Conference Report: Rethinking Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Toward New Ethical Paradigms in Music and Health Research

Rethinking Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Toward New Ethi- cal Paradigms in Music and Health Research was a 1-day confer- ence held at Goldsmiths College, London, on October 19, 2013. Organized by Dr. Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersberg, at Goldsmiths, University of London, and supported by the British Forum for Ethnomusicology and Society for Education and Music Psychol- ogy Research, it brought together researchers, practitioners, and students from music psychology, neuroscience, ethnomusicology, music therapy, music sociology, and anthropology from across the U.K. and Europe. The aims of the day were to explore the meth- odological and paradigmatic differences between disciplines and seek ways of overcoming these to enable and encourage interdis- ciplinary collaboration. The conference was structured into three sections based on conference themes and concluded with a plenary by eminent researchers and practitioners from across the repre- sented fields. A podcast of the plenary session can be accessed online at www.gold.ac.uk/podcasts.Biomedical and Social Perspectives on Music and Well-BeingThe central theme in the first session, which permeated the conference, was the challenge of ensuring that research is rigorous and scientifically sound, and maintains an ethical, respectful, and sincere relationship with its population of interest. Dr. Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersberg spoke about the need for the field of music therapy to be tailored around the ethnic population of interest, which sometimes conflicts with the strictly controlled intervention model characteristic of Western science.Offering another viewpoint, Dr. Daisy Fancourt, an National Health Service (UK) (NHS) Arts-in-Health Project Manager and researcher at the Royal College of Music, discussed both the need for and the limitations of a more standardized approach to psy- choneuroimmunology, which marries physiology to the core heal- ing principles of music therapy. Fancourt emphasized that, thanks to technical advances, there now exist noninvasive, portable, and convenient methods for collecting biomarkers such as cortisol levels, neurotransmitters, and other hormones. However, a wide gap remains between scientific data collection and the cultural sensitivity that is crucial to ethnomusicologists' and therapists' practices, especially considering communities who are sceptical or distrustful of Western scientists. To gain a better understanding of the bidirectional influences of music, the mind, and the body, it is clear that scientists need a more holistic understanding of entire body systems as opposed to snapshot measures of biomarkers.Dr. Martin Greve of the Orient-Institut Istanbul illustrated an ex- ample of how an isolated traumatized community in Dersim (Tunceli), Turkey, could greatly benefit from a collaborative approach to music therapy. Following the Dersim rebellion and massacre in the 1930s, the community is still suffering and the topic remains highly sensitive to the people of the region. During his fieldwork, Dr. Greve encountered several members of the deeply grieving community who sought emotional help and healing beyond the scope of an ethnomu- sicologist. Dr. Greve noted that an effective intervention would re- quire an interdisciplinary approach. He proposed that a network of professionals with skills in posttraumatic psychology, ethnomusicol- ogy, and music therapy would be necessary and that there would be ethical considerations with regard to how, and to what extent, outsid- ers should intervene.Culture and Musical Well-BeingThe second session, chaired by Dr. Lauren Stewart, explored the relationship between culture and musical well-being, and the role of culturally appropriate methods in theory, research, and practice.Friederike Haslbeck from University Hospital, Zurich, looked at the role of creative music therapy in neonatal care and explored how culturally sensitive methods can be incorporated into research and practice. …