Preparation for internationalisation on music and arts therapy education in Lithuania
Vilmante Aleksiene 11 Vilnius Pedagogical University, Department of Social Pedagogy, Vilnius, Lithuania
Abstract
Arts therapy techniques in Lithuania commenced in the eighties and then became introduced into health, social and educational fields. “Arts Therapies” involves music, art, movement/dance and drama therapies, but in this abstract we refer only to music and art therapy since these fields are more developed in Lithuania. Music therapy applications increased ever since, but services still remain below demand, because of insufficient numbers of respective specialists and wide-spread lack of insight into music/art therapy benefits among employers.
Lithuanian Association for Educational Music Therapy and Lithuanian Association for Art Therapy Application, founded in 1997, ever since took measures to develop and establish professional music/art therapy services in Lithuania. In 2005 a round table discussion in the Lithuanian Parliament was held and the Interdepartmental Arts Therapies Working Group was founded to implement professional music and art therapy education, services and legalization.
European Music Therapy Congregation (EMTC) holds the opinion that the entry-level to professional music therapy should be raised to the Master’s degree. Vilnius Pedagogical University Social Communication Institute & Vilnius University Department of Medicine were invited to cooperate with EMTC. Thus, in joint collaboration with foreign experts from Roehampton University (United Kingdom), Bergen University (Norway), Augsburg University (Germany), Cadiz University (Spain), Liepaja Academy of Pedagogy (Latvia) and Adler Professional Psychology School (USA), we have started to prepare a respective Master Degree Program.
Music/art therapy professions are dynamic trans-disciplinary professions combined of music or art and therapy-related disciplines. A special area for their implications has become paediatrics. Lithuanian music/art therapy pioneers declared a great interest to participate in activities and research projects of EUROPET, as arts therapies embrace a broad spectrum of clinical work with children.