23.7. 1993 Vitoria-Gasteiz / Spain - World Federation of Music Therapy

training videos. In January 1989 the Association of
Professional Music Therapists Newsletter published
numerous letters written by music therapists in
response to a television programme entitled "The
Power of Music". There have never been as many
letters on any one subject in the Newsletter before or
since. Even in music therapy conferences those talks
using videotapes tend to draw more criticism or praise
and lead to more fervent debates. This can be quite
daunting for the person presenting videotapes
particularly if they are used to positive feedback from
other colleagues (non music therapists) or from the
general public.
When talking to non music therapists, the presenting
music therapist is used to being viewed as a rather
interesting "artistic oddity". When talking to music
1265
therapists the presenter is no longer unique and often
faced with a highly critical audience. This is rather like
an expatriate who returns home to find he is no longer
an interesting foreigner but merely one of many like him.
The two most common comments made by music
therapists in Great Britain about their colleagues work
on video tape seem to be: "I don't work like that" and
"that is not what I would call music therapy". (Ritchie
1989). Both these remarks indicate that the viewers as
well as the presenters are struggling to maintain the
unique and special status that they have become
accustomed to. Thus, although music therapy sessions
on video clearly illustrate what a music therapist does,
this very clarity can be threatening to other music
therapists because it may not fit in with the image they
are used to projecting of themselves. (Brittain 1989).