International Association for Music & Medicine

IAMM With You: In Conversation With the Nordic Network on Research in Music and Public Health
2021-11-05 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
In this conversation with Lars Ole Bonde (Denmark), Karette Stensæth/Gro Trondalen (Norway), Eva Bojner Horwitz (Sweden) and Suvi Saarikallio (Finland), we will learn about the Nordic Network on Research in Music and Public Health. The network formed in 2016 with the purpose of gathering researchers from the fields of music therapy, music psychology and public health to stimulate collaboration and new studies on how music can promote and maintain health. The conversation will touch on past, current, and future studies led by members of this network, such as: Health of music professionals, Choral singing as health promotion, Musical participation in a public health perspective, Health musicking for a number of target groups

About our Guests
Suvi Saarikallio, PhD, Docent of Music Psychology, works as associate professor of music education at the Center for Interdisciplinary Music Research, Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. She is an expert in music psychological research on emotion regulation, youth psychosocial development, and emotional wellbeing. After completing a PhD in Music Education in 2007, Saarikallio has rapidly established an internationally acknowledged research career combining approaches from music psychology, music therapy, and music education, using methods from qualitative theory development to motion capture, neural measures, and psychometrics, and actively publishing her work in the top journals of the field.
Karette Stensæth, PhD, is professor in music therapy at the Norwegian Academy of Music, where she also works as the director of the Centre for Research in Music and Health (CREMAH). Her research interest is broad and involves social and phil- osophical perspectives on music and health. Stensæth has edited several books in the CREMAH Series. Her fresh monograph is on responsiveness in music therapy improvisation inspired by Mikhail Bakhtin’s ideas. Stensæth has much clinical experience as a music therapist working with children and youth with special needs. She sings, plays, and composes music in her spare time.
Gro Trondalen, PhD, FAMI is a professor in music therapy and a senior researcher of the Centre for Research in Music and Health (CREMAH) at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway. She is an experienced music therapy clinician, researcher, and supervisor, and maintains a private practice in The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM).
Eva Bojner Horwitz, PhD, professor of music and health, cultural health researcher, and specialized in psychosomatic medicine and creative arts, working at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. She is a co-founder at the Center for Social Sustainability, CSS, Karolinska Institutet (KI) Sweden,researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience KI and Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University. She is anchored in interdisciplinary research, has doctoral students, authored scientific articles, books, and book chapters. Her research expertise covers interventions with music/dance/theater, focusing on alexithymia, creative achievement, embodiment, emotional regulation, multimodality, knowledge concerts, nature-related activities, fairy tales and public health.
Lars Ole Bonde, PhD, FAMI, is a former professor in music therapy at AalborgUniversity (DK) and professor emeritus at Center for Research in Music and Health (CREMAH) at the Norwegian Academy of Music (N). He is a certified music therapist and clinical supervisor. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked as music and concert producer. He served as associate editor of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy until 2017. His current research projects include music and public health, music therapy for people suffering from schizophrenia, and monographs on the Danish composers Bent Lorentzen and John Høybye. He has published numerous books, book chapters, and articles on the theory and practice of music therapy, music psychology, music edu- cation, music theatre – and music and health.

This event will be hosted by Suzanne B. Hanser, EdD, MT-BC, IAMM’s President.

Please note that IAMM members do not need to register and will automatically receive a Zoom link for this event. For questions email sgracida@iammonline.com.
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IAMM With You: In Conversation With Andrés Ojeda and Miguel Basabe
2021-11-08 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
This presentation will focus on a study which identifies through a brain-computer interface, the correlation between the records of encephalographic signals of intergenerational music therapy activities, with the regulation of emotions. Emotion regulation is conceptualized as momentary affective states which arise from experiences that modify various areas of the brain, and the physical and psychological functioning of people.
A convenience sample of 14 adults, youth and children in an age range between 7 and 74 years participated in the study, forming an intergenerational group. The participants were evaluated simultaneously during 16 sessions.
The data were processed quantitatively through non-parametric statistics with Wilcoxon signed rank test, then qualitatively interpreted with a categorical analysis matrix for the triangulation of information, thus identifying the emotional regulation strategies resulting from intergenerational music therapy methods.
The results show that intergenerational music therapy methods and techniques significantly facilitate the regulation of emotions for individuals and groups in terms of attention and concentration; however, the study sample should be expanded for greater validity and reliability in the results.

About Our Guests
Andrés Felipe Ojeda Sánchez, MM, MT, Music Conductor and Master in Music Therapy from the National University of Colombia. His work has been focused on music and neuroscience, specifically in rehabilitation processes and neurodegenerative diseases to contribute to the individual and collective well-being.
Currently, he works as a professor and researcher at the Conservatory of Music and in the Master’s Degree in Music Therapy of the National University of Colombia. His research results of Clinical Music Therapy have been shared in several conferences and events. Likewise, he works as a music therapist serving individual, group and clinical population, including people affected by Covid-19 pandemic’s confinement.
Miguel Ángel Basabe, MM, MT, National University of Colombia. Psychologist, Master in Music Therapy and teacher at the National University of Colombia, he has worked for several years as a coordinator and consultant of public health in different government projects. He has worked in the field of mental health in institutions such as the Red Cross and the ICBF, among others.
He recently completed studies in data engineering and artificial intelligence as a fellow of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies of Colombia. In his role as a professor in public and private universities in the country, he has participated as a lecturer in various national and international conferences.

Please note that IAMM members do not need to register and will automatically receive a Zoom link for this event. For questions email sgracida@iammonline.com.
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IAMM With You: In Conversation with Mary Rorro and Sydelle Ross
2021-11-16 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
Dr. Mary Rorro, will discuss her therapeutic music program for veterans, “A Few Good Notes,” She helped create the Guitar Instruction Group in her VA, which provides free guitars and lessons for veterans and she performs with patient musicians on viola.
Dr. Rorro will share a video of the guitar group and present a slide presentation about the benefits of “A Few Good Notes,” by providing veteran and employee feedback, as well as share poetry based on themes of post-traumatic stress disorder and war to help patients in their journey toward healing.
As the Chair of the Music and Medicine and Humanities Committee of the American Medical Women’s Association, Dr. Rorro will discuss several of the music and medicine initiatives, and share two music videos “Physicians Healers and Healthcare Heroes,” to honor healthcare heroes around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, and “Meet The Moment” to deliver a musical public health message about COVID-19 prevention measures, mask wearing and vaccination, featuring diverse international pre-med students and physicians.
Dr. Ross will begin by giving a brief introduction to hospice and palliative medicine, highlighting its role in the care of very sick patients.
Based on anecdotal experiences with music in her practice, Dr. Ross will discuss the psychological, emotional and spiritual impact of bedside signing on patients living with life-limiting illnesses and patients at end of life, as well as the impact of this intervention on their loved ones.
As she relates these experiences, Dr. Ross will share some of the songs that she sang as musical offerings to the Veterans and their loved ones. She will also briefly discuss some of the findings in the medical literature that lend support to the outcome of these experiences.

About our Guests
Dr. Mary Rorro, is a board-certified psychiatrist who graduated cum laude with honors in music from Bryn Mawr College and received their first Performing Arts Prize. She was Chief Resident and Resident of the Year (from Pfizer) during her psychiatry residency at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rorro completed an Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She cares for veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey VA Healthcare System and created her “A Few Good Notes” therapeutic music program for veterans. She is also a musician, songwriter, and poet. Dr. Rorro is the recipient of a Jefferson Award, which is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious recognition program for volunteer public service, and the official recognition program of the United States Senate.
Dr. Sydelle Ross is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist who currently practices hospice and palliative medicine. She holds board certifications in all three disciplines. Dr. Ross received her doctor of medicine degree from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She completed her residency training in anesthesiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital- Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Ross completed her fellowship training in pain medicine at the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania and she currently practices in the New Jersey Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
Dr. Ross is a classically trained vocalist who uses the gift of music to care for her patients who are living with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses. She is the host of a podcast entitled Prescriptions In Song, whose goal is to promote awareness of the healing potential of music. Dr. Ross is a recipient of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Humanism in Medicine Award, which recognizes physicians who are exemplars of compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors and leaders in medicine.

This event will be hosted by Dr. Mohan Sundararaj MBBS, MPH, IAMM’s Chair of Development and Finance.

Please note that IAMM members do not need to register and will automatically receive a Zoom link for this event. For questions email sgracida@iammonline.com.
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IAMM With You: In Conversation With Jane Edwards
2021-12-01 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
In this conversation we will talk with Jane Edwards, IAMM’s Founding President, about her time as President of IAMM, as well as her current professional interests. We will also talk about music and medicine in Australia and human experiences of the arts, in particular how people use music to navigate self-regulation functions. We will also talk with Dr. Edwards about her research into family and childhood topics, the rights of the child, and therapeutic practices and techniques with indigenous communities.

About our Guest
Jane Edwards, PhD, is an experienced academic leader in research development and academic mentoring. Her research interests intersect creative arts, methodology, health, child and family, and mental wellbeing. She is sole editor for the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy published in 2016 and is Editor-in-Chief for The Arts in Psychotherapy published by Elsevier. Jane has given more than 20 keynote lectures in seven countries. She is the President of the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare. Prior to commencing at UNE she has worked as a researcher or senior academic leader in seven universities across four countries; Australia, Germany, Ireland and the UK.

This event will be hosted by Patravoot Vatanasapt, MD, MS, Past President of IAMM.

Please note that IAMM members do not need to register and will automatically receive a Zoom link for this event. For questions email sgracida@iammonline.com.
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IAMM With you: In Conversation with Rieko Eguchi
2021-12-15 20:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
In this event, NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) music therapy for palliative and terminal care will be discussed based on experiences, reflections, and considerations from early clinical practice at Saitama Children’s Medical Center, Japan. The NICU/GCU (growing care unit) music therapy program started at the hospital in 2018. The program provides support for premature babies and their families, and the music therapist has involved in palliative and terminal care in several families since the program started. There are few articles and resources on music therapy for palliative and terminal care in NICU settings, despite its important work for babies, their families as well as medical professionals. It is essential to work in a collaboration with medical professionals.
Dr. Masaki Shimizu, the director of the department of neonatology, (and Mami Kotani (RN) from Saitama Children’s Medical Center, will join this discussion.

About Our Guest
Rieko Eguchi, MA, MT-BC, CCLS, (Grandparent of Rhythm, Breath and Lullaby) currently works as a music therapist in the unit of neonatology at Saitama Children’s Medical Center in Japan. She holds a M.A. in Music Therapy at Montclair State University, the U.S. She was an intern and research scholar and assisted with various research studies at The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine in New York, September 2015 – February 2018. She also had a child life clinical internship at the center. Her clinical experiences are various including NICU, pediatrics, outpatient radiation oncology, and palliative care. She has a several publications related in NICU music therapy in Japanese medical journals. She is a member of Japanese Association for Promotion of Medical Music Therapy.

This event will be hosted by Mark Ettenberger, PhD, MT, member of Music and Medicine’s Editorial Board.

Please note that IAMM members do not need to register and will automatically receive a Zoom link for this event. For questions email sgracida@iammonline.com.
Join IAMM here.

Global Café - Israel
2022-01-18 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Online
IAMM Global Café (IGC) is a virtual networking event for IAMM members across the world. These Cafés are hosted by members of IAMM’s Committee on Global Reporting.
The next IGC focuses on the intersection of music and medicine/health in Israel. Dana Yacobson will host a panel of practitioners actively engaged in music and medicine/health in pediatric settings in Israel. Participants will have the opportunity to converse with the co-hosts, as well as each other.
All IAMM members will receive a recording of this event. This event is scheduled to last for one hour.
All IAMM members are welcome to attend these Global Cafés. Please join with a cup of coffee, tea, or your choice of libation, and enjoy the conversation!
IAMM Global Café – Israel Spotlight is hosted by Dana Yacobson, Member, of IAMM’s Global Reporting Committee

Assistive Music Technology: Creating Opportunity for Visually Impaired Musicians
2022-02-18 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | https://iammonline.com/event/chikim/
Please join us for this free event with Prof. Chi Gook Kim! Please register using the form below.

About this event
The objectives of the Assistive Music Technology Lab at Berklee College of Music are to fully integrate blind students into the Berklee experience and empower blind and visually impaired students to create and perform music at the highest levels, translating into a successful career in music. Within this setting, Professor Kim teaches audio recording production, music scoring, and Braille music, addressing skills that are necessary in any music-related career. This presentation will feature the innovative work Berklee is doing to expand the boundaries of music education for visually impaired students, and demonstrate different assistive music technology available today for visually impaired musicians.

About our Guest
Chi Gook Kim, alumnus and Associate professor of Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music, founded the assistive music technology (AMT) program to ensure that students with visual impairments have the same opportunities as their sighted peers on campus and in the music industry when they graduate.
Professor Kim and the AMT program have been featured in major press such as the Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Mix Magazine. His work and life story was shared by Talks at Google and the focus of two documentary films on KBS, a major South Korean television network.
Professor Kim also works to improve accessibility across the Berklee campus in all aspects, consulting and collaborating with many faculty, staff and students around themes of disability, assistive technology, accessibility, and universal design. As an internationally recognized expert in assistive music technology, Professor Kim also consults with other universities and organizations to spread awareness and improve accessibility for all.
His latest project was to improve the accessibility of Sibelius, a major notation software, for visually impaired users. He also developed VOCR, which lets screen reader users navigate inaccessible apps on Mac through machine learning for optical character recognition. Additionally he created Flo Tools, featured at the 2017 and 2018 NAMM Show, is open-source project that dramatically enhances workflow for screen reader users to use Pro Tools, the industry standard for audio production software.
Professor Kim also works as the Chief Technology Officer and Producer at Serotonics Music, and scores for media, including tv documentaries and films featured at international film festivals.
Professor Kim received a BM in song-writing and Contemporary Writing&Production from Berklee, and a MM in music technology from New York University. Professor Kim is in his 12th year as a faculty member at Berklee.

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Music Therapy & Chronic Pain Online Seminar
2022-04-06 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
A public live streamed event with experts from across the globe discussing and demonstrating the use of music therapy for chronic pain.

About this event

This public live streamed event will bring together international experts on chronic pain and music therapy to explore and present latest research and practice on how music and music therapy can support people living with chronic pain. Speakers include people living with chronic pain, a consultant anaesthetist specialising in pain management, and senior music therapists from across the globe. This event is presented by the International Association of Music Medicine special interest group on Music Therapy and Chronic Pain. The event is supported by the University Hospital Limerick and the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.

IAMM Book Club 2022 - Breaking Strings
2022-11-09 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
Join us for this talk on Breaking Strings: Explorations of Mistakes in Music Therapy on November 11th.
In this innovative volume of Breaking Strings, Avi Gilboa from and Laurien Hakvoort use broken strings on an instrument as a metaphor to refer to those frustrating and sometimes upsetting moments when things go wrong in music therapy.
Although there are myriad ways in which music therapists can make mistakes and deal with the consequences, there is limited coverage of this subject in the professional literature. This book explores theoretical ideas and research on mistakes in music therapy. It also presents a series of authentic case studies in which 17 music therapists – ranging from novice to experienced practitioners, from 13 different countries – describe and reflect on mistakes in their own practice.
This book provides a starting point for both students and the wider music therapy community to discuss, analyze, and ultimately understand and learn from mistakes as part of their professional development.

Avi Gilboa (Israel), PhD, received his BA in Psychology and Music at Bar-Ilan University, Israel and subsequently his diploma in Music Therapy and his PhD in Cognitive Psychology. He has been a music therapist since 2001 in various settings and with different clinical populations. He is associate professor and head of the Music Therapy program at Bar-Ilan university. He supervises many music therapy PhD students and is supervisor of music therapy students and graduates.

Laurien Hakvoort (Netherlands), PhD, RMTh, NMT-Fellow, holds a BA and MA in Music Therapy from Amersfoort and University of the Pacific, California, USA, respectively. She obtained her PhD in Behavioral Sciences from Tilburg University. She has been a music therapist since 1994 and has worked as a music therapist in forensic psychiatry for 17 years and currently runs a private practice, Muzis.net. She is a music therapy lecturer on the bachelor’s and (pre-)master’s programs at ArtEZ University of the Arts, Enschede, the Netherlands and a freelance researcher.

Melissa Mercadal-Brotons, PhD, MT-BC, MTAE. Music therapist specialised in the area of gerontology and dementias. Member of the Research Group PSICOPERSONA (FPCCE-Blanquerna, URL). Director of the Master Programme in Music Therapy (idEC-UPF, Barcelona). Coordinator of Research and Master Programmes (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya-ESMUC). EMTC Spanish Delegate. Chair of the Publications Commission (WFMT).

This event is free and open to the public. Please register for the event below.

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Swedish Perspectives on Music/Health Research - Live from Harvard Medical School
2023-02-23 16:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Join us for this hybrid event live from Harvard Medical School, where we will explore unexpected findings from Swedish researchers in the music and health field. We will delve into the question of which results are true and discuss the importance of applied research in this field.
It has been observed that in some countries, policy-makers are not paying enough attention to research results, partly due to the sheer volume of research being produced. Unfortunately, this often leads to policy-makers selecting results that align with their own biases, which prevents meaningful dialogue between them and researchers. Research in the music and health field is particularly important as it has the potential to stimulate the development of brain functions, so we must advocate for inclusion of music for the health of our communities.
We will also explore the importance of unexpected findings, as they may point to important mechanisms, and discuss the need to be particularly energetic in discussing findings that go against our own hypotheses. We will discuss both the advantages and drawbacks of our findings and emphasize the need to focus on long-term perspectives. Additionally, our findings will be discussed in relation to society’s use of music and health knowledge.
Registration required for both in person and virtual participants. Please RSVP here by February 17th.

The address if you will join us in person is:
Countway Library, First-floor classrooms
10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA

Töres Theorell is a physician. His research has been in stress medicine and psychosomatics. He was director of the National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health 1995-2006 and at the same time Professor of Psychosocial Medicine at the Karolinska Institute. The research methodology has ranged from epidemiological studies to longitudinal psychophysiological observational and experimental studies, as well as controlled interventions. Theorell has supervised over 40 doctoral theses. Theorell is now research consultant at the Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health and at the Royal College of Music.

Eva Bojner Horwitz, professor of Music and Health at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute (KI). She is specialized in psychosomatic medicine and the creative arts; co-founder of the Center for Social Sustainability (CSS), KI and anchored in interdisciplinary research, combining quantitative (stress hormone analyses, heart rate variability, video analyses) with qualitative research.

PhD student Kaja Korošec is a psychologist and a violinist interested in the well-being of musicians and the ways in which music can support the well-being of societies. She is pursuing her PhD in music and health at the Karolinska institute and the Royal College of music in Stockholm. Her research is focused on the roles and meanings of music for autistic adults.

The researchers will give examples from music/health research showing unexpected results – such findings may point at important mechanisms.
Professor Theorell´s four examples:

Swedish twin research shows strong genetic component in association between life-long music practicing and emotional competence, but brain pictures still show effects of music training on emotion-related brain structures
Effect of two-month intervention with scheduled every-day music listening on stress hormones in home care Alzheimer patient-caregiver dyads was studied. Results showed compared to controls reduced physiological stress during music intervention period in caregivers but not in patients.
Six-year oldsters were fascinated by listening to Beethoven´s Appassionata – contrary to expectations.
Self-selected arousal music was shown to increase both heart rate and breathing with reduced pCO2 whereas self-selected calming music has less significant but still tachycardic effect although there was no effect on breathing and pCO2 at all. What is the phylogenetic meaning of this?

Professor Bojner Horwitz will focus on music and health in relation to social sustainability, inner transformation and creativity seen from students´ perspectives. “Sing health in schools”; “music and learning environments”; “knowledge concerts” and new evaluation methods will be in her focus.
PhD student Korošec will present the current state of research in the intersection between music and autism. She will discuss the importance of including subjective perspectives and how the lack of those in the past research has affected how we use and understand music in regard to autism.
Unexpected findings should sometimes be applauded – they may point at important mechanisms. We should also be particularly energetic in discussing findings that go against our own hypotheses. In communication with politicians and journalists both advantages and drawbacks should be discussed, and long-term perspectives emphasized more actively.
Our findings will be discussed in relation to society’s use of music/health knowledge.

This event will be moderated by Dr. Jennifer Zuk.

Jennifer Zuk, PhD CCC-SLP, is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Communication and Neurodevelopment Lab at Boston University. She is a clinical researcher working at the intersection of music cognition, developmental cognitive neuroscience, speech-language pathology, and education. Her research examines relationships between music, language, and the brain in early childhood with an interest in the potential for music to facilitate language development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

A Physician's Journey Through Music and Medicine
2023-05-16 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Dr. Joseph (Joe) Schlesinger’s biography tells the story of an anesthesiologist and intensivist who began playing the piano at just five years old. He paid his way through college by performing at jazz clubs in New Orleans and on Carnival Cruise Lines’ “fun ships”. During his residency, Dr. Schlesinger was a Benjamin Howard Robbins Research Scholar, and made sure that his research incorporated his musical training from his undergraduate degree.
Through this, Dr. Schlesinger found extra-departmental and extra-institutional mentorship and formed his music and medicine research group.
His experience in music medicine led to partnerships which culminated in the therapeutic music program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he started the first live music and virtual-live music (during COVID) program in the ICU.
Expanding on qualitative benefits, he delved into quantifiable benefits utilizing EEG and those data to form the basis for his lab – the Schlesinger Lab – where he investigates multisensory integration and EEG correlates of music genre to understand the dose-response effects of music such that music can be part of the “prescription” in clinical medicine.
Through his vast mentorship, Dr. Schlesinger was awarded a faculty position at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, the first anesthesiology faculty member in Vanderbilt’s history to receive such a designation.
The conversation with Dr. Schlesinger will explore how music research can impact a research career as one thinks of music at a deeper level, from the soundscape, and acoustic features of sound, and how we interpolate that in our lives, passively and actively, to improve patient care and patient outcomes.

Learn more about Dr. Schlesinger’s work here. Register for the event below:

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Global Cafe Southeast Asia Spotlight - Music Therapy in Medical Setting
2023-06-13 08:00 - 09:30 (America/New_York) | Online
The music therapists and medical professionals from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia will share their pioneering work and collaboration in the hospitals in Southeast Asia. Attendees will have the opportunity to converse with the panelists as well as each other.
The Global Café is open to IAMM members and public with the registration. Please join us with a cup of coffee, tea, or your choice of libation, and enjoy the conversation!

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Sandra Cheah, MoPC, MT-BC and Dr. Lee Ai Chong will offer their perspectives on starting the first music therapy program in a government university hospital in Malaysia. Toungporn Puwajaroonkul (Ajay), RMT and Dr. Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, PhD will share their music therapy program that serves patients in the dementia day center, acute stroke units, palliative care, and acute psychiatry in the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH) in Bangkok, Thailand. Jessica Hariwijaya, S.Sn., MT-BC and Nindi Nastiti, STr.Kes will introduce Indonesia’s first medical music therapy program at Siloam International Hospital, one of the country’s largest hospital chains.
IAMM Global Café – Southeast Asia Spotlight is hosted and curated by Ming Yuan Low, Ph.D., MT-BC, Nordoff-Robbins music therapist and assistant professor of music therapy at Berklee College Music, and Jingwen Zhang, Ph.D., MT-BC, Chair of the IAMM Global Reporting Committee, Music Therapist at Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

Malaysia

Sandra Cheah, MoPC, MT-BC
Sandra Cheah, MoPC, MT-BC, is a professional counselor and board-certified music therapist based in Malaysia. Her previous experience includes specialized work in the Neonatal and Pediatric ICU of UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles. Currently, she provides rehabilitation services through music across all ages in Malaysia including volunteering in government hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, offering perinatal and pediatric bereavement services. With a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy from Berklee College of Music and a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling, Sandra combines her knowledge and skills to create impactful music psychotherapy sessions and shares her expertise as a speaker, delivering inspiring mental wellness talks globally to corporations and universities.

Lee Ai Chong, MD
Lee Ai is a pediatrician and she currently heads the Paediatric Pain and Palliative Care Unit at University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Unit was recognised by the hospital in 2018. She has received undergraduate training in Australia and has continued with training in Paediatrics, Paediatric Oncology, Bioethics and Palliative Care. She is a co-founder of MyStarfish, a non-profit set up to supplement the palliative care services for children at the hospital.

Thailand

Toungporn Puwajaroonkul (Ajay), RMT
Ajay is a devoted music therapist who currently serves as a full-time member of the music therapy service at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. With a compassionate approach, Ajay offers her expertise in various medical settings, including dementia day centers, acute stroke units, palliative care, acute psychiatry units, and other inpatient facilities. Her primary focus is to utilize music’s power to improve patients’ quality of life.
Ajay earned her Master of Music Therapy degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and she is a registered member of the Australian Music Therapy Association as a Registered Music Therapist (RMT). Her specialization lies in working with adults and older adults in Dementia and Palliative Care.

Dr. Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, PhD
Dr. Chavit Tunvirachaisakul is a geriatric psychiatrist who completed his training at Chulalongkorn University and obtained a PhD from King’s College London. He played a key role in developing and running a dementia day service at King Chulalongkorn MEmorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, where he also trained aspiring psychiatrists.
Dr. Tunvirachaisakul’s research focuses on dementia and cognitive disorders, employing innovative techniques such as brain imaging and biological markers. He is particularly interested in using activity monitoring devices and virtual reality to gather data and enhance cognitive abilities in patients. Additionally, he is exploring the potential of music therapy in older adults with mental illness. Through his work, Dr. Tunvirachaisakul aims to improve the lives of elderly patients and advance the field of Old Age Psychiatry.

Indonesia

Jessica Hariwijaya, S.Sn., MT-BC
Jessica Hariwijaya is a dedicated board-certified music therapist who has played a pioneering role in establishing Indonesia’s first medical music therapy program at Siloam International Hospital, one of the country’s largest hospital chains. With her extensive experience and expertise, Jessica has focused her therapeutic efforts on patients in various medical specialties, including oncology, cardiology, and pediatrics, with a particular emphasis on neurologic and neurodegenerative diseases. Her educational endeavor also extends to her affiliation as a member of The Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy.
Recognizing the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration, Jessica advocates for the integration of music therapy into comprehensive care teams. Her dedication to promoting the field of music therapy extends beyond her direct patient care, as she conducts and participates in nationwide seminars and workshops regularly. To further her professional growth and contribution to the field, Jessica is currently pursuing graduate studies in Music Therapy at Temple University.

Nindi Nastiti, STr.Kes
Nindi Nastiti is an accomplished Occupational Therapist with expertise in the fields of physical and pediatric therapy. She obtained her formal education at Surakarta Health Polytechnic, graduating in 2018. During her studies, she had published her research project focusing on the meaning of wellbeing in patients with cancer diagnosis. This research allowed her to delve deeper into the psychological and emotional aspects of care for individuals battling cancer.
During her tenure at Siloam International Hospital, Nindi provided compassionate care and effective treatment approaches to patients coming into the Medical Rehabilitation department. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in cases requiring specialized treatment for children, she has redirected her focus toward the pediatric area of occupational therapy.

Co-Hosts:

Ming Yuan Low, Ph.D., MT-BC, is a Nordoff-Robbins music therapist and assistant professor of music therapy at Berklee College Music. His clinical work and research center on community-informed music therapy practices and supports for folks who locate in marginalized identities. His scholarship focuses on critical explorations in music therapy theory and practice, as well as participatory action research with autistic and BIPOC communities. Low received his B.S. and M.A. in music therapy from Texas Woman’s University, and his Ph.D. in creative arts therapies from Drexel University. He has worked as a research fellow at Drexel University in two different research labs, one examining chronic pain in patients with advanced cancer and opioid use in cancer survivors with chronic pain, and the other exploring care-coordination factors affecting health care transition from pediatric services to adult services for minimally verbal autistic youth. Low has presented his research and clinical work at national and international conferences, and has authored and coauthored peer-reviewed journal articles. He has also served in various elected and appointed positions in the American Music Therapy Association, World Federation for Music Therapy, and Malaysian Music Therapy Association. He is on the editorial board of Music Therapy Perspectives and is an article editor for Voices.

Jingwen Zhang, PhD, MT-BC is a music therapist at Music Therapist at Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine, Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City.

IAMM with You: Launch of the Music and Medicine Special Issue on Music Therapy and Chronic Pain
2023-06-22 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Online
This roundtable will launch the special issue of Music and Medicine on Music Therapy and Chronic Pain. Authors included in the issue will be asked about the findings from their papers, as well as their work in the area of music therapy and chronic pain. Guest editors Professor Hilary Moss and Katie Fitzpatrick will introduce the event and chair the discussion. Register here:

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Alexandra Ullsten, PhD, Post Doc, holds a research and clinical music and art therapist position at the Central Hospital in Karlstad, specializing in music therapy as procedural support in neonatal and paediatric care.

Amy Clements-Cortés, is Assistant Professor, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto; a credentialed Music Therapist, Registered Psychotherapist and Fellow in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, as well as in Neurologic Music Therapy.

Hilary Moss is Associate Professor of Music Therapy at University of Limerick and co-chairs the Special Interest Group on music therapy and chronic pain at the International Association of Music Medicine.

Joanne Loewy is the founding director of the Department of Music Therapy and the Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine in the Mount Sinai Health System, NYC.

Katie Fitzpatrick is Senior Music Therapist with the pain service at the University of Limerick Hospitals Group and a PhD researcher at the University of Limerick, Ireland looking at the topic of music therapy and chronic pain.

Patricia O’Shea is a retired Primary School Physical Education Teacher and PPI member with a BSc. in Health and Fitness. She is a PPI member and service user.

Introducing CLAM and its Impact in Latin America
2023-08-03 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Sao_Paulo) | Online
Join us for an exciting one-hour webinar where we will introduce the Latin American Committee of Music Therapy (CLAM) and explore their important work in the field of music therapy in Latin America. During this event, you will have the opportunity to learn about CLAM’s history, projects, and contributions, as well as their impact on promoting music therapy in our region.
This webinar is a unique opportunity to expand your knowledge about music therapy in Latin America. Additionally, we will have a discussion on the ways in which IAMM and CLAM can find paths of collaboration. Don’t miss this chance to connect through music and learn from leaders in the field of music therapy in our region!

Presenters:

Patricia Zarate, Assistant Professor, Music Therapy Department, Berklee College of Music
Zarate Perez graduated with the first generation of students from the music therapy department at Berklee College of Music in 1999, where she met her mentor Colin Lee. She worked as a music therapy intern at the Psychiatric Unit of the New Hampshire State Hospital, where she provided music therapy services to acute psychiatric patients. She later worked at the Boston Institute For Arts Therapies and Arts in Progress where she worked with children with behavioral difficulties, autism, and Down Syndrome. While pursuing her Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies at New York University, Patricia met Clive Robbins and volunteered at the Nordoff & Robbins Center for Music Therapy. Zarate Perez has published in the Journal of Medicine and Pediatrics in Chile, and Panama. In 2013 she founded the Latin American Music Therapy Symposium in Panama City, Panama. In 2014 she founded the Latin American Music Therapy Network in Boston, USA, and in 2015 founded the Music Therapy Center of Panama. In 2017, she opened the diploma program in Music Therapy with the University of the Americas (UDELAS) in Panama City, Panama. In 2018 she founded the Boston Center for Multicultural Music Therapy in Boston, MA. That same year she helped found RED MUSA, a Chilean network that expands music therapy services to the neurology department of the University of Chile. In 2020 Zarate founded the (virtual) Global Center for Music Therapy in Boston, MA.

Lorena Buenseñor
Lorena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy (CEDIIAP) and is a Neurological Music Therapist (NMT). She also has a Diploma in Child Neuropsychology (CEDIIAP), along with specialized training in Music Therapy evaluation (Heartbeat, Brazil) and Individualized Music Therapy Assessment Profile (IMTAP, Argentina).

With extensive experience in Music Therapy in Emerging Fields, Lorena has conducted workshops in Music Therapy for Nursing and has been working at the Integral Neurological Rehabilitation Center since 2005. She has also collaborated with Pereira Rosell Hospital and Asencio Psychiatric Clinic (Halfway Home), and served as a lecturer at the CEDIIAP University Institute (Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning Information).

In her private practice, Lorena provides therapy to patients with various conditions referred by other healthcare professionals, including Parkinson’s, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Generalized Developmental Delay (TGD), Alzheimer’s, Cognitive Impairment, Down Syndrome, among others.

Additionally, she holds the position of President of CLAM for the 2023-2025 term.

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Harmonizing Healing: AI's Intersection with Music and Medicine
2023-08-28 17:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Adelaide) | Online
Explore the industry’s present and future in our webinar focused on music therapy and AI in South Australia. We start with an in-depth look at current music therapy practices, spotlighting techniques, patient outcomes, and local successes. The conversation will then transition to the exciting potential of AI in this field, discussing transformative implications, potential challenges, and ethical considerations. Be part of a dialogue that navigates the present landscape while envisioning the future of music therapy in South Australia.
Notice that registrants will receive a recording of the event!
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Jarran Zen, a dedicated Music Therapy student at the University of Melbourne, combines his foundational knowledge in audio engineering and production from his studies in London to add a unique technological perspective to his work. Deeply fascinated with technology’s potential in music, Jarran has been producing music for online platforms and delving into the intersection of music and technology.
His vision extends to harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence to catalyse advancement in the field of music therapy. He believes in the potential of AI not only to alleviate music therapists from administrative tasks, allowing more focused and present interactions with participants, but also to drive forward and deepen music therapy research.
Jarran is excited about the possibility of AI accelerating research outcomes, providing profound insights, and ushering in a new era of evidence-based practice in music therapy. Join him in this intriguing discussion about the intersection of music, therapy, and technology and be part of shaping the future of therapeutic practices.

Dr. Patsy Tan is a United States of America Board-Certified and Australian Registered Music Therapist with more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare and educational settings in the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia.
Patsy started her music therapy career in the United States in the 1990s before accepting an invitation to pioneer medical music therapy at the Singapore General Hospital in 2005 whereby she established the first music therapy program specially designed for children with cochlear implants in SE Asia. For the past 11 years before her relocation to Adelaide, she worked closely with Neuro-rehabilitation department providing music therapy services to patients with stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease as well as those in Intensive Care Unit, General Medicine, Burns, Heart and Lung Transplant, Renal, Oncology and Geriatric Medicine at the Singapore General Hospital. She was also involved in clinical research and supervision to music therapy interns from the United States and Australia.
Patsy is currently a full-time music therapist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital under the Hospital Research Foundation and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide.

Tune into Inclusion: Bridging Gaps through Music in Uganda
2023-09-11 15:00 - 16:30 (Europe/Moscow) | Online
Growing up as a person with a disability or a special condition in a society that is not sensitive to one’s challenges and needs can be extremely limiting, frustrating and isolating. We use music to ensure that children and young people living with a disability, or a special condition are included and that they get an equal opportunity to showcase their potential and thrive. Brass for Africa has in the past 3 years implemented music-based interventions for children and youth living with autism with majority being severe and non-verbal. We have also used music to improve life and bring joy for severe CP cases. Brass for Africa also brings the joy of music to a Rehabilitation Hospital that performs hundreds of rehabilitative surgeries on children. All our work takes a community approach, working with caregivers and the trained staff at the homes, centres and hospitals and none of our musicians and teachers are trained therapists. This area is very new in Uganda and we are leading the pack in using music to develop the understanding of inclusion
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Speakers

Andrew Agassi, Chief Operating Officer at Brass for Africa

Andrew Agassi is the Brass for Africa’s Chief Operating Officer (Global) and also serves as the Uganda Country Director. Agassi is an IT specialist who turned to NGO and Development work previously overseeing development work in the East African Region and Namibia. In 2017, Agassi was driven by curiosity joined Brass for Africa to see and experience how music can be used to bring about social transformation affecting individuals and whole communities.
7 Years later, Brass for Africa is a leading music organization that has applied the power of music to address diverse issues affecting people in Uganda, Rwanda and Liberia

Mugisha GIlbert
Mugisha Gilbert is a Music and Life-skills teacher at Brass for Africa. Like all his teaching colleagues, he is an alumnus of one of Brass for Africa’s programmes. He was instrumental in the initial stages of Brass for Africa’s work at Neuro Development Centres in Kampala. He led a team and was key in documenting lessons around inclusion where both neuro-typical and non-neurotypical participants were engaged.
As a young man who grew up in Uganda and in exclusion, his exposure to the myths and stereotypes about disability now drives his passion to influence change.

Nakachwa Florence
Nakachwa Florence is a Music and Life-skills Teacher at Brass for Africa. Like all her teaching colleagues, Florence is an alumnus of one of Brass for Africa programmes in Kampala, from where she did her Brass for Africa music qualifications to become a teacher. Florence is very passionate about community and inclusion both for persons living with disability and displaced persons.
She is one of the pioneers of the LAB UGANDA and Community Music project that serves the South Sudanese refugees living in the BidiBidi Refugee Settlement in Northern Uganda. She has also been part of projects working with children living with Autism with a keen interest of creating awareness. Nakachwa is currently a Firebird Fellow under the Hilti Foundation’s Academy for Impact Through Music (aimpowers.org).

Perceptions and Experiences in Telehealth Music Therapy Provision from around the Globe
2023-10-17 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Toronto) | Online
Join us for an in-depth discussion led by the IAMM Special Interest Group, a collective dedicated to advancing the field of telehealth music therapy. Our focus spans the entire lifespan and encompasses both individual and group therapy settings, delivered from a variety of locations such as homes, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and group homes. Comprising music therapists with specialized expertise in demographics, diagnoses, and clinical approaches like NMT and The Bonny Method, our team has been collaborating since 2020. We have contributed to multiple presentations and spearheaded two major international studies: a comprehensive survey and a follow-up interview study.
In this presentation, we will delve into a groundbreaking International phenomenological mixed-methods study that engaged 572 participants from 29 countries. The study employed an anonymous online survey to gather data on demographics, clinical practice, telehealth provision, and perceptions of telehealth. Our analytical approach included both qualitative and quantitative methods. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the data and inferential statistics to explore relationships between variables. The presentation will conclude with an overview of our findings, limitations of the study, and avenues for future research.
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Speakers

Amy Clements-Cortes, PhD, RP, MT-BC, MTA, Assistant Professor, Music and Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Music Therapist, Registered Psychotherapist, Managing Editor, Music & Medicine Journal, Canada
Melissa Mercadal-Brotons, PhD, MT-BC, SMTAE; Vice-director of Academic Affairs; Director of Master Program in Music Therapy (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya; Barcelona, Spain). Past-president WFMT.
Marija Pranjić, MA, MMus, MT-BC, is a PhD candidate in Music and Health Sciences with a specialization in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. Marija gained her academic and clinical experiences in Croatia, United Kingdom, USA, and Canada.
Indra Selvarajah, PhD (USA), MMT Equivalency (USA), MA(UK); Chair, Global Crises Intervention Commission, WFMT; Founding President, Malaysian Music Therapy Association (MMTA), Music Therapy Lecturer (University Putra of Malaysia).
David Knott, MM, MT-BC is Supervisor of the Creative Arts Therapies at Seattle Children’s Hospital. His clinical and research interests focus on pediatric music therapy service development and telehealth. His creative work centers on improvisation and seeks to invoke resonance in materials and in others.
Lisa Kelly, BA, MA is a music therapist based in Galway, Ireland. She is currently completing PhD research at The University of Limerick in the area of telehealth music therapy for community dwelling people living with dementia and their family caregivers where she also works as an Associate Teacher in Music Therapy.
Rebecca Vaudreuil, MSW, EdM, MT-BC. Independent Researcher (Massachusetts, USA).

Introduction to the Music Breathing Method
2023-10-23 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Music Breathing (MB) is an adaptation of the “Guided Imagery and Music” (GIM) method. It is an advance technique designed for work with stress/anxiety disorders and trauma. Music Breathing can be applied for fostering resilience in times of increased societal stress. The emphasis is on the awareness and modulation of the breathing that is used to regulate arousal evoked by selective music listening in an altered state of consciousness.
The Music Breathing introduction presentation is suitable for all professionals from the fields of health/mental healthcare with experience and/or interest in working with resilience and emotional regulation, stress, anxiety disorders, trauma and general wellbeing.
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Speakers
Evangelia Papanikolaou, PhD, FAMI, EAMI accred
Music therapist-GIM therapist and trainer, supervisor, program coordinator for IMAGEing & scientific director of SONORA. Specialised in psycho-oncology, anxiety disorders/psychological trauma & creative development. Board member of the European Association for Music and Imagery

Angela Shum
Angela Shum has been a RN for more than 10 years before becoming a music therapist in 2008.She worked as a music/rehabilitation therapist at the Provincial/State hospitals in both Canada and USA previously. Presently, she has her own private practice in HK, is involving several research with local institutions. She has the passion of educating nurses about Focused Music Imagery, (FMI) Music Breathing (MB), GIM & expressive arts therapy (FOAT), supporting health care professional for self-care using all these approaches. Angela is a fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery (USA).

Joyu Lee
Joyu Lee (she/her) is a Senior Music Therapist at UNC Health, and the owner of Music and Your Mind, LLC. She is a Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery, a Music Breathing practitioner, a professional cellist, and a Narrative Therapist practicing in the Triangle Area (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill) in NC, USA. Joyu primarily works with teens and young adults (inpatient, outpatient, and private practice) with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and crisis intervention.

Music Therapy and Music-Based Interventions in Neurology
2023-11-03 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Neurological conditions often encompass a wide range of physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges that require a comprehensive and multifaceted approach. By embracing a holistic perspective and drawing from the insights of individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise, music-based interventions can address the complex interplay of these dimensions in a patient’s life. In this webinar, we aim to underscore the significance of an integrated approach to music therapy and music-based interventions in the field of neurology. We will illuminate the pivotal role of embracing multiple perspectives when utilizing music in neurological care. Additionally, our discussions will delve into the important interconnections between research endeavors and practical applications of music therapy, as well as the concept of co-treatment as an essential facet of neurological care.

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Speakers

Alexander Pantelyat, MD

Alexander Pantelyat, MD is a clinician-scientist and movement disorders neurologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research explores music-based rehabilitation of neurodegenerative diseases and biomarker development for parkinsonian disorders. He earned his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine (elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society). He completed neurology residency and movement disorders fellowship training in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a 2014-15 American Academy of Neurology Emerging Leader. He currently leads several NIH-funded projects, including a K23 Career Development Award (Multi-modal Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) and a U01 award (Biomarker development and validation in PSP).

Kyurim Kang, Ph.D., LPMT, MT-BC, NMT

Kyurim Kang, Ph.D., LPMT, MT-BC, NMT (she/her) is a postdoctoral research fellow and a neurologic music therapist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine. She holds a Ph.D. in Music and Health Science / Collaborative Program in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto. Her research goal is to bridge the gap between scientific evidence-based music research and clinical practices. She has been also working as a music therapist in the U.S., Canada, and South Korea with various clinical populations.

Kerry Devlin, MMT, LPMT, MT-BC

Kerry Devlin, MMT, LPMT, MT-BC (she/her) is senior music therapist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Music & Medicine. She has worked as a music therapist for nearly a decade and is currently a Ph.D. researcher in the Doctoral Programme in Music Therapy at Aalborg University. Kerry is also adjunct faculty at Shenandoah University, where she teaches courses centered on disability and justice-oriented music therapy practices. As a disabled clinician, Kerry understands the unique experience of moving through the health care system as both a patient and a provider. She is passionate about disability justice and affirming the lived experience of therapy participants through co-constructed music experiences and research.

Music Therapy and Music-based Interventions for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Need for Collaboration
2023-11-28 10:00 (America/New_York) | Online
The Special Interest Group on dementia of the IAMM seeks to advance knowledge, grow awareness and advocate for the global recognition of Music therapy in Dementia care as a rehabilitative service. The aim of this presentation/discussion is to share the work accomplished since 2019 by this group, listen to new ideas and to reflect together on how music therapy professionals and other professionals from related areas, who use music-based interventions, can collaborate and work together to offer the best and healthiest interventions to people with dementia and their caregivers. Projects such as collecting, comparing and evaluating music-based protocols exist in different parts of the world and should be collected and made known to as many professionals as possible in order to test specific interventions as well as specific elements of the interventions from an international perspective, just to mention a few. We hope that these international collaborations can contribute to drive new innovation in healthcare.

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Speakers

Melissa Mercadal-Brotons, PhD, MT-BC, SMTAE: Vice-director of academic affairs and director of the Music Therapy Master’s Program at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya. Leader of the IAMM SIG on music therapy and dementia. Her research and clinical work focus on the area of dementia. She has been president of the WFMT (2017-2020) and currently she is on the board of directors of the IAMM. She has published extensively nationally (Spain) and internationally. She serves of the editorial board of the Journal of Music Therapy.

Dr. Concetta Tomaino is the Executive Director and co-founder, with renowned author neurologist Oliver Sacks, of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function in New York, USA. Dr. Sacks book Musicophilia is dedicated to her. Dr. Tomaino is internationally known for her 40 plus years of research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation. She is Past-President of the American Association for Music Therapy and was Vice President and founding board member for the International Association for Music and Medicine. In 2014, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Music Therapy Association.
Ayelet Dassa, Music Therapist, Ph.D. She is a senior lecturer in the Music Therapy M.A Program at Bar-Ilan University. For the past twenty-five years, she has been working with older adults and mainly with people living with dementia. Her research focuses on music therapy with dementia and she supervises music therapists and Ph.D students.
Suzanne B. Hanser, Ed.D., MT-BC is Founding Chair Emerita & Professor of Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music and President of the International Association for Music & Medicine. She is Past President of the World Federation of Music Therapy and National Association for Music Therapy. Her books include:The New Music Therapist’s Handbook, Integrative Health through Music Therapy: Accompanying the Journey from Illness to Wellness and Manage Your Stress and Pain, book and CD, with Dr. Susan Mandel. Her most recent book, Music for Wellness: Feel the Music, See the Light will be published in 2024, and her courses on music and wellness may be found on Coursera and Berklee Online. She has published research in multi-disciplinary journals, and is recipient of many awards, including AMTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Amy Clements-Cortes, PhD, RP, MTA, MT-BC is an Assistant Professor, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto; Music Therapist, Registered Psychotherapist and a Fellow in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, and Neurologic Music Therapy. She has authored 50+ peer reviewed journal articles, multiple book chapters, co-edited 2 books, and provided 250 conference and/or invited academic presentations. Her research contributions have had a significant impact in the understanding of understudied phenomenon, resulting in excelled treatments provided by professionals in music and medicine. This includes: relationship completion for individuals at end-of-life, vibroacoustic therapy and singing protocols for persons diagnosed with dementia, as well as experiences in music therapy internships.
Dr. Kendra Ray is a research assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and dementia program director at Menorah Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care. Dr. Ray is a music therapist whose research focuses on discovering the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions for people with dementia and their paid and informal caregivers. Other research interests include risk factors and biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease as well as the use of music therapy for chronic health conditions like HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder and depression.
Dr. Tereza Raquel Alcantar-Silva: Professor and researcher at the School of Music and Performing Arts (EMAC) of Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Brazil; PhD in Health Sciences (UFG); Master in Music (UFG); Post-Graduate in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation at University of São Paulo, Brazil (USP); Graduated in Music Therapy (UFG); Neurologic Music Therapist (Colorado State University). Member of the International Special Group SIG-Dementia of the “International Association for Music and Medicine”. Researcher in the areas of Music Neuroscience and Clinical Music Therapy.
Shirlene Vianna Moreira: PhD in Cognitive Psychology at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil; MSc in Music at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil; Professor of the lato Sensu postgraduate program in Psychology at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Specialist in Neurologic MT from the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy at the Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University/USA. Fellowship in Art-Thérapie Musicothérapie at the Center Hospitalier Georges Mazurelle in France. Researcher and speaker in Neuropsychology, Neurologic MT, and Cognitive Rehabilitation.

Presenting The International Music Therapy Clinical Trial Network
2024-03-01 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Karnataka
Join Felicity Baker, Joke Bradt and Catherine Carr to learn about the International Music Therapy Clinical Trials Network (IMTCTnet). IMTCTnet has been established with the primary aim of advancing the field of music therapy by facilitating the planning, implementation, and dissemination of high-quality clinical trials.
Conducting trials can be challenging, involving substantial costs and demanding specialized skills. Furthermore, many music therapists and their institutions face challenges in allocating time and resources to initiate and lead such trials.

Felicity, Joke and Catherine will discuss how the IMTCTnet helps to fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing, and support for those interested in conducting clinical trials in music therapy.
About the speakers:
Professor Felicity Baker is Associate Dean Research for the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and Director, International Research Partnerships for the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at The University of Melbourne and former Australia Research Council Future Fellow (2011-2015). She has attracted more than $18 million in research funding and is the author of over 150 publications. Her latest book is Leadership and Management of Clinical Trials in the Creative Arts Therapies, which is the first book to provide guidance on clinical trial implementation in this field.
Dr Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC is Professor and Director of the PhD program in Creative Arts Therapies at Drexel University. She is a board-certified music therapist and her federally funded research program has focused on the development and testing of music therapy interventions for chronic pain and symptom management. She has completed several NIH-funded music therapy clinical trials for chronic pain. She is the co-PI on a large comparative-effectiveness trial funded by PCORI to compare the effects of virtual music therapy with virtual CBT on anxiety in cancer survivors. She is the lead author of several Cochrane Systematic Reviews on music interventions with medical patients. Finally, she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy from 2015-2023.
Dr Catherine Carr, PhD PGDip, initially studied Music Technology at the University of York, before training as a music therapist at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She undertook an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship at Queen Mary University of London which focused upon modelling of processes and outcomes of intensive group music therapy for acute adult psychiatric inpatients. Since then, Catherine has completed a number of studies funded by an NIHR Clinical Lectureship and a further study on group songwriting for chronic depression (SYNCHRONY study), funded by NIHR Research for Patient Benefit. In 2019, she completed an NIHR Clinical Trials Fellowship and is now leading a multicentre trial, funded by the NIHR HTA programme in collaboration with East London NHS Foundation Trust. Catherine continues to work as a music therapist in the NHS and is currently a music therapist in Mental Health Care for Older People’s services in East London NHS Foundation Trust, where she provides group and individual music therapy, alongside staff psychological supervision. Catherine is currently training in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery in Music and has completed training in Music Imagery methods.

Please register using the form below. If the form does not work for you, please email us at sgracida@iammonline.com

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IAMM Global Café - Japan Spotlight
2024-04-22 08:00 - 09:00 (America/New_York) | Online
IAMM Global Café (IGC) is a virtual networking event for IAMM members across the world. These Cafés are hosted by members of IAMM’s Committee on Global Reporting.
The next IGC focuses on the intersection of music and medicine/health in Japan. Hikari Sandhu will host a panel of practitioners actively engaged in music and medicine/health in Japan. Participants will have the opportunity to converse with the co-hosts, as well as each other.
This event is free and open to the public. Registrants will receive a recording of this event. This event is scheduled to last for one hour.
Please join with a cup of coffee, tea, or your choice of libation, and enjoy the conversation!

Host:

Hikari Sandhu, Ph.D., RMT/Founder of MusicAid LLC./Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo
Hikari is a Japan-based registered music therapist with seven years of working experience at the end of life settings in the U.S. and Japan. She completed her master’s degree at New York University and her doctoral degree at the Department of Community of Global Health at the University of Tokyo. Her passion is using music to bring meaning to an individual’s life with cultural consideration and enhance their mental well-being. She is a post-doc researcher of an international Joy research project led by the Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK.
Panellists:

Mariko Hara, Ph.D.
HARA Mariko (sociologist) After obtaining Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Exeter in the UK, she moved to Norway. Currently runs “Music and Arts in the Milieu” that is involved in local and international (action) research projects on music and art activities in Scandinavian care environments. Recent work includes contributions to “The Routledge Companion to Music, Mind and Well-being”, “Musical Gentrification Popular Music, Distinction and Social Mobility”

Rieko Eguchi, MA, MT-BC, CCLS
Rieko Eguchi, MA, MT-BC, CCLS, currently works as a music therapist in the neonatology unit at Saitama Children’s Medical Center in Japan. She is a grandparent of RBL (Rhythm, Breath, and Lullaby) and holds a M.A. in Music Therapy from Montclair State University in the U.S. She was an intern and research scholar and assisted with various research studies at The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine in New York, September 2015 – February 2018. She also completed a child life clinical internship at the center. Her clinical experiences are diverse, including NICU, pediatrics, outpatient radiation oncology, and palliative care. She has several publications related to NICU music therapy and has published a research paper in Japanese medical journals. She is a member of Japanese Association for Promotion of Medical Music Therapy.

Tatsuya Honda, PhD./ Ontenna Project Leader, Fujitsu Ltd.
Tatsuya holds a Ph.D. in Design. During his university years, he was involved in sign language interpreting, founding a sign language club, and establishing a non-profit organization. His research focuses on developing new auditory perception devices in collaboration with the deaf community. His work has been recognized with several awards, including Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 and the Forbes 30 UNDER 30 JAPAN 2019 Special Award. He is also an MIT Innovator Under 35 in Japan for 2020, a Falling Walls 2021 Winner, and a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow.
Discussion Topic: ‘Possibility of Music as a Care Resource’
Questions

What are the challenges of your work? (Rieko, Tatsuya)
What do you think of the unmet needs of the health and well-being of the Japanese? (Everyone)
How can we innovate health/healthcare with music in Japan? (Everyone)

Background
Japan is experiencing rapid population aging and is ranked as the most aged society globally. Diversity and inclusion are critical to maintaining and developing the Japanese economy. Isolation and loneliness are epidemic, and old communities are collapsing. Japan is in the transition, and technology, humanities, and the arts need to collaborate to enhance well-being nationwide.
Perspectives
Mariko Hara
The disparity between community and healthcare is concerning. Music is an everyday resource that everyone can engage with. Music has been medicalized, and Japanese healthcare is transitioning to using music for health and well-being, as evidenced by the national licensing of music therapists.
Rieko Eguchi
In the field of pediatric medicine, where the bond between newborns and mothers is crucial, the use of music therapy can be transformative. Often, mothers are unable to physically connect with their babies due to medical reasons, leading to a questioning of their own value. However, introducing music therapy research, which shows that a lullaby sung by a mother can increase the vital levels of newborn babies, can empower these mothers.

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The Center for Performing Arts in Medicine at Houston Methodist
2024-06-18 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Online
The Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) at Houston Methodist stands at the forefront of innovative healthcare integration, merging the realms of performing arts and medicine. Dedicated to optimizing health and wellness for both artists and the general population, CPAM embodies a holistic approach to healthcare. Through specialized education, clinical therapy, research, and community outreach, CPAM addresses the unique needs of performing artists while leveraging the transformative power of the arts to enhance patient care and hospital environments.
With a mission to translate the collaborative potential of arts and medicine into the healthcare landscape, CPAM supports diverse initiatives including wellness education tailored for performing artists, integration of arts into hospital settings, and innovative therapies utilizing the arts to support patient goals. Moreover, CPAM serves as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, fostering partnerships between healthcare professionals, artists, educators, and researchers to drive innovation and promote holistic well-being.
As a leader in the field, CPAM has garnered recognition for its comprehensive programs, receiving prestigious awards such as the Texas Medal of the Arts and the International Hamilton Award. Through its dedication to advancing the intersection of arts and healthcare, CPAM continues to inspire creative thinking, facilitate healing, and enrich the cultural fabric of the community it serves.

Participants:

Todd Frazier, Director of Center for Performing Arts Medicine
Todd Frazier, the Gerald H. Dubin, M. D. Presidential Distinguished Centennial Director in the Art of Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital’s System Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM), is a visionary composer and advocate. With degrees from Eastman and Juilliard, he champions the fusion of arts and medicine, fostering innovation and humanity. Over 30 years, Frazier established transformative collaborations, creating institutions and employment opportunities. Leading CPAM since 2011, he elevates healthcare through arts integration, earning prestigious awards. As a composer, Frazier’s works, like “Buffalo Altar” and “We Hold These Truths,” illuminate history. He cofounded initiatives like the National Organization for Arts in Health, leaving an indelible mark on the arts landscape.

Shay Kulha MFA, MBA, Operations Manager for CPAM
Shay Thornton Kulha, a dynamic arts administrator, excels in connecting arts, health, and business domains. As Operations Manager at the Center for Performing Arts Medicine, she oversees strategy, implementation, and finances, leading one of the nation’s premier arts in healthcare organizations. Previously, she directed programs at the Arts Council for Long Beach, facilitating grants and fostering community partnerships. A Notre Dame graduate with dual Master’s degrees in Fine Arts and Business Administration from California State University, Long Beach, Kulha blends her expertise in film, theatre, and education with a passion for arts advocacy. A member of the National Organization for Arts in Health, she continues to innovate at the intersection of arts and well-being.

Jennifer Townsend MMT, MT-BC, Manager of Creative Arts Therapies
Jennifer Townsend, Manager of Creative Arts Therapies at the Center for Performing Arts Medicine and Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Academic Institute, holds the esteemed Susie and Tommy Smith Chair in Music and Creative Arts Therapies at Houston Methodist. Fascinated by music’s profound impact on health, she embarked on a journey studying its therapeutic potential from her teenage years. Armed with a Bachelor’s in Music Therapy from Sam Houston State University and a Master’s from Temple University, Jennifer has dedicated over a decade to pediatric care before transitioning to adult medicine. At Houston Methodist, she pioneers creative arts therapy initiatives, conducts groundbreaking research, and advocates tirelessly for arts in healthcare on local and national platforms.
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IAMM Connected - Spanish Edition
2024-06-27 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Online
IAMM Connected is a pioneering initiative within the International Association of Music and Medicine (IAMM), aimed at fostering global connections and collaboration within the diverse realms of music and medicine. This innovative group hosts monthly virtual networking meetups tailored to specific linguistic communities, breaking barriers and facilitating dialogue across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Our inaugural sessions feature Spanish-speaking and Chinese-Mandarin-speaking groups, offering a platform for professionals from these linguistic backgrounds to share insights, exchange ideas, and forge meaningful connections at the intersection of music and medicine.
Join IAMM Connected to engage in enriching conversations, expand your network, and contribute to the global advancement of music and medicine.
Register here:

IAMM Connected - Chinese Edition
2024-07-09 08:00 - 09:00 (America/New_York) | Online

IAMM With You - Sound Health Network: Opportunities to Collaborate
2024-07-18 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Online
The mission of the Sound Health Network in the USA is to promote research and public awareness about the impact of music on health and wellness. The Sound Health Network attempts to engage a broad range of multidisciplinary stakeholders – including scientists, music therapists, musicians, clinicians, patients, music and arts organizations, funders and the general public. Through their coordinating role, they facilitate individual and collaborative efforts that promote the quality, quantity, and relevance of research at the intersections of music, neuroscience, health, and wellness across the lifespan, advancing the potential of music to improve all our lives.
The Sound Health Network is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Renée Fleming. The Network emerged from the Sound Health Initiative.
Moderated by Dan Cohen, Dr. Julene Johnson will talk with us about opportunities to join and collaborate with the Sound Health Network.
Julene K Johnson is a cognitive neuroscientist with an undergraduate degree in music. She is a Professor in the UCSF School of Nursing’s Institute for Health & Aging and co-director of the Sound Health Network. She has a long-standing interest in studying music and health in both healthy aging and persons living with dementia. She also leads the Music & Dementia Research Network, which aims to accelerate mechanistic studies of music in the context of dementia. Her previous work investigated preserved music skills in persons with Alzheimer disease and understanding the relationship between brain and music recognition in various neurodegenerative diseases. In 2010, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Jyväskylä, Finland where she studied how community choirs help promote wellbeing among older adults. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, Dr. Johnson led the Community of Voices study, a large cluster-randomized trial that examined the effects of a community choir on the health and wellbeing of culturally diverse older adults. Dr. Johnson also examines the historical roots of music in nineteenth-century neurology and psychology literature, which helps frame interdisciplinary research questions about music, brain, and health. She is a co-author of the NEA Guide to Community-Engaged Research in the Arts and Health. In her spare time, she plays the flute and kantele and sings in community choir.
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IAMM Reading with Renée Fleming - Music and Mind
2024-08-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
The IAMM summer reading book is “Music and Mind” by Renée Fleming! This inspiring book explores the powerful connection between music and the mind, highlighting its potential for health and wellness.
You can purchase the book [here].
Get your copy and start reading today!
Renée Fleming is one of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time. Honored with five Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, she has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Super Bowl. A 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree, she is also a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health for the World Health Organization.
Renée’s anthology, Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, was published in April. A prominent advocate for research at the intersection of arts, health, and neuroscience, as Artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center, Renée launched the first ongoing collaboration between America’s national cultural center and the National Institutes of Health.
Renée is Co-Artistic Director of the Aspen Opera Theater and Advisor for Special Projects at the Los Angeles Opera. Other awards include the 2023 Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum, the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, and honorary doctorates from ten leading universities.
http://www.reneefleming.com
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IAMM Connected - Spanish Edition
2024-08-22 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Online
IAMM Connected is a pioneering initiative within the International Association of Music and Medicine (IAMM), aimed at fostering global connections and collaboration within the diverse realms of music and medicine. This innovative group hosts monthly virtual networking meetups tailored to specific linguistic communities, breaking barriers and facilitating dialogue across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Join IAMM Connected – Spanish Edition #2 to engage in enriching conversations, expand your network, and contribute to the global advancement of music and medicine.
Register here:

IAMM Connected - Spanish Edition #3
2024-11-14 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Online
IAMM Connected is a pioneering initiative within the International Association of Music and Medicine (IAMM), aimed at fostering global connections and collaboration within the diverse realms of music and medicine. This innovative group hosts monthly virtual networking meetups tailored to specific linguistic communities, breaking barriers and facilitating dialogue across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Join IAMM Connected – Spanish Edition #3 to engage in enriching conversations, expand your network, and contribute to the global advancement of music and medicine.
Register here:

IAMM Connected - Chinese Edition #2
2024-11-19 20:00 - 21:00 (Asia/Shanghai) | Online
