Response to "Music Therapy in the Ukraine"

By Oksana Zharinova-Sanderson, Master of Music Therapy (MMT (N-R)), Behandlungszentrum für Folteropfer Berlin (Centre for torture-victims Berlin), Germany. (Email: o.zharinova-sanderson@bzfo.de):

I was excited to find out about the music therapy education being installed in Zaporozhye and about the progress being made with it. In this response I would like to cover the information gap that I feel there was in the description of music therapy in the Ukraine. Ukraine historically suffered from a lack of communication and connection between its Eastern part that was always very closely connected with Russia and its Western part with its centre in the Galician city of Lviv (Lvov, Lwow, Lemberg), which until 1939 was a part of Poland and had strong links with Europe. That is why, historically there is a lack of awareness of each other between the people of Eastern and Western Ukraine. With the help of "Voices" we can ensure that there are as few as possible gaps in the information about music therapy in the different parts of this large country.

I would like to mention here that there is a growing interest and a group of people who practice music therapy in the Western part of Ukraine. This autumn I have led a number of workshops in the psychiatric hospital in Lviv with musicians and therapists who are already using music actively in their therapeutic work. The working conditions and payment are far from ideal and the therapists often lack support in their immediate surroundings. In this situation they are building their work on interest and enthusiasm. Most of them are participants of the psychotherapy education programme, organised by the European Association for Psychotherapy and would like to continue their education as music therapists. Music (and particularly vocal music) is a living part of Ukrainian culture and that is why it is only natural for them to install communication through music in their therapeutic encounter with their patients. This group of people is searching for further possibilities of education, which is of course also a financial problem. There is a plan for my further involvement as an Ukrainian born and bred person, who has been trained in the West as a music therapist, as well as that of mine Western colleagues in helping to continue this training.

I would like to pass this information on to my colleagues in Zaporozhye and to any other interested people in the Ukraine who we are not yet aware of, since they could find it useful to be in touch with people from their country who are learning and practising music therapy. You can contact the "music therapy interest group" in Lviv through the:

Ukrainian Umbrella Association for Psychotherapy. E-mail filz_uuap@mail.lviv.ua