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

|History| |The Introduction of Music Therapy| |Music Therapy Training| |Further Developments| |Reference|

History

Bosnia-Herzegovina is situated about 150 miles across the Adriatic Sea east of Italy, 2 hours flying time from London. It is almost completely land-locked with only 5 miles or so of rocky coastline on the Adriatic and Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro are on its borders. Its terrain is mountainous. The total area of the country is 19,736 square miles - slightly smaller then Wales. It is estimated that the current population is 3, 700,000. Bosnia-Herzegovina today is divided into two ethnic and political entities - Republika Srpska (49% Serb) and the Federation (51% mixed Muslim and Croat). Sarajevo is still recognised as the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The history of music therapy in Bosnia-Herzegovina is similar to many of those countries within Eastern Europe - that of a country in transition from post-communism. Superimposed upon this transition is also a post-war environment. War in Bosnia-Herzegovina lasted approximately four years from 1992 -1995. The former Yugoslavia was a conglomeration of different ethnic and religious groups including Serbs, Croats, Muslims, Jews, Macedonians and Slovenes. The fighting in the region was, to a large extent, a struggle over who would control each territory after Josip Tito died in 1980. Tito had re-founded Yugoslavia as a Communist state after the Second World War. His dictatorship established a socialist federation of six states with each large ethnic group having its rights secured under regional constitutions. Control, however, rested with the Communist party, and was ruled by Tito with an iron fist. The end of the Cold War brought severe economic hardship to all of Yugoslavia. Western nations, which had always supported the state as a buffer against the Soviets, withdrew loans because the country no longer served a strategic purpose. This, along with the death of Tito and the power vacuum that opened, saw the country's leaders unable to hold cultural/ethnic resentment tensions and separatist/centralist ambitions in check and a power struggle erupted for land based on ethnic divisions.

The Introduction of Music Therapy

It was into the post-war environment that music therapy was introduced to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The history of music therapy in many western nations is often seen to follow the pattern of the local people pioneering music therapy into their own communities. This pattern however is largely the opposite of the early beginnings of music therapy in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Under communist times, western psychological theories and associated complimentary therapies, such as the arts therapies, were strictly controlled by the State and the local people heard little to nothing about western developments in such fields. Music therapy was subsequently founded in Bosnia-Herzegovina largely as an international reactive response to a chronic post-war environment. This response was initiated by the non-governmental organisation, War Child.

War Child, in conjunction with their patron Luciano Pavarotti, established the Pavarotti Music Centre in Mostar in 1997 (http://www.warchild.org/projects/WC_Holland/Bosnia/bosnia.html). A vital part of this vision was the inclusion of a music therapy unit, which opened in April 1998. The early pioneering work of this unit was steered largely by British music therapists Alison Acton, Louise Lang and Uná McInerney. Louise and Uná have documented many of the issues that they encountered in those early days as well as case material in a recent publication (Lang & McInerny, 2002). The Pavarotti Music Centre music therapy department continues to exist today with one senior international music therapist and one junior therapist. War Child funding will cease for the continuation of this unit over 2004 and we are all hopeful that a new donor may be found to continue the valuable work of this department. Over its history there have been a number of international music therapists holding posts from all corners of the world - a range of therapists from Western European countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA.

In recognition of the global effects of trauma upon the general population of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it was generally considered not appropriate to train local workers in music therapy during the early post-war years. A time of healing and re-building was clearly and evidently necessary. Using music as a therapeutic tool, on a differing level to the trained music therapist, was a successful concept that was introduced by Professor Nigel Osbourne from the University of Edinburgh in conjunction with the War Child 'Schools Team' based at the Pavarotti Centre. The Schools Team was staffed predominantly with local Bosnian musicians and, through combined local and international planning, delivered music workshops to children in schools. The work by the Schools Team successfully continues today with the team focus now being more so on helping to shape and deliver a newly established national music curriculum to children as opposed to the earlier therapeutic focused work immediately post-war. Their work has been significant in highlighting the benefit of music to communities and has attracted much publicity.

Two further music therapy initiatives were opened in the country over this post-war period. The humanitarian organisation "Sunce" funded a short music therapy concept in Pale, a Republika Srpska section of the country. This concept was largely delivered by local musicians and, while not based on formal music therapy training, the concept was very successful and has allowed this area of the country to grow in interest and motivation for more music therapy input from trained professionals. Further south, in Herzegovina, a music therapy unit funded by Project Sunflower was established (www.sunflowercharity.co.ba). In 2003 the Project Sunflower team developed a mobile therapy unit, which allows for the delivery of music therapy throughout the country, and especially to those in more remote, inaccessible areas. Currently myself, as a New Zealand UK-trained music therapist, leads the Project Sunflower team in this work. Internships of both short and longer durations have recently opened in this unit for international music therapists.

Music Therapy Training

As the distance between the end of war has grown and the local publicity about the profession of music therapy has spread, so too naturally has the demand for local training increased. Two initiatives have been piloted to both address this increasing demand as well as find sustainable solutions for the continuation of music therapy in Bosnia-Herzegovina should international funding cease for the current units.

Firstly, an exciting partnership between the University of Sarajevo Music Academy and the University of Stockholm Music Therapy Department has seen the selection of 4 Bosnian students and their subsequent music therapy training being undertaken in Stockholm. This initiative has been funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency,SIDA (www.sida.gov.se). Three of the initial students are currently completing practical placements within Bosnia-Herzegovina and course director, Ingrid Hammarlaud, predicts that they will complete their bachelor's in music therapy in October 2004. This is a significant historical event for the development of music therapy within Bosnia-Herzegovina and one that is warmly embraced!

Secondly, in looking towards future sustainable structures and in response to the shortfall of therapeutic music being delivered against the measure of desperate client populations, the Project Sunflower Music Therapy Unit has been delivering therapeutic skill-sharing training courses (known locally as TSST courses) to workers already established in institutions. This initiative has been partly funded by the USA based organisation, Life4Life (www.listen4life.com). This scheme does not aim to train music therapists but rather to pass on basic introductory skills that will assist local workers in developing appropriate therapeutic music programmes within their own institutions. The introductory level of training given ensures that local workers work with appropriate and safe boundaries. The TSST scheme has been modelled on the highly successful Music as Therapy approach that has been operating in Romania for the past ten years (www.musicastherapy.org). A range of institutions have been participating in the TSST scheme such as selected staff from psychiatric institutions, orphanages, special schools, rehabilitation centres, hospitals and day centres. In 2004, ten such places have been accepted for the TSST scheme.

History from other countries frequently has shown that the demand and path for an accredited national training course frequently comes from initial introductory training and skill-sharing from international trained professionals to local workers. It is therefore possible that the enthusiasm and desire for deeper training will emerge from local recipients of the TSST scheme, as well as by the role-modelling provided by the Swedish trained Bosnian music therapists themselves.

Further Developments

The establishment of a Bosnian Society for Music Therapy is desired by many to be formed and active discussions have been underway by many to consider the most appropriate manner in which to proceed with this. Such a forum would allow a collective voice to be heard in the demand for accredited training as well as provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and resources. Such a similar association exists within the neighbouring country of Croatia, despite the current lack of a national training course (Croatian Association of Music Therapists. Additional information can be gained by contacting the President of the Association, Slavica Bevanda, at muzter@net.hr). At the 2003 Croatian Association of Music Therapy Conference held in Sibenik, Croatia, a number of interested local workers from Bosnia attended and expressed their enthusiasm for the profession, as well as participated in the exchange of ideas with their partners in Croatia. It was indeed indicative of changing times as conference participants from once rival countries where able to mix, share and create collectively and it is hoped that such partnership will continue to be developed.

Music therapy in Bosnia-Herzegovina is at an exciting crossroads in its development. In a country that has been so often stained with darkness, music therapy has added a spectrum of colour that shines with new possibilities for the future.

Reference

Lang, Louise & McInerney, Uná (2002). A Music Therapy Service in a Post-war Environment. In Sutton, Julie (Ed.) Music, Music Therapy and Trauma. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

How to cite this page

Watts, Ellie Music Therapy in Bosnia-Herzegovina: An Introduction. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 08, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2004-music-therapy-bosnia-herzegovina-introduction