Arts Therapies in the Republic of Kazakhstan
Introduction
Kazakhstan is one of the Central Asia Republics and shares common borders with Russia, China, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is a vast country in size, second only to Russia, but has a small and diminishing population of around 15 million. Kazakhstan is probably best known abroad in connection with space explorations - as the major part of the Russian space programme uses rockets which are launched from the Kazakh cosmic station of Baikonur.
Historically part of Kazakhstan was the home of the Mongul hordes who created such an impression many hundreds of years ago. Across its deserts, and through its mountain passes, the Silk Road brought the merchants of Europe to China and India, and the old traditional skills of medicine and of artistic creativity emerged from China and the Far East and made the reverse journey.
Until the mid 1990's Almaty was the capital city of this new Republic. However the capital moved North at this time, and a new capital city - Astana - was created amidst the steppe lands which cover much of this country. The city of Almaty remains by far the largest in the country, and has rapidly developed in the past three years to maintain its position as the economic, financial and cultural capital of the Kazakh peoples. Set at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains at a height of around 800 metres above sea level, the city now has a very cosmopolitan outlook, and its population of over 1.5 million people includes many from Western Europe and North America attracted by its ongoing development, and who enjoy being in one of the world's great geopolitical crossroads.
The Republic of Kazakhstan was a part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and as a result its ideology, science, and approach to arts had unified "soviet" features. Far more than other Soviet Union Republics, Kazakhstan was isolated from the world community. Most sciences and disciplines were guided by ideology and political approaches. Psychotherapy was also affected in this way. On the one hand, it was not prohibited, but on the other hand nothing was done to enhance its development. Psychotheraputic methods were limited, and mainly included hypnosis, alongside rational and group therapies. There was no access to psychotherapy books, and Freud's name was mentioned only negatively, and it was impossible to obtain and read books in which his theories were explained and defined.
When the iron curtain collapsed, the USSR vanished, and the independent Republic of Kazakhstan emerged. Everything changed dramatically: policy, economy, ideology, culture, and social behaviour. Within five years bookshops contained enormous amounts of psychological literature. At last local specialists were able to learn about philosophies, approaches and methods so broadly presented in the rest of the world.
However the initial mood of excitement quickly gave way to confusion. It was very easy to get lost amidst the broad variety of philosophies and methodologies which at times contradicted each other. This situation also related to work within the Arts Therapies. If a psychotherapist uses the audio means of relaxing music, and offers a client the chance to recall pleasant memories, does it mean that he\she is a music therapist? If a psychotherapist offers a child the opportunity to express his/her aggression on a sheet of paper, does it mean that this specialist is an art therapist? It seemed to be so simple.
Some of these confusions were resolved in the autumn of 2003 when the British Council in Kazakhstan organized the first seminar on Art Therapy with several leading British experts. For ten days Angela M Fenwick, music therapist, a founder of the Birmingham Center for Arts Therapies (BCAT), and Terry Braithwaite, dance movement therapist, presented the theory and practices of Arts Therapy as a whole, and Music Therapy in particular.
This seminar had a big impact on the understanding of Arts Therapies and resulted in the establishment of an Arts Therapies Center "Teris" by a group of local enthusiasts. This group was fortunate in that they were also supported by a commercial organisation. The Company "Philip Morris Kazakhstan" allocated a grant for the development of the Art Therapy, under which Teris art therapists work at a number of orphanages and at the Almaty Speech Pathology School. Further support and assistance to the Kazakhstani specialists is provided by Angela Fenwick of BCAT and her team. A second more advanced seminar on Arts Therapies, with BCAT specialists, was conducted in October 2004.
Music Therapy in Kazakhstan
Music is a major basis for Kazakh mythology. According to one such myth Korkut, an ancestor of Kazakh ethnos, came to the Earth on a white bird. He landed on the banks of the Syr River, and plunged his kobyz (traditional Kazakh string instrument) into the middle of the bank. Since then Kazakhs have lived within this territory, and the kobyz has become a permanent companion of the Kazakh people, and has been used to help them to express their feelings, supported them in their grief, and shared in their joy.
The harmony of Kazakh life is defined by the harmony of music, and music has a unique role. Music and in particular its traditional forms, represent the most important features of the ethnic memories and ethical code which saved and reflected the ethnic evolution and psych of the Kazakh people. In the myths of many ancient peoples, creation starts from descriptions of "The Chaos". The Kazakh peoples do not have such a description, and there is no fighting within The Chaos. Music has become the life creating and developing feature, and has a sacral and Divine meaning within traditional Kazakh culture.
Sound for Kazakhs is a concentration of the energetic power of the Earth. The tradition of treatment through music descends from ancient times. Shamanism had very strong influence in Kazakhstan, as in many other oriental countries. The Shaman (Buksy), through a complex ritual performance and playing of the kobyz, establishes a connection between the underworld, calling for the backing and support of ancestors.
Regrettably this traditional approach was interrupted and halted by the Soviet regime. So it can be said that Music Therapy is a "new" approach. However healing through arts has always been present within Kazakh culture.
Additionally in 1997 the Music psychology and education department was established at the Kazakh State Conservatory in Almaty. This was the first attempt to combine music and psychology. Now more and more people are becoming interested in music therapy. The current group of Kazakh therapists firmly believe that it will once again regain its popularity, and achieve success in the very near future.
Currently music therapists work with autistic children, with groups of children with stuttering and learning difficulties. After the second Arts Therapies seminar, several NGOs were established within Kazakhstan including musicians who have made strong commitment to further education and training as music therapists. This process will take many years but the enthusiasm and talent of the people involved, will ensure its success. As a group the organisation Teris, is looking forward to the establishment of contacts with music therapists from other countries and for possible cooperation with them.
How to cite this page
Rusakova, Irina & Melik-Nubarova, Svetlana (2005). Arts Therapies in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 10, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country/monthkazakhstan_january2005
