, BMus, RMT
PhD candidate (education), Charles Darwin UniversitySenior Research Fellow and Director, ArtStoriesSchool of Education, Charles Darwin UniversityDarwin. Northern Territory
AUSTRALIA
Anja Tait is a Registered Music Therapist, music educator, and researcher. She works in cross-cultural contexts, in palliative and bereavement care, maternal and child health, and education.
At the 12th World Congress of Music Therapy Anja presented ArtStories: Indigenous language revitalisation and cultural maintenance in a remote Australian community, and contributed to an international panel (Kern et al): The Colour of Us – music therapy for young children around the world. She was a keynote speaker for the 11th World Congress of Music Therapy (Brisbane).
In 2004, Anja received an Australian Government award for her contribution to improved literacy and numeracy in the community. Previously she was awarded a fellowship to study of the impact of music therapy for post-natal distress.
Anja has forthcoming book chapters with Cambridge Scholars Publishing and Routledge, and contributed case study material to Educating the Creative Workforce: Rethinking Arts and Education (2007); The Wow Factor: Global research compendium on the impact of the arts in education (2006); and Australian arts education at the national level (2006).
In 2009 Anja will report on ArtStories, a three-year educational research initiative in urban, rural and remote school communities in the Northern Territory of Australia http://artstories.cdu.edu.au.
Regional Liaison Statement: The WFMT provides an opportunity to promote innovative professional exchanges. It is a chance to learn and celebrate throughout the world, the consonance and dissonance of our values, understandings and practices in music therapy.
As Regional Liaison-Australia/New Zealand I bring my zest for learning partnerships across gender, generation, and culture, as well as beyond the limits of jurisdictions and professional disciplines. I look forward to sharing the highlights of music therapy research, education and clinical practice from Australia and New Zealand, as well as encouraging professional dialogue across the waters that separate the people of our region.
Contact: [email protected]
4
Regional Liaison for North America
Dr. Gene Ann Behrens, MT-BC
Associated Professor and Director of Music Therapy at Elizabeth College, PA
USA
Gene Ann Behrens, Ph.D., MT-BC is an associate professor and director ofthe music therapy program at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, USA.She teaches the majority of the core music therapy courses, supervises students in practicum experiences, and directs the on-campus clinic. She has taught and supervised students for 10 years and worked as a music therapist for over 30 years in a variety of settings. She maintains an avid interest in curriculum development, supervision training, and research design and statistics; her research focuses on developing emotional skills through music therapy. Dr. Behrens is on the American Music Therapy Association Membership Committee and Assembly of Delegates; is on the Mid-Atlantic Region-AMTA research committee; and is the Vice President of Membership for MAR-AMTA. She has published in several journals and presents at regional, national, and international conferences. During spring 2008, Gene spent two months working as a music therapist in Bethlehem, Palestine to develop emotional coping skills of children traumatized by war. Regional Liaison Statement: “I believe the various positions I hold within regional and national associations and now as a liaison for WFMT espouse similar goals— to support the interaction and address needs among music therapists. We live in an increasingly global world requiring us to understand and communicate with those from different cultural backgrounds. As the first North American liaison, I will further define my duties and create materials I can pass on to future liaisons. I will create a notebook of contacts in the United States, US Territories, and Canada; investigate methods to disseminate information from WFMT to music therapists in North America, thereby increasing interaction among therapists; become aware of the needs of music therapists that WFMT can support; and increase participation at the 2011 Congress in Toronto, Canada.”
Contact: [email protected]
5
Regional Liaison for Latin America
Ms. Cybelle Veiga Loureiro
BRAZIL
Cybelle Veiga Loureiro graduated in Music (Piano) at the Conservatório Carlos Gomes, São Paulo, Brazil. She studied chamber music at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg Im Breisgau in Germany and graduated from the music therapy program at the University of Iowa in 1991.
In 2006, she earned a master degree in music from the School of Music of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. Her master thesis focused on developmental disorders in children.
Cybelle currently works on her doctoral degree at the School of Medicine of the UFMG, Department of Applied Science on Surgery and Ophthalmology. Her doctoral thesis focus on music therapy treatment applied to Optic Neuritis. She also teaches music therapy at the UFMG School of Music, Graduate Studies on Neuroscience & Behavior at the Department of Biology.
She is involved in research and clinical work at the Multiple Sclerosis Research Center (CIEM-UFMG); child development disorders at the Center of Applied Psychology, Department of Psychology; mental heath at the School of Medicine; chronic hemiplegia due to stroke at the Department of Physical Therapy; chemotherapy, stroke, Alzheimer and other dementias at the Social Work Department of the Hospital and Clinics of the UFMG.
Regional Liaison Statement:“Other than being very honored by this WFMT Council indication, I recognize the great amount of work to be accomplished as Regional Representative for Latin America. The constant development the discipline experiences in Latin America for the last decades presents a great challenge in keeping this growing community well informed about the current directions that Music Therapy is taking around the world in the realm of professional development as well as research tendencies.”
Contact: [email protected]
6
Regional Liaison for South East Asia
Dr. Sumathy Sundar
President of Nada Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai
INDIA
Dr. Sumathy Sundar is a clinician music therapist and researcher. Her doctoral research at the University of Madras focused on music therapy in cancer care and pain management. She also has a postgraduate degrees in Indian music and applied psychology. Sumathy is the President of the Nada Centre for Music Therapy, a non-profit organization based in Chennai striving for developing music therapy in India.
Regional Liaison Statement: Her vision is to set up a strong academic curriculum of international standards and develop research and music therapy practice in India. Also keen on identifying cultural sensitivities, she focuses on integrating western music therapy and the more cultural, traditional and spiritual eastern music to suit local needs. She says: “As the regional liaison for WFMT, which I think is an honored opportunity given to me, I am willing to support WFMT’s objectives in every possible way.”
Contact: [email protected]
7
Regional Liaison for Europe
Dr. Simon Gilbertson
Lecturer, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick
IRELAND
Dr. Simon Gilbertson is a versatile musician and music therapist and is a lecturer of the MA in Music Therapy program led by Professor Jane Edwards at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Ireland. As a music therapy clinician he has worked in England and Germany in a range of clinical settings including work with children and adolescents with autism, children and adults with cancer, neurological illness and trauma.
Simon completed his doctoral research on music improvisation with people with traumatic brain injuries related to road traffic incidents in 2004 under the mentorship of Professor David Aldridge at the Chair of Qualitative Research in Medicine, University Witten/Herdecke, Germany.
As a researcher, he is developing a focus on research designs that include narrative analysis that also incorporate musicological and video analysis. He is an avid supporter of the creative rights of people affected by illness and trauma.
Simon has presented internationally and been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals. Simon is a member of the editorial teams of the Canadian Journal of Music Therapy and the Journal of Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapies. He has presented internationally and has written articles on a wide range of subjects and two book chapters on music therapy with people who have experienced traumatic brain injury. Simon has written his first book, ‘Music therapy and traumatic brain injury: A light on a dark night’ with David Aldridge for Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Regional Liaison Statement: As music therapy is deeply rooted in the culture in which it is practiced and, at the same time, is informed by theory and communication originating outside of this culture, it is of great significance to communicate and share local cultures of care within a global context. As one of the eight Regional Liaisons representing the WFMT worldwide, the Regional Liaison for Europe operates through individual, institutional and organisational connections between music therapists, related professionals, and service users and their families in the continuing development of the best possible music therapy education, practice and research.
Contact: [email protected]
8
Regional Liaison for Easter Mediterranean
Ms. Marion Ritchie
Music Therapist
DUBAI
My name is Marion Ritchie and I spent many years working in the Middle East teaching music in Doha, Qatar, before retraining as a music therapist. I have an MA in Music Therapy from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK and I am registered with the Health Professions Council in the UK.
Most of my training and experience in the UK was in adult psychiatry, however since coming to the United Arab Emirates 6 years ago, much of my work is with children in special schools. Initially, I realised that music therapy was not widely known about, or understood, so I offered to do voluntary work and based on the results of the work, secured funding in 3 special schools. I work mainly with groups throughout the academic year in the Dubai Autism Centre; Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre for Special Needs and Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs. I also work with clients (adults and children) on an individual basis.
Music therapy in Dubai at this point is considered as an ‘alternative medicine’ and not as a recognised clinical discipline. In order to try to raise awareness and understanding of music therapy, I have appeared in magazine articles; local news papers and TV to talk about music therapy. I also had 100 ‘Music Therapy’ wheel covers manufactured, which I gave to anyone willing to display them on the back of their 4-wheel drives!
Regional Liaison Statement:Therapists from Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain have already made contact with me to discuss our unique and individual circumstances. I hope that by taking on this role, further like-minded people in the countries covered by the Eastern Mediterranean area will contact me through the WFMT and we can start to talk, share and make progress towards the recognition Music Therapy merits.
Contact: [email protected]
9
Regional Liaison for Western Pacific
Mr. Tian Gao
Professor and Director of the Music Therapy Research Centre, Conservatory of Music Beijing
CHINA
Mr. Gao graduated from Temple University, Philadelphia, US in 1994.When returning to China, he established the first music therapy educational program in Beijing in 1997. Meanwhile, Tian also opened a private practice, offering psychotherapy services. The populations he works with include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, marital crises among others. Regional Liaison Statement: Mr. Gao says: “As the liaison of the Western Pacific Region, I would like to promote contact and cooperation among Western Pacific countries.
Contact: [email protected]
