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

In a few months Dr. Clive Robbins will be visiting the city of Montevideo (Uruguay) as a special guest to the II Latin American Music therapy Congress and IV Latin-American Committee Meeting. This fact, which for most of our colleagues around the world is "one more stop" in the endless itinerary that Dr. Robbins is having since a long time ago, for us who live "southern south", is a fact which I consider historical for various reasons.

When Kenneth Bruscia came to Buenos Aires in 2001 to lecture and teach Seminars, he asked how many music therapists trained in the Nordoff Robbins approach were there in Argentina and Uruguay. I remember the expression of his face when he heard the answer: none.

No doubt, this can call some of our colleagues' attention. But, even when the development of communications goes in a "prestíssimo" tempo, sometimes knowledge emerges as an "adagio". In fact, it is quite recently that systematized contents about this approach became part of Argentinean university training programs. Believe me; I do not exaggerate if I affirm that music therapists from Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil that have formally studied or are studying in the Nordoff Robbins approach can be counted with the fingers of a hand.

Which can the reasons for this phenomenon be? There are many reasons, and they have been intercrossing to reach this outcome. On one side, we can say that there was a decision of not offering these contents (and also others) during the first decades of music therapists' training in both sides of the Río de la Plata (Argentina and Uruguay). I do not know the reasons for this unfortunate situation, but it is an undeniable fact. On the other hand, the absolute predominance in Buenos Aires of the psychoanalytical thinking is an important fact. This is a data which contributes to this situation. In this city, words like "unconscious", "repression", "resistance", or "denial", are part of the people's vocabulary. They are used by health professionals but also by clerks or businessmen. And with the same naturalness people consider unquestionable that psychoanalysis is the deepest and most effective approach to be used in mental health, and any other approach or orientation is shallower, partial or less effective, or considered not very serious, or even linked to banal. It is, no doubt, a great "marketing success" for some of the representatives of this thinking orientation. There are other reasons that took part and kept unknown, in this latitudes, such an important and well known in the rest of the world approach,: cultural issues related to idiosyncrasy..political issues..personal issues of whom may have opened those doors..

In a research work I made in 1999 regarding the knowledge level my colleagues had about the "Theoretical Models", the 80.76 % answered that their knowledge about the Nordoff Robbins approach was bad or null, and the 86.45% declared incapable of using it. These are more than eloquent data. What allowed this situation to start changing, besides isolated intents of a few music therapists, was the IX Music therapy World Congress, which was held in Washington in 1999. The fact of "putting on the table" the theoretical models, added to the "prestíssimo" tempo of communications and the valuable contribution that Forums like VOICES make, opened the doors of University training programs for theories and authors, so well renowned in other countries as almost not known in mine, to be read, studied and discussed.

I would dare to say that today, more than ever, the road that knowledge goes through is a decision. Distance is no longer an argument, given the speed of the actual communication media. The economical variable is, yes, an important reason, which attempts towards this, generating sometimes huge abyss. But still considering this, I think that what is sought to know and teach constitutes a decision.

Aware of this situation, which is more or less common to all South American countries, The Uruguayan Association of Music Therapy (ASUM) decided that the special guest to the Latin-American Congress which will be held in July, had to be Dr. Clive Robbins.

In a way, this can be considered as a kind of "Historical Reparation" for the music therapy world. From other perspective, and considering that every road can be travelled in both directions, it will be a party in which we will celebrate the opening of a new door towards knowledge and exchange.

How to cite this page

Schapira, Diego (2004). Communication and Knowledge: Speed is Not Enough. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 09, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=fortnightly-columns/2004-communication-and-knowledge-speed-not-enough