Presentation

In 1983, the Centro de Investigación Musicoterapéutica (Music Therapy Research Centre) was created in Vitoria-Gasteiz, later, we established the Asociación para el Estudio e Investigación de la Música, la Terapia y la Comunicación- Musicoterapia (Association for the Study and Research of Music, Therapy and Communication-Music Therapy) and, at the end, the Asociación de Musicoterapia Música, Arte y Proceso (Music, Art and Process Music Therapy Association), also called Instituto Música, Arte y Proceso (Music, Art and Process Institute), was set up. Since that date we have gone through/over a long way.

We started to be interested in Music Therapy after a period of studies and researches. During this period we studied/analysed the different therapeutic and didactic models that are useful for the formative and maturity process of a person within health and education area. Through this study we discovered that this discipline, which has not been really explored in Spain, could bring us a lot of contents, strategies and values that could enrich the treatment approach and also the relation with physically and psychically handicapped people.

Thanks to the work carried out during all these years, we can define Music Therapy as the scientific application of sound, music and movement through listening training and sonorous-instrumental performance, integrating the cognitive, emotional and motor aspects, developing awareness and promoting the creative process. This will let us:
- facilitate communication
- promote individual expression
- favour group and social integration

Taking this idea as the basis, our aim is, on the one hand, to spread the foundations of this field through training courses, sensitising seminars, conferences...and on the other hand, to go deeply into the study, research and treatment of the different pathologies with Music Therapy techniques. This task is constantly growing thanks to the work of the different professionals that are direct or indirectly in touch with the Music, Art and Process Institute.
We want to show evidence on this report of the long way we have gone through, and we would like to say that we are very proud of it. We are convinced that the experience we have will let us remain loyal to our original/first perspective: to go deeply into the study, research and practice of Music Therapy.

History of the Music, Art and Process Institute

The Music Therapy activity started in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1983 with the creation of the Music Therapy Research Centre. This centre started carrying out an informative activity/task of Music Therapy, by holding seminars in the different cities of Spain and by the creation of a biographic and phonographic data base. In 1985 we started to establish the first contacts with France and England. 

In 1986 the first Music Therapy International Meeting was held in Vitoria-Gasteiz. In this first meeting the first Music Therapy training programme of Spain was presented and in December of the same year we started the training of music therapist. The Escuela de Musicoterapia y Técnicas Grupales (The School of Music Therapy and Group Techniques) was in charge of this training having the judicial and technical support of the Association for the Study and Research of Music, Therapy and Communication-Music Therapy. 

Likewise, in July of 1987 we started to hold in Vitoria-Gasteiz the Music Therapy Summer School and we held it every year. In 1989 we also started to hold the European Music Therapy Seminar due to the interest awaked among the different international associations of professionals, specially the Association of Professional Music Therapist in England. It is in the frame of these meetings where in 1991 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the frame of the Third European Music Therapy Seminary - organized by the Music, Art and Process Institute, the European Music Therapy Committee was created. Helen Odell, Gianluigi di Franco, Tony Wigram and Patxi del Campo were the founders.

From 1990 to 1993 the Music, Art and Process Institute had to face the important challenge of organizing the VII Music Therapy World Congress, with the Honorary Presidency of SM Queen of Spain and supported by the city council, the Work and Social Welfare Department of the Basque Government and other institutions and with the favourable vote of all the responsible of the music therapy associations of the Music Therapy World Federation. So, in July 1993 Vitoria-Gasteiz welcomed more than 700 participants from 38 countries who came to receive and/or contribute the latest advances in research and work in Music Therapy around the world. We think that the celebration of this VII Music Therapy World Congress and the I Congress of the Music Therapy World Federation was a success from an organizational, scientific and informative point of view.

On the other hand, our formative interest extends to the university field promoting the celebration of different University Conferences. So, in 1992 the 1st Music Therapy University Conferences were held at the "Ramon Llull" University from Barcelona. In 1995 the 2nd Music Therapy University Conferences were celebrated at the University of Salamanca.

From 1986 to present the Music, Art and Process Institute gives a Postgraduate Course in Music Therapy. In 1994, thanks to the steps taken by this institution, these studies were recognized as university studies at the University of the Basque Country. Nowadays, it does not have this recognition.

The increasing interest in this discipline is shown not only with the promotion of these courses, but with the growing demand of this training in different centres.

The Music, Art and Process Institute is founder member of the European Music Therapy Committee and member of the Music Therapy World Federation. Patxi del Campo was the secretary of that Federation from 1993 to 1999.

From 1983 the Institute has developed a number of researches in different fields of application of music therapy / art therapy. One of the most important was developed in 1995 with the collaboration of the Hospital of Txagorritxu in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It was a research about Vibroacoustics and patients with Parkinson. It was coordinated by Dr. Jose Ignacio Fernández Manchola and by Patxi del Campo San Vicente and was funded by FIS (Health Research Fund)

The professionals team of the Music, Art and Process Institute has also, for order of different public and private institutions, has developed different project of attention and research.

All the years of experience and development have made a creation of a specialized documentation fund possible. That fund has around 6.000 bibliographic documents and an audio library of 10.000 copies, more or less.

Its long research, clinical and teaching trajectory lead it to create in 1997 an editorial department (with the name of AgrupArte) that reflected the works, projects and researches developed in the field of Music, Art in general, Therapy and Education. This editorial fund includes a collection of books entitled "Music, Art and Process", a journal and a collection of musical tales entitled "The speck of dust". In addition, educational guides have also been published as complementary material of the musical tales.

The Music, Art and Process Institute maintains contacts of collaboration with many national and international Centres and Associations which makes possible to update our educational practice, to know new clinical and research experiences and to have the advice and information of outstanding music therapy professionals.

Objectives

The Music, Art and Process Institute works for the achievement of the following objectives:

1. Compile information about activities and the situation of research and the development of those areas related to music, art and human process.

2. Promote the study and popularization of Music Therapy and Art Therapy as another field of professional development and practice, evolving study and training plans.

3. Research and promote the development of new music therapy and creative therapies strategies that would join the theoretical and practical component of these fields.

4. Develop clinical-therapeutic treatments, experiences and projects that would admit, demand or require these techniques.

5. Maintain a permanent relation with public and private national and international organizations in order to exchange information and documentation.

6. Attend queries and act as a consultant to people or entities who ask information about issues related to this theme.

7. Favour scientific-technical meetings and exchanges of professionals trained as and/or interested in Music Therapy and Art Therapy.