13th EMTC Conference - "Bridges" - Hamburg, Germany, 2025

From 23rd to 27th July 2025, the 13th European Music Therapy Conference took place in Hamburg. The conference was hosted by the Medical School Hamburg (MSH), the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre (HfMT), and the German Music Therapy Association (DMtG).

Almost one thousand participants from more than forty countries attended, both in person and online. In lectures, poster presentations, round tables, symposia, workshops, and the newly established Bridges format, which focuses on interdisciplinary dialogue, presenters showcased their music therapy practice, methods, research projects, and research findings.

Click here for the Book of Abstracts.

Body of Evidence

In the opening keynote, Joke Bradt (USA) addressed a core issue in the profession: How effective is music therapy? Are there areas in which music therapy shows particularly strong effects compared to other forms of therapy? Bradt presented the results of a newly published umbrella review, a comprehensive meta-analysis on the effectiveness of arts-based interventions for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental and neurological disorders. A total of 3,885 randomized controlled primary studies were screened, of which 150 met the inclusion criteria and were analysed.

The results showed moderate overall effects for arts-based interventions in cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders—particularly anxiety, stress, and depression—and cancer, with high effects specifically for music therapy in cancer-related anxiety and depression. Small to moderate overall effects were found for neurological disorders. Scientific evidence for music therapy and other arts-based interventions as complementary treatments to conventional first-line therapies therefore exists. The question remains whether decision-makers within healthcare systems are adequately aware of this evidence.

Professional Policy – Strengthening Music Therapy

As a co-organiser with the EMTC, the DMtG actively used the conference to advocate for professional policy goals through public relations and press work. In the publicly accessible, live-streamed and recorded format NOON INSIGHTS – Lunchtime Talks, representatives from music therapy, culture, health policy, and public life came together for discussions on four days.

Topics included the gap in outpatient music therapy provision, the potential role of arts and cultural offerings in addressing this gap, and the clear differentiation between cultural activities and music therapy. As Beatrix Ewers-Grewe emphasised in the lunchtime talk Music Therapy and Mental Health, music therapy specifically addresses clinical symptoms and requires a focused therapeutic stance, grounded in awareness of the power of music. Arts and cultural activities, by contrast, can accompany therapy, support stabilisation after treatment, or provide preventive support and social participation.

A recurring question was why outpatient music therapy is not funded. According to Hardy Müller, Secretary General of the German Society for Patient Safety, the issue is not a lack of evidence: “Music therapists in certain indications have provided evidence that is sufficient […]. We are now at the point of asking: how do we organise these services?” In the lunchtime discussion on music therapy in oncology and palliative care, Müller stressed that responsibility lies with the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA). Political and institutional advocacy—including support from prominent figures—would be needed to prompt a reassessment of the changed evidence base and increased demand. A further prerequisite for inclusion in G-BA guidelines is legal regulation of the profession.

The following articles in German about the Noon Insights Lunchtime Talks can be found on the blog of the German Music Therapy Society DMTG:

Music Therapy for children and adolescents

Music Therapy in cancer and palliative care

Music Therapy for neurological diseases and dementia

Watch all four Noon Insights talks here.

That German music therapists are not alone in their struggle for legal recognition became clear in the round table Current status and the way forward for legal regulations of the music therapy profession across EMTC member countries. The Recognition Action Team of the European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) presented the current status of professional recognition across Europe. In only six of the thirty-three member countries is the profession legally recognised, regulated, and statutorily certified. According to the team, achieving recognition requires motivation, energy, persistence, patience, and above all, vision. Additional strategies include finding allies in official bodies, gaining influential advocates from medical and political fields, and maintaining continuous dialogue between governments and music therapy associations.

Moments of Interest I

Do neuroscientific methods in music therapy research really matter? Yes, according to the speakers in the Bridges format Hearts and Brains in Tune – towards a social neuroscience of music therapy processes and outcomes. Neuroscience helps us better understand music therapy processes. Jörg Fachner, Clemens Maidhof (Cambridge), Gerhard Tucek, and Sun Sun Yap (Austria) presented current studies on subjective experiences of patients and therapists during music therapy, alongside associated neural processes.

The focus was on specific moments in music therapy sessions when a special atmosphere or emotional connection becomes perceptible—a moment of interest. Findings showed significantly increased inter-brain synchronisation during such moments. It is assumed that an accumulation of shared moments may indicate changes in the therapeutic process. Neuroscientific methods such as hyperscanning—the simultaneous recording and analysis of brain activity from multiple individuals—thus make the invisible visible, capturing what would otherwise remain anecdotal. In the future, brain data collection may even become part of music therapy assessment procedures.

Researchers also aim to transfer neuroscientific research from the laboratory into music therapy practice. Joanna Culligan (USA) demonstrated how this can be achieved even with highly vulnerable groups such as people with dementia, using a person-centred design, a sensitive approach, and strong interdisciplinary collaboration.

Moments of Interest II

Finding interesting topics within the extensive EMTC programme was easy; choosing personal moments of interest among so many compelling sessions was more challenging. The following is a non-exhaustive overview of conference topics—some identified by participants as particularly important and innovative, others selected by the author.

Trauma and EMDR

Several contributions addressed trauma-related disorders, particularly those associated with war and displacement. Kotryna V. Vainoraitė (Lithuania) presented her receptive music therapy work with women who had fled Ukraine. Samuel Gracida (Heidelberg) introduced a Bridges project with refugee children affected by trauma and experiences of racism in host countries. Olena Romanowa (Ukraine) spoke about music therapy work during wartime, Marco Lolli (Italy) about the project Music & Resilience in refugee camps, and Tamar Hadar (Israel) about her study on music therapy with displaced Ukrainian families.

Given the global political situation, trauma-related disorders resulting from war and displacement are likely to increase in importance within psychotherapeutic and music therapy contexts. Music therapy may play a valuable role here as a supportive, language-independent intervention.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is an established trauma treatment method. In the round table Integrating music and creativity in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, music and EMDR therapists Melanie Thomas, Crystal Luk-Worrall, Susan Darker-Smith, and Claire Fraser-Tytler (England) demonstrated how music therapy interventions can be integrated into EMDR protocols. With children, bilateral stimulation may involve tapping, drumming, drawing, or listening to music rather than following finger movements with the eyes. Music is also used to create a non-verbal space for healing and to help children leave sessions feeling grounded and secure.

Music Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Disorders

Obsessive-compulsive disorder remains a relatively under-researched area in music therapy. This likely contributed to the strong interest in the symposium From obsession to flexibility – music therapy approaches for obsessive compulsive disorder, presented by Monika Hoog-Antink, Dr Amir Yassari (Hamburg), Raphael Dombrowski, and Leonard Schaller (Austria). Three case studies illustrated music therapy approaches, including mindfulness-based interventions as counterpoints to distorted attentional focus and obsessive thinking.

Within the MESSAGE research project, Monika Hoog-Antink and Tina Mallon developed a modular group music therapy programme for patients with OCD and anxiety disorders, currently being tested in a pilot study. A key innovation is the use of a standardised observation form for therapy sessions, which has proven helpful in describing sessions in detail and understanding group processes.

Music Therapy and Addiction

Current research and treatment approaches in music therapy for addiction were addressed in a round table and three lectures. Moshe Bensimon and Jeffrey Lozon (Israel) explored problematic music consumption in their presentation To bridge between addiction and healthy life: A qualitative inquiry into music consumption at drug treatment centres with and without music therapy sessions. Observing that music and substance use can reinforce each other and that certain genres form part of drug culture, they examined how patients relate to problematic music after recovery. Music therapy addressing music consumption helped patients develop awareness of their individual triggers and create healthier musical associations through controlled exposure.

Music Therapy in Neonatology

Josephine Geipel (Augsburg), Betty Legler (Switzerland), and Ruth Stakermann (Soltau) critically examined the use of music boxes and digital playback devices in neonatal care, particularly in relation to the vulnerability of infants’ developing auditory systems. Alexandra Ullsten (Sweden) highlighted the importance of parental contact for pain perception in neonatal intensive care.

Shulamit Epstein, Maayan Salomon-Gimmon, and Tal-Chen Rabinowitch (Israel) explored links between neuroscientific research on neural synchronisation and the music therapy concept of synchronisation, focusing on at-risk parent–infant dyads. Their research combines hyperscanning and behavioural analysis during music therapy sessions to identify moments of synchrony and relate them to infant attachment, development, and parental mental health.

… and So Much More …

Reviewing the conference programme via the app reveals a wide range of formats focused on music therapy with children—from work with children with severe disabilities, developmental disorders, neurological conditions, or autism spectrum disorders, to children with cancer, children of parents with cancer, and children with trauma-related disorders. The round table Using music therapy to reach children and young people in mainstream and alternative educational provision experiencing mental health crises was one of the few sessions addressing music therapy for children with mental health difficulties within mainstream school settings.

More than ten sessions focused on music therapy for older adults and people with dementia, including discussions on how digital and AI-supported interventions might meet growing demand amid shortages of qualified therapists. Other topics included psychodynamic music therapy, music therapy for depression and psychosis, medical music therapy, music therapy in music schools, specific therapy models, research, and resonance in music therapy.

Take a Break: Singing Along with the Bridges Song

The enthusiastic singing of “Bridges!!” in Josef Moser’s Bridges Song will likely remain a vivid memory for participants, as will Moser’s passionate efforts to involve everyone. The song was repeatedly practised during breaks and finally performed together at the closing ceremony. Its message was clear: focus on what connects us.

The Keynotes

In addition to evidence on arts-based interventions, keynote lectures addressed music therapy and psychotherapy research, music therapy and society, and medicine and music psychology. Petri Toiviainen (Finland) illustrated the role of movement in music perception through animated dancing stick figures, showing how affective states and personality traits may be reflected in movement. Keynotes by Ulrike Willutzki (Witten), Karin Mösseler (Norway), and Catherine Carr (England) introduced transtheoretical models of behavioural change and their implications for music therapy, including group processes and the expression of change through group music therapy.

Building Bridges

The conference theme Building Bridges appeared throughout presentations—as a metaphor for therapeutic processes, interdisciplinary work, and music’s ability to bridge silence and language. In the closing ceremony, many participants cited connecting—meeting others, exchanging ideas, and building networks—as their personal highlight.

Dancing under the Bridge

Additional highlights included social events such as visits to the Elbphilharmonie, a dinner cruise, and drum circles. A particularly memorable evening involved dinner aboard a ship cruising through Hamburg harbour, followed by dancing as the vessel passed beneath a bridge—an unplanned yet fitting embodiment of the conference theme.

Building Bridges to Ljubljana

The next EMTC, announced at the closing ceremony, will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2028. What challenges will music therapists face by then? Which themes will remain central—or become even more prominent? A closing discussion with Stefan Mainka (Berlin), Josephine Geipel (Augsburg), Zoe Yu Jung Weng (Switzerland), and Bastian Vobig (Würzburg) explored artificial intelligence. AI, they agreed, could support access to therapy and relationship-building without replacing the therapeutic relationship. Anna Menén Sánchez (Spain) demonstrated this in her keynote on neurorehabilitation, describing how AI-supported song composition enabled a girl with severe physical limitations to express her inner experience. The consensus: responsible, reflective use of AI may enrich therapy. With rapid technological developments, curiosity remains about how these discussions will evolve by 2028.