April 12, 2004.

Getting Knowing More About the Music Therapy World

By Olena Svatyeva
 
Olena Svatyeva is a student of the Department of Social Padagogy and Psychology of Zaporizhyazhya State University, Ukraine. Her e-mail address is alena_svatyeva@yahoo.com

My interest in music therapy at the begining of 2001 was quite intuitive. I just felt myself that it could be important and interesting for me. By that time I had already had a musical education and studied medical psychology for more than 3 years. That's why such a field as music therapy sounded great for me. Moreover, there is a collaborative project between the Department of Social Padagogy and Psychology of Zaporizhyazhya State University (Ukraine) and Department of Music Therapy of the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal (Germany).

In spite of the fact that I didn't participate in this project from the very beginning, immediately after familiarization with it, I set my mind on understanding and learning more about what music therapy is and how I can participate in this project more actively.

In 2001 I became an inspired participant of the project and got an opportunity to learn more about music therapy and so to achieve my goal. The feeling that my scope and outlook in the field of music therapy is getting rapidly wider and broader was absolutely great.

In the framework of the collaborative project, I have been involved in 2003 in a student study program in Magdeburg in the field of music therapy. Studying in Germany, I'm trying to collect as much information as I can about different kinds of musical psychotherapeutic approaches. In Germany there are a lot of kinds of music therapy and students learn and practice most of them here.

As for me, I'm interested in children's music psychotherapy and how to work musically with handicapted and mentally retarded children. As I have during my study in Germany not only a theoretical chapter, I have had an opportunity to make my practice in one of the most largest centers for children in Germany, Kinderzentrum München in Munich. There I saw how to treat and to develop children's possibilities for life in the framework of one kind of music therapy - Orff Music Therapy. My 3-weeks practice there was financed by the Orff Music Therapy Society. During my practice I had an opportunity not only to observe the process of psychotherapy but also to take an active part as a co-therapist in a music therapy setting. I have had a real experience in working musically with children who have special needs. Such kind of music therapy as Orff-Music Therapy is needed for Ukrainian children who have dysfunctions on the neurological or physical level. It will be very important to provide the knowledge that I have gotten here in Germany in developing the process of music therapy in Ukraine.

I plan not to stop my investigation of the music therapy field after coming back home. I still want to know more about music therapy works. Music for me is my everyday life. And now when I know that music can help others to become healthy, I cannot work without using it.