Symposium "Music Therapy – Empowering Lives Through Music (ELTMusic): The Role of Music Across Multiple Domains"

On Friday, May 16, 2025, the symposium Music Therapy Day was held in the "Bl. Alojzije kard. Stepinac" hall, organized by the Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of Croatia. The symposium took place in a hybrid format as part of the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme Empowering Lives Through Music (ELT-Music): The Role of Music Across Multiple Domains. The program was carried out in collaboration with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy), Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal), Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania), and The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland), with support from the Croatian Association of Music Therapists and the Department of Music Therapy of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland.

The opening address on behalf of the organizers was given by Assoc. Prof. Ljiljana Pačić Turk, Ph.D., who thanked everyone for their attendance and for preparing a high-quality program that brings together experts from Croatia, Poland, and the United States.
 

On behalf of the Catholic University of Croatia, Asst. Prof. Dragan Glavaš, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Psychology, conveyed greetings and gratitude from the Rector for organizing the event. He emphasized the importance of innovation, opening new directions within psychology, and the beauty of diversity in science. He also encouraged students to actively participate and take advantage of the opportunity to acquire new knowledge.

Following the opening, the symposium began with a lecture by Josipa Gelo, who spoke about the connection between psychology and music/music therapy. Asst. Prof. Ksenija Burić, Ph.D., delivered a lecture on perspectives in music therapy, while the keynote speaker, Professor Emeritus Barbara Wheeler from the United States, gave a lecture reflecting on music therapy as a method and presented research based on her rich academic and research experience.

In the second part of the symposium, Dr. Ludwika Koncieczna-Nowak gave a lecture on music therapy among teenagers; Agnieszka Sepioło presented on music therapy in working with adults suffering from tinnitus. Students Zofia Staroń, Urszula Marszałek, Gabriela Majerowska, and Marlena Kandzia spoke about their first steps in the profession, sharing clinical experiences and personal reflections, while students Nataša Maruškić Popadić and Marko Antolković gave a presentation on music therapy in educational and rehabilitative contexts.