Historical Perspective

The interest in the field of Music Therapy in Portugal dates back to the late 60's, when a group of educators, psychologists and physicians first learned about this discipline and started to empirically apply the principles of the therapeutic use of music in their daily work with patients and students. However, it is important to understand that music therapy in Portugal is still a professional activity in the preliminary stages of establishing itself as a discipline. Some empirical work has been done by professionals in related fields, seminars and introductory workshops have been held throughout the past three decades, and a training program existed in the early 90's, which produced a limited number of graduates.

Although a few psychiatrists and psychologists have implemented music therapy activities in hospitals and mental health centers, the interest of Portuguese professionals in music therapy has mostly grown among those who worked with children. In the field of special education, music therapy practices evolved within the context of recreational music activities, with therapeutic implications for handicapped children and adolescents. Arquimedes Santos, the pioneer of the "Education through the Arts" movement, has been one of the first to highlight the importance of creative arts being used within a psycho-educational or a therapeutic approach to children and adults.

Since the music therapy program in Madeira (see Training Programs section) produced its first graduates, a number of special education and mental health professionals have been conducting therapeutic music activities throughout the country. Requests for information and training have been made in increasing numbers by psychology students, special education teachers and music educators. At the present moment, there is a new program starting in Lisbon and the Portuguese Music Therapy Association is beginning to plan other initiatives that will bring together all professionals involved and develop a music therapy professional community. Training and practice standards have not yet been established and implemented at an official level.

Theoretical Foundations

There are two major trends in the practice of music therapy in Portugal, each involving different theoretical frameworks:
1 - The practice of music therapy according to the psycho-educational model of intervention. This has emerged from the field of special education and it involves most of the work being done with children in the country. Within this framework, music serves as a therapeutic activity in the psycho-educational plan that is developed for each child, according to her age, level of functioning, specific difficulties and potential abilities. Generally speaking, it can be said that this work consists of the application of music education methods (Orff, Willems, Kodaly) within a therapeutic approach.
2 - This trend began with the initiative of a few musically trained mental health professionals who have done some clinical work in music therapy at the empirical level. Music was integrated in either recreational therapy activities in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Other mental health specialists developed therapeutic work with music in both individual and group settings. In these situations, music therapy is seen as a form of psychotherapy within the context of a multidisciplinary intervention. Improvisation and sound exploration is the main method used and music serves as a vehicle for self-expression and communication. The professionals involved in these projects received training and supervision from psychoanalytically oriented therapists and they use music therapy techniques from a psycho-dynamic theoretical perspective (Freud, Winnicott, Mahler).

Organisations and Associations

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a cultural organisation, which hosted some of the earlier projects involving music and "expressive re-education". The Gulbenkian Foundation also sponsored other initiatives involving music therapy and music in special education, such as providing funds for music educators to work in centers for handicapped children, offering scholarships for professionals to attend seminars and conferences in Portugal and abroad, and also inviting foreign music therapists to lecture in Portugal.

The APEM (Portuguese Association for Music Education) was the first Portuguese association to recognise this type of work and serve as a connection between Portuguese and International professionals in music therapy related areas, represented by Graziela Cintra Gomes. APEM and Ms. Gomes have played a significant role in Portugal in stimulating interest in music therapy and music in special education. APEM served as a forum for professionals and students interested in music therapy until the formation of the Portuguese Music Therapy Association, in 1996.

The Portuguese Music Therapy Association (APMT) is the only music therapy organisation currently existing in Portugal and it has been presided by Fernanda Magno Prim since its formation in 1996 until February 2001. In 1997, APMT hosted the Pre-Congress of the European Music Therapy Federation. Since then, the APMT has been attempting to gather the professionals already practising music therapy in Portugal, as well as promoting music therapy seminars, workshops and short courses. Its next objective is to create a music therapy library, to establish a music therapy referral service and to begin elaborating a set of standards for the practice and recognition of music therapy professionals and training programs. The APMT is represented in the EMTC and the WFMT in the person of its current president, Teresa Leite.

APMT's Postal Address:
Rua Conde de Almoster, 24-5° Dto
Email: musicoterapia@sapo.pt
1500-194 Lisboa Phone: 351-93-324-2678

Training Programs

The first music therapy training program that existed in Portugal was lead by Dr. Jacqueline Verdeau-Paillés and sponsored by the Madeira Regional Department of Special Education. Between its first and second classes, it evolved into a three-year program with 6 weeks of intensive coursework, 3 years of documented fieldwork and the elaboration of a final monograph. This program required that students would have at least a Bachelor's degree, previously acquired musical training and also psychology or special education academic training. As a requirement for graduation, students also needed to show proof of additional training in psychiatry, psychology, music theory and history, as well as ear, vocal and instrumental training. From these two classes, approximately 20 students graduated as music therapists, according to a recognition arrangement between the Paris V / René Descartes University and the Regional Department of Special Education of Madeira.

Starting in October of 2001, a new program will be functioning at the Technical University of Lisbon, Graduate School of Human Psychomotor Development. This will be a two-and-a-half-year post-graduate program (10 hrs/week) that will issue a non-degree diploma in Expressive Therapies. The first year has a common curriculum in the areas of psychology, human development, psychopathology and the expressive arts therapies, and in the latter three semesters, students will specialise in either music therapy or dance therapy. This program is mostly based in Humanistic Theories and Developmental Psychology.

Recognition

Until the present moment, there have not been any established standards of recognition for either the practice or the teaching of Music Therapy in Portugal. The APMT is planning to discuss and establish such guidelines in the near future, in accordance to European standards.

Literature

The only Portuguese music therapy publication is a compilation of articles issued by the APMT at the time of the Pre-Congress of 1997 for the EMTC. This publication was titled "Cadernos de Musicoterapia". Aside from this publication, several articles have been published in speciality journals and mainstream magazines about the therapeutic use of music and its application in the field of education.

Delegate:

Teresa Paula Leite, Ph.D., is a psychologist and a music therapist who has trained in both Portugal and the United States of America. She holds a Clinical Psychology Degree ("licenciatura") from the Graduate Institute of Applied Psychology, in Lisbon, a Master's Degree inn Music Therapy from New York University and a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology from Adelphi University, in New York. She also studied piano and music at the Lisbon Conservatorium of Music and is a graduate of the first music therapy program held in Madeira. She has worked in both inpatient and outpatient facilities with psychiatric patients, adults, children and adolescents. She is currently a professor of Psychology and Music Therapy in Portugal at Lusíada University in Porto, Évora University and the Graduate School of Education João de Deus, in Lisbon. She also conducts a private practice in verbal and music psychotherapy in Lisbon.
Teresa Leite is the current president of the APMT and the Portuguese delegate in both the EMTC and the WFMT. She is a member of the Education and Training Committee of the WMTF, and a member of the Research Committee and Vice-President of the EMTC.