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It is a very difficult task to make a brief historical introduction if you are speaking about Ukraine and its development as an independent State. There have been too many different governments during the history of this country and every of them tried to present their own point of view. One aspect however, cannot be questioned and that is the close connection between Ukraine and Russia.

To the times of Kyiv Rus (c.900s-1200s) the activities of the Slavic tribes were documented with no notion that they should be divided regionally into Russia, Ukraine or Belarus. After the fall of Kiev Rus however the long period of the separate existence of these nations began. In the mid 1600s Ukraine sought allies to proceed toward independence. Thus began a military and political alliance with Russia. In 1667 Moscow and Warsaw divided Ukraine between the two of them, whereby the Right Bank went to Poland and the Left Bank to Moscow. Even though Ukraine was given extensive autonomy in 1654 this was gradually eroded by the actions of czarist ukases until finally Ukraine became a republic within the USSR. At this time it was considered a national and territorial entity having its own capital, and a government, which had certain even though limited powers.

After the Second World War almost all Ukrainian territories were united within the USSR. By a decree of the USSR Supreme Soviet in 1954 the Crimea was given to Ukraine. In the 1970s and 1980s however a deep crisis enveloped all walks of life. At the same time Gorbachev's Perestroika served as a stimulus for life changing events. So on June 16, 1990 the government of Ukraine passed the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine. On August 24, 1991, the Ukrainian Parliament proclaimed Ukraine's independence and the formation of the independent state of Ukraine, proceeding from the right to self-determination, provided by international law.

Today Ukraine is an independent state, with a rich and unique historical heritage, facing a lot of different questions. Ukraine has its own economy, science and culture. However its past and present connection with other lands has influenced the development of some special strands of its knowledge and heritage. So historically the first research using of music in psychiatric treatment were undertaken by Bechterev, Korsakov and other Russian scientists working in the Soviet Union. Nowadays there are also some contemporary studies analysing the influence of music on the human organism. There is interest in measuring changes in blood pressure, heart rhythms, of galvanic and other physiologic reactions. We can also come across specialists who are using quite particular methods that are called music therapy. These methods have some pedagogical character or are directed toward relaxation. So there are songs or plays, which have to be learned and performed to the others and exercises listening to the classical or simple calming music. This tradition has been known both in Russia and Ukraine for a relatively long time.

From 2000 there has been a new era of music therapy in Ukraine. The first steps in modern approach to music therapy were made in Zaporozhye, in one of the largest cities of the land with its population of about 900,000 people. The faculty of Social Padagogy and Psychology of the State University Zaporozhye (Ukraine) and the faculty of music-therapy of the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal (Germany) have started a new collaborative project with the title 'Social-pedagogical rehabilitation with music'.

Dr. Thomas Wosch, the director of music therapy of the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, visited Zaporozhye in September 2000 to make a presentation on 'Active Group Music therapy' (AGM) to the academic staff at the State University Zaporozhye. A year later, during Dr Wosch's second visit, a student group at Zaporozhye had the opportunity to take part in AGM themselves, then to listen to the lectures given over the internet and to visit Magdeburg in order to learn more about the context of using music therapy in Germany. It is proposed to continue this distance-study method and some of 12 Ukrainian students will have a certificate as a qualification, which gives them the right to use different methods of active music therapy. Some social organisations of Zaporozhye have already learned about this project and would be glad to have a sociologist or a psychologist with such an extra education with whom to collaborate.

There is a licence for this MT-course giving by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, in two years the State University Zaporozhye is going to get a licence for music therapy as a specialisation and eventually for music therapy as a faculty within the university.

Music therapy currently doesn't have professional status in the Ukraine. There are no special music therapy rooms and there aren't enough music instruments to use in Active Music Therapy, however some necessary prerequisites for its development are emerging now and there is a great enthusiasm from everybody here who are working hard to give a new chance to people who need music therapy.

How to cite this page

Mariya Ivannikova (2002). Music Therapy in the Ukraine . Voices Resources. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2002-music-therapy-ukraine