Voices ResourcesA website for the worldwide community around the journal Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy

|History and Current Status| |Work Conditions| |Methods| |Research| |Conclusion| |References|

History and Current Status

Australia, a large southern continent with a population of approximately 20 million people, enjoys a rich and proud music therapy history. In 2001, over 160 registered music therapists worked throughout its Australian six states and two territories. The diverse range of settings where music therapists practice include hospitals, palliative care settings, special schools, hostels, nursing homes, community programs, day hospitals, rehabilitation settings, and private practice. Most therapists work in the eastern coastal states, where four training programs exist. In 1978 the first training program was established at The University of Melbourne, and this was later followed by training programs at the University of Queensland, the University of Technology, Sydney, and the University of Western Sydney (the latter one in association with Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia Ltd).

The existence of music therapy in Australia as a respected profession, with an established Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, owes considerable debt to the hard work and passion of two people, Denise Grocke, the current President of the World Federation of Music Therapy, and Ruth Bright, the President from 1990 to 1993. In a publication documenting personal and historical recollections of the Australian Music Therapy Association, which was founded in 1985, Bright and Grocke (2000) acknowledged the contribution of a Sydney association established in the 1920s, The International Society for Musical Therapeutics. They also acknowledged The Red Cross, which introduced music for therapy and entertainment in some hospitals following World War II.

Ruth Bright's extensive writing of music therapy texts and articles in the fields of psychiatry, dementia and griefwork, followed her creation of music therapy programs in psychiatric hospitals from the early 1960s. Her contributions was acknowledged on March 16th by the University of Melbourne, with the award of an Honorary Doctor of Music. (See picture: Clockwise from top, Dr. Katrina Skewes, Dr. Ruth Bright with her honorary degree, Dr. Denise Grocke and Dr. Clare O'Callaghan. Photo: Les O'Rourke. ©Uninews, University of Melbourne. Used with permission.)

Denise Grocke completed her MT training at Michigan in 1969, returning to create a MT position in a Melbourne psychiatric hospital. In 1978 Denise created the undergraduate training program at the University of Melbourne and, under her continuing direction, this program now offers Masters and Ph.D. programs and GIM training. It also includes the National Music Therapy Research Unit, which incorporates an Advisory Board of internationally renowned music therapy researchers, who contribute to student education and supervision.

In the 1970s Denise and Ruth established a working relationship and, with the support of interested professionals and some overseas trained music therapists, created the first Australian Music Therapy Association conference in 1975. In 2001, the 26th Annual Australian Music Therapy Conference was held in Melbourne. Keynote speakers at our conferences have included Ruth Bright, Denise Grocke, Ken Bruscia, Clive and Carol Robbins, Kate Gfeller, Jane Standley, Jane Edwards, David Aldridge, Tony Wigram, Joanne Lowey, Barbara Wheeler, Helen Odell-Miller, Morva Croxson, George Deurksen, Donald Michel, Linda Keiser and Robin Howat.

The Australian Music Therapy Association is now a vibrant organisation with numerous National Committees including the National Council, National Registration and Education Board, Ethics Committee, Publications Committee, Continuing Professional Development Committee, and the Government Relations Committee. Three State Branches of the Australian Music Therapy Association are located in Victoria, New South Wales (including the Australian Capital Territory) and Queensland, and Interest Groups are found in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

Australia is fortunate to have many music therapists eager to share their knowledge in three national publications, (a) The Australian Music Therapy Association Journal (published once a year), (b) The Bulletin, Newsletter of the Australian Music Therapy Association (published 3 times a year) and (c) Network, A Forum for Discussion Among Registered Music Therapists (also published 3 times a year). Many locally trained music therapists have contributed to the international literature. The Australian Music Therapy Association website (www.austmta.org.au) provides a comprehensive list of all published research by Australian music therapists. Jane Edward's (1999) innovative writings about music therapy research paradigms deserve particular attention.

Work Conditions

In the state of Victoria, many music therapists receive salaries in accordance with awards established by governmental bodies, and our conditions are comparable with other allied health workers (for example, physiotherapists and occupational therapists) and teachers. No formal award exists for music therapists in other states. The National Council of the Australian Music Therapy Association though recently published a Scale of Recommended Fees to help those music therapists who work in private practice devise an appropriate salary structure.

While many health, education and community organisation administrators acknowledge the benefits of music therapy, adequate funding for positions in these settings is a constant problem. Following the establishment of many music therapy positions in institutions for people with developmental and/or psychiatric disabilities up until the 1980s, new deinstitutionalisation policies led to job losses in these areas. While some jobs in special schools, nursing homes and palliative care settings now appear relatively secure, many music therapists also rely on time limited grants from governmental bodies and philanthropic trusts. Unfortunately, the regular need to justify position funding is a source of stress and frustration for many therapists. In some settings, funding is linked with the number of clients that the music therapists can meet with during a specific time frame. Furthermore, while some clinical settings have departments with many resources and space for individual sessions, other music therapists may not have an office, and can perhaps only work at bedsides in public ward settings. Inevitably, these kinds of influences affect the kinds of music therapy methods offered.

Methods

Australian music therapists use a wide range of music therapy approaches in their work, including the use of pre-composed music, improvisation, song-writing and GIM. The list of keynote speakers at our conferences illustrates how our music therapists draw inspiration for their work from music therapy knowledge throughout the world. Our geographical isolation has possibly contributed to the diversity found amongst our practices. Australians are keen travellers and many music therapists, especially in the 1980s, completed their clinical training placements in Britain, USA and Canada.

A visit by Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins in 1974 also led to a Nordoff-Robins Centre being established in Dural, NSW in 1977. Clive and Carol Robins visited Australia several times up until the early 1990s, and formal training in Creative Music Therapy began in Australia in 1994.

Research

Like the diversity found in our music therapy methods, a diverse range of philosophical orientations are evident in the research methods used by Australian music therapists. Phenomenological (Grocke, 1999; Hogan, 1999; McFerran-Skewes & Erdonmez Grocke, 2000), positivist (Baker, 2001) postpositivist (Edwards, 2000) and constructivist (O'Callaghan, 2001) orientations are evident. The grounded theory research paradigm (Edwards, 2000) and ATLAS/ti computer software (O'Callaghan, 2001) have also been used to guide data management and analysis.

Conclusion

Rationalist economic governmental policies continue to challenge Australian music therapists as we attempt to expand the number and range of clinical settings offering music therapy. The profession's ability to adapt to such challenges is evident in our history. Many Australian therapists are passionately committed to their work and give tirelessly to the Association and associated activities. Innumerable local therapists have stated that the work with clients motivates and encourages them to strive for the firm establishment of music therapy in our country. The future of music therapy in Australia therefore appears healthy, and is certainly aided by the validation and support received from the World Federation of Music Therapy.

References

Baker, F. (2001). The effects of live, taped, and no music on people experiencing posttraumatic amnesia. Journal of Music Therapy, 38(3), 170-192.

Bright, R., & Grocke, D. (2000). Twenty five years on: Music therapy in Australia, the early history of A.M.T.A. Wahroonga, NSW: Music Therapy Enterprises.

Edwards, J. (1999). Considering the paradigmatic frame: Social science research approaches relevant to research in music therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy: An International Journal, 26(2), 73-80.

Edwards, J. (2000). Developing a platform for research to inform music therapy practice with hospitalised children. Unpublished PHD, University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Grocke, D. (1999). A phenomenological study of pivotal moments in GIM Therapy. University of Melbourne: CD-ROM III, University of Herdecke, Germany.

Hogan, B. (1999). A phenomenological research project. In R. Rebollo Pratt & D. Erdonmez Grocke (Eds.), MusicMedicine (Vol. 3, pp. 242-252). Melbourne: University of Melbourne.

McFerran-Skewes, K., & Erdonmez Grocke, D. (2000). Group music therapy for young bereaved teenagers. European Journal of Palliative Care, 7(6), 227-229.

O'Callaghan, C. (2001). Bringing music to life: Music therapy and palliative care experiences in a cancer hospital. Journal of Palliative Care, 17(3), 155-160.

Further Reading

Edwards, J. (1997). Music Therapy. In W. Bebbington (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Australian Music. (pp. 406-407). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Website

http://www.austmta.org.au provides further information about the activities of the Australian Music Therapy Association, music therapy training programs, Australian publications, contacts for the various committees of the Association, membership details, and current research endeavours.

Acknowledgements

Thank you Sue Coull, President of the Australian Music Therapy Association, for feedback on this paper. Gratitude is also extended to the Andrew Thyne Reid Charitable Trust for funding my employment.

How to cite this page

O'Callaghan, Clare Australian Music Therapy. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 08, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2002-australian-music-therapy