Child Music Therapy

The organizing and scientific committee of the 1st International Conference on Children´s Music Therapy 2021 invite participants to submit their abstract proposals in the form of paper presentations, poster presentations, roundtable and workshops. The abstract submission form will allow you to select a type of presentation. Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words.

Please note! If you are submitting multiple abstracts, you will only be permitted to select the role of “Presenting Author” ONCE. When selecting the role, “Author of Abstract”, you must define the lead presenting author when listing your co-authors.

The topic of the Conference is:

HEALTH FOR CHILDREN WITH MUSIC

Themes of the conference days are:

Music Therapy in Pediatric Hospitals (children aged 0–15)

Music Therapy in Child Psychiatry (children aged 0–12)

The link to the abstract submission form is here

Paper Presentations (30 minutes)

Paper presentations are 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion. The conference highlights the following topics:

• Music Therapy and Early Interaction
• Music Therapy in Pediatric Hospitals
• Family-oriented Music Therapy
• Communication with Music
• Short-term and Long-term Music Therapy Methods for Children
• Digital Music Therapy for Children
• Group Music Therapy for Children
• Child Music Psychotherapy
• Music Therapy in Child Neuropsychiatry

Round Table (60 or 90 minutes)

Abstracts for round table sessions would be in the form of a proposal. Round table sessions will be held by groups of people centered around a specific topic. One proposal should be submitted on behalf of the group. Please include other group members as additional authors on the submission form. These sessions will be either 60 minutes or 90 minutes in length – please indicate your preference on the abstract submission form. Preferred presentation length is not guaranteed and will be confirmed upon abstract acceptance.

Workshops (45 or 90 minutes)

Workshop sessions will have two time formats, either 45 minutes or 90 minutes – please indicate your preference for presentation length on the abstract submission form. Preferred presentation length is not guaranteed and will be confirmed upon abstract acceptance.

Poster Presentations 

There will be a poster session during the conference related to the conference themes. Information of the poster size will be sent with the abstract acceptance details.

Will be announced soon.

Helsinki.

A list of some of the hotels and apartments near the conference venue:​

Radisson Blu Seaside Hotel, Ruoholahdenranta 3, Helsinki

• walking distance 700 m

Clarion Hotel, Tyynenmerenkatu 2, Helsinki

• walking distance 750 m

Forenom Aparthotel, Eerikinkatu 24, Helsinki 

• walking distance 1200 m

Lapland Hotels Bulevardi, Bulevardi 28, Helsinki

• walking distance 1500 m

Omenahotels​, Yrjönkatu 30, Helsinki

• walking distance 1600 m

We warmly welcome you to the 1st International Children’s Music Therapy Conference on June 14–16, 2021! The theme of the conference is Health for Children with Music.

The New Children's Hospital in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has given us inspiration to invite students, researchers and professionals worldwide to talk about the potential of music therapy as a contributor to the mental and somatic recovery of children.

The New Children's Hospital was opened in September 2018 and was selected as the winner of the 2018 Finlandia Prize for Architecture. The New Children’s Hospital is highlighting a pleasant environment for child patients and their parents with transparency and colorfulness.

Finns have always expressed themselves with music. The Kalevala (1835), our national epic, is one of the cornerstones of Finnish literature. It consists of folk poetry collected by Elias Lönnrot from singers who either had grown up with these songs or had learnt them in adulthood. Playing the kantele, singing contests and runo singers have a significant role in The Kalevala. Most importantly, this epic has mediated to us the runo singing, a tradition in which the poems follow certain basic metrical and musical patterns.

Various types of music created by children have also been an important element in the Finnish tradition of folk music and a rich topic for research. In its Kalevala Yearbook in 1938, The Kalevala Society reports on early children’s songs. Their themes vary: children’s everyday observations, shouts with which they call their parents and loved ones, and ideas developing in their own minds.

This time in the history of music therapy conferences, the focus will be only on children’s music therapy. We wish to increase knowledge about music therapy for children across professional boundaries in practice, as we are encouraged by the results gained so far.

The first conference day, Tuesday 15th, is dedicated to music therapy in pediatrics (children aged 0–15); the second day, Wednesday 16th, deals with music therapy in child psychiatry (children aged 0–12). We will announce even more information about the International Music Therapy Week in June 2021, soon.​

On behalf of the organizing committee I hope that this dialogue between the beautiful New Children’s Hospital and the long human tradition of expressing thoughts and emotions with music will result in an inspiring and rewarding conference.

Hanna Hakomäki
Chair of the First Children's Music Therapy Conference
PhD Music Therapist, Family and Couple Psychotherapist, Supervisor
HUS Helsinki University Hospital, Child Psychiatry

I cordially welcome you all to Helsinki, to the first international children’s music therapy congress!

The congress is organized in collaboration with Helsinki University Hospital, Child Psychiatry and University of Jyväskylä and held in the context of the New Children’s Hospital, which offers advanced level treatments and expertise and serves the needs of the whole country. Needless to say, the New Children’s Hospital is a perfect place for children’s music therapy congress!

The history of professional music therapy in Finland starts from 1970s and this time, almost 50 years, has been a time of dynamic and active development of clinical training, research and practice. Unlike other creative therapies in Finland, music therapy has been an academic discipline right from the beginning and this, for one’s part, has speeded up the development of the profession. Before the children’s music therapy congress, we have organized Nordic Music Therapy congresses (1997 and 2012 – and, 2021 again!), and European Music Therapy congress (2004) and we hope to meet many of the attendants of these events in Helsinki at the same time as we welcome new people. We look forward to hear and share the latest about children’s music therapy research and clinical applications. We also wish that this congress is a place where new openings for international collaboration may take place.

Children have always been in the focus of music therapy including a wide range of different disabilities such as developmental, neurological, behavioral and emotional disorders. Music offers a non-verbal form of expression and interaction and, thus, makes meaningful communication possible even in a situation where verbal communication is not possible. In addition to being emotionally meaningful, music has bodily dimensions and meanings as well – sometimes called as embodied musical cognition. With appropriate music therapy methods and techniques, a meaningful communication can be achieved even with a child with severe retardation. From this perspective, it is logical that early interaction theories have an important role in music therapy literature explaining the specific music related mechanisms and meanings.

Music therapy offers many possibilities in children’s hospital environment. Children suffering from various medical conditions and receiving demanding and sometimes even painful treatments easily develop stress and anxiety and just in these situations, music therapy has shown its potential and power. However, availability of music therapy in medical hospital context is not a self-evident truth and, in this respect, room for development exists. There is also lack of knowledge of the benefits of music therapy among medical staff and perhaps prejudices occur. We hope that this congress offers a productive platform where good practices and approaches can be shared in order to improve the role of music therapy in children’s hospital context.

Jaakko Erkkilä
Co-chair of the First Children’s Music Therapy Conference
Professor
University of Jyväskylä
Finland

Jos De Backer
Professor, LUCA, School of Arts, campus Lemmens, Leuven, Belgium
Head of the Music Therapy Department at the University Psychiatric Centre KU Leuven

Cheryl Dileo, PhD, MT-BC
Emerita Laura H. Carnell Professor of Music Therapy
Temple University, USA
Founding Director: Arts and Quality of Life Research Center

Jaakko Erkkilä, PhD, Music Therapist, Psychotherapist
Professor in Music Therapy, University of Jyväskylä; Finland

Katrien Foubert, PhD, Music Therapist
Associate Professor, LUCA School of Arts, Belgium

Hanna Hakomäki, PhD, Music Therapist, Family and Couple Psychotherapist, Supervisor
Helsinki University Hospital, Child Psychiatry, Finland

Eija Korpinen, MD, PhD
Child Psychiatrist, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland

Liisa Lehtonen, MD
Director of the Division of Neonatology, Turku University Hospital
Professor in Pediatrics, University of Turku, Finland

Suvi Saarikallio, PhD, Vice Head responsible for Research and Innovations at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies
Associate Professor, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Heli Sätilä, MD, PhD, Pediatric Neurologist
Senior Physician, the Central Hospital of Päijät-Häme Region
Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Finland

Organisers of International Music Therapy Week have decided to postpone all events that were originally planned for June 2021. The decision to postpone, rather than move to an online platform, was not taken lightly. Being a collaborative effort, organisers needed to take into consideration current protocols, requirements, and wishes of each organisation and institution involved. The original program was planned with the intention of hosting an in-person event, and many program items were not transferrable to an online format.

International Music Therapy Week is sure to be an incredible week of events, and we are thrilled to welcome you to Helsinki in April, 2022! Stay tuned for more updates. 

International Music Therapy Week

April, 2022, Helsinki, Finland

Organised by: 

• University of Jyväskylä
• HUS Helsinki University Hospital, Child Psychiatry, University of Helsinki
• Finnish Society for Music Therapy

More information

Music Therapy Consortium

For invited international consortium representatives. 

The 1st International Conference on Children's Music Therapy

Health for Children with Music

Contact: Dr. Hanna Hakomäki @email

The 10th Nordic Music Therapy Conference

Music Therapy - Adapting Approaches for Health

Contact: Dr. Esa Ala-Ruona or Mikaela Leandertz @email