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

Introduction

Argentina is a vast country located at the southern extreme of South America with a surface of 3.7 million square kilometers and a population of some 37 million. Together with its neighboring countries it forms the Southern Common Market (Mercado Común del Sur).

Argentina's spacious territory is divided into 24 provinces where there are a variety of climates and ecosystems: from the dry, arid clime of the northern puna (in the frontier with Bolivia and Chile) to the snowy forests of Ushuaia, the most austral city of the world. This huge diversity of climes and landscapes is responsible for generating a great diversity in its people's customs.

Over the past 25 years, there has been a succession of democratic governments, after several decades of constant interruptions of the institutional continuity through the establishment of military governments by the force. The consolidation of political life in democracy is an ongoing process that faces a great deal of difficulties.

At the current time, as a late effect of both the enormous public debt generated from the '70s and the application of certain economic policies, the country is going through a deep crisis. The grave social situation presents alarming indexes of children malnutrition, adolescents at risk, unemployment rates of 15% and negligent treatment of the older adults.

Despite this complex situation, Argentina continues to provide a rich and varied cultural life. The sports achievements and the literary prodigies live together in unlikely combinations; the tango, typical music and dance of Buenos Aires, comes across the street with a Mother of Plaza de Mayo wearing her white handkerchief, and by the side, two young ones developing a postmodern reading of one of Borges' short stories..

In short Argentina is a kind of chaotic, fragmentary and juxtaposed society. Forever aspiring to "really" exist.

The Professional Status of Music Therapy

In 1967 Dr. Rolando Benenzon initiated the music therapy course at the Universidad del Salvador (El Salvador University). This was the first music therapy career option with university status in Latin America and was the only music therapy university programme in Argentina until the beginning of the '90s, when two other courses were introduced at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires University) and at the Universidad Abierta Interamericana (Interamerican Open University); with headquarters in Buenos Aires and Rosario (Santa Fe).

At the present time, there are more than 2000 music therapists working in the country, and over 600 music therapy students in the universities. Constant evolution, both in research and clinical experience, has enabled the strengthening of the theoretical basis of music therapy in Argentina. Several music therapists have provided accounts of their work in music therapy, outlining their theoretical concepts and methods. Dr. Rolando Benenzon, MT Carlos Fregtman, BMT Rubén Gallardo, BMT Diego Schapira, MT Mónica Papalía, BMT Gustavo Gauna and BMT Patricia Pellizari have published music therapy books. There are a large number of published scientific works presented by music therapists in congresses and seminars that, along with the theses written by the students at the end of their courses, enrich our discipline.

It is worth pointing out that the approval of professional exercise laws in two provinces of the country (Chaco and Neuquén) guaranteed music therapists work and gave music therapy the same professional status as any other health discipline. In almost every part of the country there are registered music therapists working in a wide diversity of fields, offering their services to different medical insurance and health systems. The Health Ministry of each province is in charge of the professional registration. The exceptions to this rule are the city of Buenos Aires, and the provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe. It is no coincidence that they are the same provinces of the training programme headquarters. This fact is due firstly to political and economic interests and secondly to pressures from certain professional sectors, and thirdly, to the lack of knowledge of music therapy that still goes on among the ones who sanction the laws. Due to the joint work that has been done by the Music Therapy Associations and the universities, the presentation of a professional exercise law for the city of Buenos Aires is imminent.

Professional Associations in Argentina

There are currently four professional associations in Argentina with two of them operating at national level. The Asociación Argentina de Musicoterapia [Argentine Association of Music Therapy - ASAM] was founded in 1966, before the creation of the first course, and the Asociación de Musicoterapeutas de la República Argentina [Music therapists Association of the Argentine Republic - AMURA] was created by the graduates of the university study programmes. In the '90s the Asociación de Musicoterapeutas de Neuquén [Music therapists Association of Neuquén - AMUN] was created in Patagonia (south of the country) and the Asociación de Musicoterapeutas del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires [Music therapists Association of the city of Buenos Aires Government - AmdeBA] has just been created as a government requirement for all professions in order to provide an organization to support those working in public hospitals.

Professional Practice Contexts

The evolution of music therapy in Argentina has a close relationship with the promotion of the new music therapy graduates that year after year finish their studies and enter the workforce. In this way they promote new services in different health teams. Besides, in the last few years a particular phenomenon has occurred, which is the development of music therapy institutions, founded by music therapists to provide exclusively music therapy assistance to the people.

Although in the beginning the work consisted of the treatment of the mentally and/or physically disabled and older people, the fields of clinical practice have become increasingly diverse. Music therapists work in public and private hospitals and clinics; in day-hospitals, psychiatric admittance and outpatient clinics. Basically, the music therapist works within the multi-disciplinary team, providing individual and group programmes. The major areas of practice are mental health, neurological disorders, psychopathology, neuro-motor disabilities, sensory disabilities, pediatric hemato-oncology, geriatrics, palliative care, early stimulation, addictions, food disorders (bulimia and anorexia) and HIV patients. There are about 60 music therapists working in at least 10 of the public hospitals in the city of Buenos Aires.

In the educational domain, music therapist work in public and private schools, early intervention centers and in hospital schools. Being one of the pioneer areas of this discipline in Argentina, it is usual that music therapists are requested to take up positions of music teachers in these contexts, since music therapy specific positions do not exist within the public education. Despite this restriction, the contributions and work of those music therapists that work in an educational approach are well regarded.

In the area of prevention, music therapists work in public or private organizations oriented to work with high-risk population; mostly those coming from marginal areas without economical resources. Through several programmes music therapists provide individual and group work aiming to prevent addictions, child abuse, family violence, early assistance to children with different disabilities, single mothers and teenage mothers.

Influence of Economic, Cultural and Social Factors

For almost a quarter of a century since the first course was initiated, Argentine music therapy was nearly isolated from the worldwide music therapy context. This happened because of the confluence of several factors of very different nature. In order to consider just a few of them, we must point out that the first music therapy course was founded in the light of a dictatorial government characterized, among other things, for considering both the freedom of thoughts and teachers and students that did not agree with the military government's ideas as "dangerous". That situation was maintained until 1983 (except for a brief period in 1973). During those years music therapy classrooms witnessed how many professors and students were forced to emigrate to other countries, to avoid adding to the bulk of "missing people". This was one of the contributing factors for isolation, but not the only one. The other important factor was that in the university programs until the beginning of the '90s, theoretical authors from other latitudes were almost unknown.

Within the context of globalization, Argentina suffered from a devastating de-industrialization. This resulted in the multiplication of its external debt, of its unemployment rate and a huge rise of the people under the poverty line, which today represent almost 60% of the country population. In this framework, health has been badly neglected, and the music therapy profession and the working conditions of music therapists have felt great consequences as a result.

Another cultural factor that has influenced music therapy is the developments in the field of psychology in this country. In Buenos Aires alone there are more than 70,000 graduate psychologists, with the great majority of them Freudian, Kleinian or Lacanian psychoanalysts. Psychoanalysis in Argentina has become the dominant theory, and it has established the sensation -among both professionals and the general public - that any other theory is "not serious" or "less profound". This fact has deeply influenced the theoretical basis of argentine music therapy. The positive aspect, however, is that for a sizable proportion of the population "doing therapy" is a normal part of every day's life.

As we mentioned before, Buenos Aires, the city where most music therapists live, is as big as contrasting. Difficulties live together with an intense and diverse cultural activity, and despite the lack of budget, important findings, scientific and technological advances are attained.

Theoretical Lines and Research in Music Therapy

Benenzon influenced the development of Argentine music therapy and continues to do so but both the theoretical development of some Argentine music therapists and the more fluid interchange with colleagues from other countries that started in the mid '90s, made it possible to open up to different approaches. Argentine music therapists' participation in the world congresses of the specialty facilitated this opening. The visit to our country of some foreign colleagues such as Edith Lecourt, Joseph Moreno, G. Di Franco, Lia Rejane Mendes Barcellos (although in Argentina we consider her one of "us") and most recently Ken Bruscia also supported developments here. Currently several research projects in the field of music therapy are conducted on exploratory levels, in order to give an answer to the complexities of clinical practice.

Several music therapy groups have developed research studies with colleagues of vast professional experience, increasing the transmission of knowledge and experiences in parallel to the formal academic studies. An important research group has been carrying out an investigation on the so-called "sound binding ways" ("tipos vinculares sonoros" in Spanish) for several years. Another research group has been developing from ideas that arose from different fields of music therapy practice, such as mental health, education and the area of neuro-psychologic rehabilitation; their joint work resulted in the development of the Plurimodal Method (Schapira), currently studied and applied in Argentina and some other countries of South America.

Links and Contacts

Asociación Argentina de Musicoterapia [Argentine Association of Music
Therapy - ASAM] (http://www.musicoterapia.org.ar)

Asociación de Musicoterapeutas de la República Argentina [Argentine
Association of Music Therapists - AMURA] (amura2003@yahoo.com.ar)

Asociación de Musicoterapia de Neuquén [Neuquen Music Therapy Association -
AMUN] (noeminuim@infovia.com.ar)

Universidad Abierta Interamericana [Interamerican Open University] (http://www.vaneduc.edu.ar/uai/)

Universidad de Buenos Aires [University of Buenos Aires - UBA] (http://www.uba.ar/)

Universidad del Salvador [EL Salvador University - USAL] (http://www.salvador.edu.ar/)

Fundación Rolando Benenzon (rbenenzon@ciudad.com.ar)

Investigación Clínica en Musicoterapia - ICMUS [Clinical Investigation in
Music Therapy] sercas@movi.com.ar

Programa ADIM - Asistencia, Investigación y Desarrollo en Musicoterapia
[ADIM program - Assistance, Research and Development in Music Therapy]
(adim@datamarkets.com.ar)

Musicoterapia Norte (www.musicoterapianorte.com.ar)

How to cite this page

Ferrari K. & Sánches V. (2003). Music Therapy in Argentina. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2003-music-therapy-argentina