ABSTRACT
The United States was the first country to develop music therapy as a modern profession and discipline and its first professional association was founded in 1950. The United Kingdom (UK) professional body was founded over 25 years later and there are sixty-one music therapy associations across Europe, some more focused on professionalization than others, sometimes more than one in any particular country. The music therapists who are recruited to lead these projects have varied in their training backgrounds and prior experiences. They are given autonomy, with guidance available if required, to choose their approach and which skills they share with their Local Partners. Despite this freedom, all projects have ultimately drawn on the UK model of improvisational music therapy. To examine the specific impact of intercultural skills sharing the chapter suggests that further research based on a phenomenological, hermeneutic research design would be required.
