Browsing by Person "Akoyunoglou, Mitsi"

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Community music therapy with refugee children in transit camps on the Greek island of Chios: ‘Like one family, together’
(Routledge, 2024-01-25) Akoyunoglou, Mitsi; Tsiris, Giorgos; Herrmann, Uwe; Hills de Zárate, Margaret; Hunter, Heather M.; Pitruzzella, Salvo
This chapter is based on a five-year practice-led exploration of group music therapy with refugee children on the Greek island of Chios. Although an increasing number of music therapists work with refugees, practice is only sparsely documented, and there are rare accounts of work within transit camps to date. This chapter seeks to contribute to this gap. Extending beyond trauma-specific considerations, we outline the development of a community-oriented approach to music therapy in relation to the everyday refugee experience within formal and informal transit camps. The narratives and insights emerging from this exploration are explored alongside the principles of Psychological First Aid (PFA). We reflect on the role of music therapy in relation to refugee children's experience of crisis and adversity. Future directions that are transferable to other similar contexts of practice are discussed.
Music therapy dictionary: A place of interdisciplinary encounters [in Greek]
(Queen Margaret University, 2024-07) Tsiris, Giorgos; Akoyunoglou, Mitsi; Papastavrou, Dimitra; Katostari, Konstantina
Welcome to the Music Therapy Dictionary, a place of interdisciplinary encounters. The starting point for the development of this English-Greek dictionary was the necessity to create a shared language that would clarify terminology and provide recommendations, while at the same time it would support the music therapy discourse, research and education in the Greek language. This initiative draws on Approaches' longstanding work as an English-Greek bilingual journal. The translational dilemmas and choices that inform the dictionary have permeated the efforts and the behind-the-scenes discussions of the team of Approaches from 2008 to the present day aiming to advance the scientific terminology in music therapy. This undertaking is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all the concepts and terms pertaining to the field of music therapy. It makes a first step by opening up a space for a fertile academic dialogue, where the knowledge and interpretation of foreign language concepts and terms are achieved through opportunities for continuous exchange of ideas, reflection, consideration and re-consideration. Our primary intention is to create through the dictionary a place of interdisciplinary encounters, where concepts, terms, theories and authors from both the field of music therapy and other related fields contribute to an informed documentation, rendering and interpretation of foreign language terms.
Towards an open dialogue: Contemporary developments in the field of music therapy in Greece
(2023) Kalliodi, Christina; Akoyunoglou, Mitsi; Adamopoulou, Christiana; Froudaki, Maria; Tsiris, Giorgos
The music therapy field in Greece has undergone important changes and advancements since 2016. These changes include the establishment of music therapy education programs, the development of new service provision models, as well as the emergence of new professional networks and of spaces for interdisciplinary dialogue (Tsiris & Kalliodi, 2020). These advancements have multifaceted implications for the way that the discipline and the profession of music therapy evolves within the country, as well as for the developing relation between the Greek music therapy community and the international one (Ridder & Tsiris, 2015). The changing ecology of the field includes emerging changes regarding the professional identity of music therapists, the awareness of the general public about the profession, as well as the possibilities for collaboration with other disciplines. However, the discourse regarding these changes and their repercussions is restricted within narrow intra-professional circles and it rarely features in public disciplinary reflections. Acknowledging the necessity and the benefits of such an open reflective discourse (Stige, 2014), this symposium attempts to outline contemporary developments in the field while raising questions and concerns in terms of three key dimensions: (a) music therapy practice and service development, (b) the importance and the role of professional networks, and (c) music therapists' education in terms of qualification, continued professional education and lifelong learning. These dimensions are explored multidimensionally drawing on the extensive experience of the speakers within different professional, educational and research contexts in Greece and internationally. With ramifications for issues pertaining to ideologies and sociopolitical values, this symposium aspires to promote a constructive dialogue with other professionals from the wider field of music, health and wellbeing, while taking into consideration the broader social context (Moss, 2021; Whitehead-Pleaux & Tan, 2019).