WCMT 2017 student Report from Stephen Venkatarangam, Canada

The 2017 WFMT congress in Tsukuba was truly an enriching experience from the perspective of a music therapy student, a new professional in the field, as well as a new researcher. I found it a privilege to connect for the first time with the world music therapy community, to meet and attend presentations with the MTs many of who’s work I have been reading about as well as citing in my own research. At the congress, I particularly appreciated the opportunity to gain a more in-depth understanding of music therapy modalities such as Regulative Music Therapy and its relation to Zen, the use of Guided Imagery with non-Western populations, as well as the clinical use of Indian classical music (Raga) in India. The opportunity to present my research on Participant’s Experiences of a Receptive Music Therapy Experience that Incorporates Raga for the first time allowed me to gain insights from my peers: they expressed the needs and interests of the world music therapy community with regards to my research topic and gave me ideas for future research. Finally, I cannot forget how nice it was to make new friends from around the world, to enjoy the musical performances and to discover new places around and outside the congress venue.