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

cultural activities, profylactic health work and therapy.
How clear is this for the client? How clear should it be?
What about those clients that have no language and
thus cannot discuss this in words?
Conclusion
A critical question is near: Can it be right to meet a
"client-producing" development in the society just with
more professional help? There are no simple answers
to this. For many clients the help is needed now, and not
after a long political process to change the society. Still,
in Music Therapy as Cultural Engagement the music
therapist should try to change the world, if only a bit. The
changes may be small, and the part of the world where
he is working may be very small. But we get a therapistrole
which is broader and more political than a
traditional therapist-role, see (Broch & Enerstvedt,
962
1991).
In this area we not only need action researchers, but in
fact also "action therapists". The music therapist should
help the client to clarify his identity in the community
through musical identification. This then, may be done
in many different ways: In working with "Upbeat" it was
important to communicate to the community that this
was not primary a "group of handicapped people". The
members of the group were individuals and persons,
with the same dreams as you and I. They were
musicians that wanted to take part in the community.
Other times the content of the communication may go
further, or be more specific. Working with for instance
music and words in songs, the client/group may tell us
all more about how they experience their participation,
their contacts and their responsibilities in the