Recollections of the 6th Music Therapy World Congress from the Chair of the Scientific Committee
By Lia Rejane Mendes Barcellos
As 1990 began, the new President of Brazil assumed his position confiscating the money of every Brazilian who had saved his/her money. It was in this difficult political, economic and emotional context, without any money, that the VI World Congress held in Rio de Janeiro was organized, under the leadership of Professor Cecilia Conde, the president of the meeting.
In the music therapy context, the clinical practice was increasing. But it was clear, for me, that it was time to facilitate the development of the use of theories from many different fields of knowledge or diverse psychotherapy theories in order to have a better comprehension on which to base our clinical practice.
Thus, the Scientific Committee, formed by music therapists of Rio de Janeiro, decided to organize the official program with conferences every morning on different theories.
Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, Integrativ Music Therapy and Music Therapy and Culture
Prof. Maestro Vieira Brandão (Brazilian Conservatory of Music President)
Profa. Marina Helena Lorenzo Fernandez (General Director of Brazilian Conservatory of Music)
Prof. Ivo Barbieri (Head of the University of Rio de Janeiro)
MT. Lia Rejane Mendes Barcellos (President of the Scientific Committee)
MT. Grabrielle Souza e Silva (Music therapist of Associação Brasileira Beneficente de Reabilitação - ABBR)
Prof. Cecilia Conde (Cultural Director of Brazilian Conservatorio of Music)
Prof. Dr. Rolando Benenzon - Argentina
MT. Marco Antonio Carvalho Santos (President of the Music Therapy Program at Brazilian Conservatory of Music)
The opening conference was lectured by the Brazilian Medical Doctor Carlos Byington, a Jungian psychotherapist, who had a very close relationship with the Music Therapy Program, offered since 1972 by the Brazilian Conservatory of Music, today a University Center. The second lecture was about Music Therapy and Culture and our invited guest was the Norwegian Music Therapist Dr. Even Ruud. Gestalt was the third area chosen by the Committee and the lecturer was the German Music Therapist Dr. Isabelle Frohne-Hageman. The French Music Therapist and psychoanalyst Edith Lecourt was the responsible for the conference about Music Therapy with Psychoanalytical foundation and the last conference was lectured by the Argentinean psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Rolando Benenzon, who had a very important role in the beginning of music therapy in Latin America. He spoke about his clinical practice with autistic children, based on psychoanalysis.
It is also important to mention that after every lecture, a round table was organized with four professionals from many different areas, such as music, special education or health, including music therapists, around the same subject of the lecture.
Without any money, we had 17 invited guests from South America, the United States and Europe and many of them are, today, the best theoreticians and clinical music therapists around the world.
Simultaneous Translation of All Lectures
Two other facts have to be mentioned: the first one is that all lectures had simultaneous translation and the second, but not less important, is that as we considered that it would be very significant to us to listen to foreign music therapists – and as we didn’t have any money to pay to professionals translators – we had the idea of inviting bilingual music therapists in order to translate every paper presented at the Congress.
24 countries were here represented and about 600 music therapists accepted our invitation to come to Brazil, in a time in what there were few music therapy programs and we were many fewer music therapists.
I am sure the VI Music Therapy World Congress gave a very special contribution not only to Latin American Music Therapy but also to all music therapists who came to Rio de Janeiro, and I am also convinced that the exchange among music therapy professionals enriched our practices and contributed to a better comprehension of our field.
