7. Future Trends > main table of contents
In the past 15 years, music therapy in the Netherlands has experienced some major developments. The scientific basis had different emphases. Some tried to characterize music therapy by describing it with terminology taken from music, assuming that stimulating musical expression and design is implicitly therapeutical. Others, on the other hand, tried to get music therapy on solid ground by linking it to a renowned psychotherapy or by revealing the similarity between various methods of music therapy and existing psychotherapeutic schools.
In doing so, it happened at times, as abroad, that in case only musical terminology was used, the psychological and therapeutic aspects disappeared into the background and in those cases where existing psychotherapies were called for assistance, the musical element was failing.
In recent years, a shift has taken place from thinking in global methodical concepts - a method which can be applied to various disturbances - to ways of treatment that fit in more specifically with certain disturbances.
In future music therapy should be geared even more to the specific characteristics of the disturbances and handicaps. Permanent attention should be paid to the development of theories and research into the specific and non-specific factors in music therapy. This will inevitably lead to music therapy becoming more independent, albeit that - provided this independence is guaranteed - the link with creative therapy need not be cut.
As music therapy in the Netherlands takes place at the level of Higher Vocational Education, it will be necessary to create a structural facility at a Dutch university or by collaboration with a foreign university, where graduates of Higher Vocational Education can get an M.A. and subsequently a Ph.D. in music therapy.
In their place of work, music therapists will have to make their own profession known in a way which is convincing and understandable for professionals trained in already established therapeutic professions. The appropriate language for this should be of a connecting nature, which is possible by relating the specific nature of musical processes to psychological and therapeutic processes that are familiar with other therapists.
It should be prevented that a difference in status is created between psychotherapeutic and ortho(ped)agogic work. Such a difference in status would ignore the fact that in the ortho(ped)agogic fields the music therapist's work often has psychotherapeutic characteristics, but above all would not do justice to ortho(ped)agogic music therapy.
The role of the register as a guardian of quality should be reinforced and the profession of creative therapist should develop into a profession protected by legislation.
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