Music as Therapy International (MasT) has been providing music therapy training and long-term professional support to care professionals since 1995. In November 2015, MAITS partnered with MasT, supporting six trainers to attend and participate in a 2-day conference entitled “Music Therapy in Romania: Theory and Practice Now and in the Future”.

The conference brought together local partners, practitioners, academics and influencers to consider how music therapy is used in Romania today, and what lies ahead for its future development. There were workshops, presentations and round table discussions with an emphasis on music therapy practice, sharing experiences and working together to strengthen the role of music therapy and its practitioners in the future

Conference Objectives To provide the opportunity for 78 Romanian practitioners to attend a conference that will strengthen their practice To provide a space for local relationships to be developed in order to align existing music therapy practice with current theoretical teaching Pooling experience to enable people to share local solutions to local challenges they are encountering in their music therapy practice

The conference was a great success! Here are just a few great things participants had to say about the conference   “Passionate discussions were had regarding the frustrations and challenges being faced by practitioners. Possible solutions were shared” “The two days were incredible. Thank you for all you brought with you -energy and knowledge and for all the nice words and thoughts. I am happy to have been able to somewhat rise to the quality of the event.” “It was very useful to see the work of other therapists, see how music therapy developed in the UK and see how we can put into practice different solutions/alternatives”

The long-term aims for the partnership are: To find solutions to current challenges being faced by local practitioners, and exploring how music therapy training can become more widely available across Romania To find local practitioners/organisations to take over the delivery of our Distance Learning programme To find ways to enhance the practice, as it could benefit an estimated more than 2000 children and adults with disabilities and mental health needs in Romania. To build stronger relationships with local partners, eventually leading to future events organised and led by local Romanian organisations.

For more information, please email MAITS at: info@maits.org.uk   Music as Therapy International are especially looking to fostering the relationship between Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Transylvania, which will contribute to progress made locally towards legal recognition of music therapy in Romania. For more information, please email MAITS at: info@maits.org.uk