Cooperation
My article concerns cooperation, because this is one of the most important subjects for me. Cooperation between music therapists, institutions, countries, continents... It is very important that a human is needed for all kinds of cooperation and a human is the most important in the process of cooperation. The value of cooperation lies in the human being. This is a very humane approach.
As a matter of fact, cooperation is the beginning of almost everything. People cooperate in common goals. A musician cooperates with the conductor, a therapist with his/her client and a client should cooperate with his/her therapist too. Because they understand that they can achieve a success only in cooperation. There are many examples of it (one of the most important is cooperation between the therapist and the therapy team).
I have just come back from the International Conference of Music Therapy Students, which took place in Wroclaw (Poland). The conference was organised through a cooperation of music therapy students - there were students from Germany, Austria, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Iran and Poland. This experience was very valuable because I had the opportunity to meet people who have a passion for music therapy and who are open for cooperation. Young people full of enthusiasm, seeking for knowledge and new experiences, but at the same time open to other people, especially the needy. They understand that you can gain much more in cooperation than if you work alone. During conference discussions students were particularly interested in various ways of teaching students music therapy and the opportunity of realizing research projects together. An online meeting with dr. Petra Kern, President of World Federation of Music Therapy was the part of the conference too. But we did not discuss all the time - there was also time for workshops and an evening with shared playing and singing (music making). The atmosphere spread on Wroclaw’s streets and clubs where we were singing and dancing, as well. I am happy that this young people will be shaping and developing the future of music therapy because I know that they can work together and play together.
Another beautiful example of cooperation of music therapists from all over the world is Voices. 2010 is special because this year Voices is in its 10th year of existence. It came into existence as a result of cooperation, but I must say that it is also the reason, motivation and incentive to cooperation for music therapists from different countries. Thanks to Voices I have met many wonderful people from all over the world.
Good experience with Voices has played important role in the creation of Polish Arts Therapy Journal and the internet platform (www.arteterapia.pl). The main goal of this Polish project has been to create a virtual space where art therapists of different specialties (music, theatre, dance, poetry etc.) can cooperate and share their ideas. This is a place for everyone – both professionals and beginners in the field of therapy through the arts.
Talking about my country I must say that good music therapy literature in Poland is still scarce. I think the same problem concerns other East European countries, where music therapy is not well established yet. In addition, there are also many publications written by those who are not music therapists and which show this field of therapy as something like "shamanism" - misleading readers about what the real music therapy is. I have struggled with it many times. That is why a few years ago I decided to write the first music therapy handbook in Poland. I dream about a book where people can find information about the history, development and present state of music therapy research and practice. This project would have been probably impossible to realize without the support and help of music therapists from Poland and our friends from other countries. Now the project engages music therapists from Poland, USA, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland. Thanks to all these people I believe that the book, which will come into being as a result of our cooperation, will be valuable and unique.
Finally I would like to tell you about one event from the recent days. In the current issue of Voices there is an interesting interview with a famous German music therapist – Christoph Schwabe. Not many people know that he played a significant role in the development of music therapy in Poland almost 30-40 years ago. His book about Regulative Music Therapy was the first book about music therapy published in Poland (in 1972) (except a very old book by Dr. Julian Stupnicki Music in Terms of Aesthetic and Medical published in 1865). Christoph Schwabe has visited Poland many times, giving lectures and workshops. And – as he wrote to me – the cooperation between German and Polish music therapists was very important to him. Unfortunately after political changes in 1989 the cooperation was broken. I believe that we could do something to change that. And I am happy that I have met another person for whom sharing with others is important because I profoundly believe that cooperation means friendship and development. Thanks to all of you!
How to cite this page
Stachyra, Krzysztof (2010). Cooperation. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=colstachyra220310
