The British Association for Music Therapy Announces: Music Therapy Week 2013

The British Association for Music Therapy Announces: Music Therapy Week 2013

LONDON, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --



Music Therapy Week 2013



8 - 15th June 2013



Music Therapy Week (MTW) is a week of campaigning to help raise awareness of how music
therapy can improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities
across the UK. Music therapy can help people of any age who find it difficult to
communicate verbally, due to a physical or cognitive disability, emotional distress or
mental illness.



The British Association for Music Therapy is a UK charity which promotes public
awareness of music therapy and supports music therapists' professional practice and
research. This year sees the return of Music Therapy Week (MTW2013) from 8 - 15th June
2013 and we hope to build on the success of Music Therapy Week 2011. Music Therapy Week
offers clinicians and the general public the opportunity to come together in a variety of
ways to promote and celebrate music therapy across the UK.



Donald Wetherick, Chair of the British Association for Music Therapy says:



"All over the UK professional music therapists are helping vulnerable people to
overcome difficulties in communication, interaction, participation and development,
through the skilled use of music. Music Therapy Week is an opportunity to celebrate this
work, find out more about music therapy in your area, and raise awareness of the potential
of music therapy to make a difference to people's lives. Please support MTW in whatever
way you can."



Lesley Schatzberger, Director of Jessie's Fund says:



"I've seen some amazing transformations of children through music therapy. For
example, a girl at one children's hospice had just been in hospital for surgery, and she
was sad and despondent. Within minutes of coming into the music therapy room she was
animated and laughing, and when her music therapy session ended about forty minutes later,
she seemed like a different person. Those are the moments which make the hard work raising
funds worth it!"



To find out what is happening near you and how you can be involved, please visit
http://www.bamt.org or our Facebook page British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT)
or follow us on Twitter @musictherapyuk or contact pr@bamt.org



Notes to Editors




- About BAMT


BAMT is a professional body representing music therapy and music therapists in the UK.
Having charitable status, the aim of BAMT is to support and promote the highest standards
of practice, research and public information to further the advance of music therapy for
public benefit. For more information, please visit http://www.bamt.org




- About music therapists


All practicing music therapists are registered with the Health and Care Professions
Council. Music therapists work in health, education and social care. Many are
self-employed and others are employed by statutory bodies such as the NHS, or music
therapy charities around the UK which are reliant on public contributions to fund their
life-changing work.




- About music therapy


Music plays an important role in our everyday lives. It can be exciting or calming,
joyful or poignant, can stir memories and powerfully resonate with our feelings, helping
us to express them and to communicate with others. Music therapy uses these qualities and
the musical components of rhythm, melody and tonality to provide a means of relating
within a therapeutic relationship. In music therapy, people work with a wide range of
accessible instruments and their voices to create a musical language which reflects their
emotional and physical condition; this enables them to build connections with their inner
selves and with other around them. Individual and group sessions are provided in many
settings such as hospitals, schools, hospices and care homes.



Some examples of the types of conditions or illnesses which can be helped by music
therapy are:




- Early bonding / relationships
- Autism
- Brain injury / Stroke
- Dementia
- Learning disabilities
- Mental health e.g. depression, schizophrenia
- Trauma
- Palliative and bereavement care


For further information or media related enquiries please contact the BAMT office on
+44-(0)20-7837-6100 or email info@bamt.org or pr@bamt.org




British Association for Music Therapy


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