Joanne Loewy DA, LCAT, MT-BC is Director of the world-renowned Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Associate Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is a Doctor of Arts, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Board Certified Music Therapist. A leader in her field, she oversees the Department of Music Therapy, which she started at Beth Israel in 1994.
As a Founding Member of the International Association for Music and Medicine what can you tell us about music therapy in Scandinavia?
A keen and growing interest in the field is flourishing around the world, including the Scandinavian countries. I took part in conferences and led workshops in 13 countries last year, including Norway, where I presented a keynote entitled “Music and Medicine: Building Bridges in Team Centered Care” and led a trainings in “First Sounds: Rhythm, Breath and Lullaby” for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) professionals involved in the care of premature babies.
What are some of your other Scandinavian projects?
Through my work on the Scientific Committee of Finland’s VIBRAC Skille-Lehikoinen Centre for Vibroacoustic Therapy and Research, I’ve met many Scandinavian practitioners interested in studying the benefits of music therapy for populations suffering from depression, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease, among others. I had the honor of speaking at the Vibrac conference in Lahti, Finland last October. As co-Editor in Chief of the international, peer-reviewed journal “Music and Medicine” I’ve had the opportunity to interface with Scandinavian researchers. I recently traveled to Sweden, and provided a lecture at the Royal College of Stockholm where I met Scandinavian researchers, including investigators at Sweden’s Mälardalen University, who studied how singing could ease the stress of those caring for people with dementia.
TTS Music & Medicine Scholars Taru Koivisto,M.Mus, MT from Finland & Kjersti Johansson, MA, PhD candidate from Norway, providing a stimulating Music and Medicine Grand Rounds at Union Square Mount Sinai Downtown
What aspects of your work at the Louis Armstrong Center are attracting attention from Scandinavia?
We’re involved in many international studies and exchanges. Two examples include this past summer’s International Association for Music and Medicine’s conference in Beijing and the International Summit for Music Therapy in the NICU –in both cases we organized these events with the goal of alliance development for training international practitioners in music and medicine, and music therapy. These conferences included representation from Norway, Finland and Sweden.
What’s it like hosting TTS music therapy fellows?
The Armstrong Center team truly enjoys our mutual collaboration as a way of enhancing the range of music therapy and medicine practice within the Scandinavian countries. Our TTS fellows are provided with opportunities to present-and this enhances our hospital teams’ understanding of their healthcare system-it is a true collaborative endeavor. I know that Denmark’s Aalborg Hospital has been particularly grateful for opportunities gleaned through our Center. We’re pleased our partnership with TTS is resulting in success stories, like that of Julie Mangersnes, a recent TTS Fellow, who is now applying her center knowledge to her work at The Oslo University Hospital, the largest medical center in Scandinavia. Julie’s expertise is making a marvelous addition to the hospital’s music therapy program, which recently celebrated 20 years of service.