Slovenia

Music therapy in Slovenia began to actively develop in 2005, when Špela Loti Knoll returned from a Music Therapy course in Cambridge, Great Britain, and joined the Slovenian Association for Art Therapies (SZUT). Previously, music therapy existed only as a modality within art therapies—specifically as part of the MA programme Help with Arts, which did not meet the professional standards required in our field. After 2005, music therapy began to develop rapidly as an independent profession.

Between 2003 and 2005, Špela Loti Knoll led music therapy projects in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina within EAMTS – the European Association of Music Therapy Students. From 2006 to 2008, these projects were implemented through SZUT, marking the first international music therapy projects under Slovenian leadership.

In 2008, Slovenia became an associate member of EMTC through SZUT, with only four music therapists at the time and without voting rights. Špela Loti Knoll attended her first General Assembly in 2009 in Vienna and served as Slovenia’s representative until 2013. In 2012, Slovenia withdrew from EMTC through SZUT, but rejoined in 2014 under the newly established Knoll Institute.

The Knoll Institute for Music Therapy and Supervision, founded in 2014 by Špela Loti Knoll, is the only institution providing education for qualified music therapists in Slovenia. To date, 16 music therapists have completed their studies. During the first five years, she conducted the programme in collaboration with Claudia Knabe, who also served as Slovenia’s EMTC representative from 2014 to 2022.

The establishment of the Association of Music Therapists of Slovenia (ZGTS) in 2020 represents an important milestone in the development of music therapy as a profession in Slovenia. Acting as the competent legal body, the Association formally represents music therapy both nationally and internationally. Today it has 21 members and is a full member of EMTC. Since its establishment, the Association has been led by President Rozalija Dvoršek, and Slovenia has been represented in EMTC by Maruša Juvanc since 2022, with Petra Gabršček as her deputy.

In 2024, the Association successfully organised the EMTC General Assembly in Brežice, hosting representatives of the music therapy profession from 32 countries—the first time this event took place in Slovenia. Alongside the Assembly, the 4th International Symposium on Music Therapy in Slovenia, entitled Meeting in Music 2024, was also held.

In Slovenia, we continue to build the profession of music therapy through educational activities and by providing music therapy services throughout the country. We remain internationally connected and committed to advancing the profession in line with the highest international standards.

Music therapy in Slovenia is influenced by various European approaches, especially from Germany, Austria and the UK. The training course is eclectically informed by various national and international lecturers and is based on a humanistic view. The connection and mutual exchange with the other artistic therapies as well as the cultural influence of Slovenian music culture plays an important role.

Music Therapy is amongst the Arts Therapies listed in the Slovenian Classification of Professions in the category “other healthcare professions”, but it is in no way regulated and protected by law.

Music therapy training in Slovenia takes place at Institute Knoll for Music Therapy and Supervision (IK). It is a three-year, part-time training programme, not yet accredited. The institute and the course were founded in 2014 by Špela Loti Knoll and Claudia Bajs. It is currently headed by Špela Loti Knoll. The establishment of music therapy training in Slovenia was significantly supported by the Andreas Tobias Kind Foundation from Hamburg, Germany. 

In 2022, the eighth generation enrolled, in February 2021, the eleventh Music Therapist IK successfully finished the course. This means that Slovenia now has nearly 20 trained music therapists, who studied in abroad or in their home country. The IK Music Therapy training course aims to fulfill the necessary criteria and become a state recognized training course in the upcoming years. Music therapy is currently being introduced as a new elective subject for students of music education at the Music Academy, University of Ljubljana.

There is cooperation between the private training institution (IK) and the University of Ljubljana (Music Academy, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Medicine) regarding research projects. Currently there is a research project taking place at the University of Ljubljana. It is the PhD project “Functional and psychotherapeutic approaches in music therapy with individuals with severe disabilities” conducted by Claudia Bajs at the Music Academy Ljubljana, supervised by Katarina Habe.

The first national association “Slovenian Music Therapy Association” (ZGTS) was founded in 2020. They are focusing on professional issues, networking and recognition processes. Regular In-person and Zoom-meetings are organized within the board and for all members, a series of lectures on topics that are relevant for the development of the profession of MT in Slovenia started in 2022. The association currently represents 10 qualified music therapists and 3 music therapy students.