World Congress of Music Therapy, July 1983, Paris: An Interview with Edith Lecourt
EDITORIAL NOTE: All participants are not included in the pictures but we are glad to have more people identified. Contact the editor of the series Barbara Wheeler if you have any additional information. Any identification errors in the pictures are unintentional. Please contact editor Barbara Wheeler if you have any corrections.
Barbara Wheeler: I know that there were two world congresses held in Paris in 1983 and gather that is because there were two associations in France at that time. What happened that led to the two associations?
Edith Lecourt: The first association, which was created by Jacques Jost, Guilhot, Gabai, Estellet-Brun, and me from 1969 to 1972 (ARATP Association de recherche et d'application des techniques psychomusicales) split in 1980.
In 1980, I resigned (and a part of the members with me). The reason was ethical problems in the practices. I was asked by my colleagues to create a second association (personally I was too upset and didn't want to go on!). We created the AFM (Association Française de MusicothĂ©rapie). And J. Jost renamed the ARATP to be CIM (Centre International de MusicothĂ©rapie). It is at that time that I introduced the training at the University (for a more scientific and controlled situation). In the same time our new association created a journal "La Revue de MusicothĂ©rapie" (which is now beginning a new life on the web).
Barbara Wheeler: How did this lead to the two world congresses that were held in Paris in 1983?
Edith Lecourt: In 1983, the AFM decided to propose a world congress in July 1983 and, as the answers from different countries were positive, we organized it. The congress of March (ARATP) was a reaction to this initiative.
The miracle of this "French battle" was that there was material for two world congresses in some weeks and that many music therapists were ready to come to both congresses. I couldn't imagine that (I was so upset, once more!). Finally the two world congresses demonstrated the vitality of music therapy at that time!
Because of the confusion with the two congresses, I had a "procession" at home: people thought I had changed the dates of July to March and were very surprised that I was not even in the program!
Barbara Wheeler: Please tell about the July congress that you and the Association Française de Musicothérapie organized.
Edith Lecourt: The program is in French, but we had very good translations (English and Spanish) from a Swiss Agency who specialized in such translations: half of our budget was for translations! Program of the 4th World Congress of Music Therapy, July 1983, Paris (pdf, 6.04MB)
We began each day with a musician playing music, then we had a theoretical program. In the afternoon we had the communications, mainly on applications. Then we had a program of visiting hospitals and centers with music therapy, also the Tomatis Center (which is not music therapy).
Two photos from a plenary session
A participant from Liban - a religious sister
Dr. P.Pennec, President of the French Association of Musictherapy (facing the front), Dr Rolando Benenzon (right), Edith Lecourt (left)
Auriel Warwick, T. Natanson, Edith Lecourt
We had 850 participants! What is remarkable is that some who were present in the congress of March came also for this second congress (realizing the confusion in March!). This can be seen in the programs for those who communicated (presented) twice! This is a testimony how passionate the music therapists could be!
A special aspect of the organization: We did the work by ourselves, without the assistance of an agency. I negotiated a very good contract with the hotel (I didnÂ’t know that it was at that time going to be changed from Sheraton (its first name) to a Swiss company with its new name (Montparnasse Park Hotel). So they were in a special situation for this negotiation (the Swiss company was then very upset with this contract!) The contract was not about rooms or people, but (a very French one) about meals! I had to buy each day 200 meals at the restaurant (a good one) and then they gave me the rooms I needed and the personnel to help the practical things! But during the congress we had very anxious times about the financial situation of the congress (many of the participants couldn't pay the full price), and so one or two associations of music therapy gave us some money to help the congress (I don't remember precisely, but perhaps some archives are still somewhere with these details).
Montparnasse Park Hotel, 1983
