Music therapy in Turkey: Historical background and current perspectives on dementia and end-of-life care

Abstract

This report has two objectives: a) to provide a historical background of music therapy in Turkey covering the period from the Seljuks (1037-1194) to modern times, and b) to describe current music interventions applied in Turkey in end-of-life care and dementia. During the Seljuk and Ottoman period, many şifahanes (hospitals) were built, and important scientists of the period from the 9th century until the 19th century included music and health issues in their work. In the last period of the Ottoman Empire, some şifahanes were closed and some of them were destroyed in wars. Then, the use of music as a therapeutic agent was forgotten until the end of the 1970s. Later on, some articles on the subject were written and interventions were carried out under the name of ‘music therapy’. These practices are based on the interventions of music-based practices in hospitals. In 2013, music therapy was included as a discipline in the Department of Traditional and Complementary Medicine of the Ministry of Health. Since 2018, universities have begun to issue certificates of music therapy approved by the Ministry of Health. Since there is no undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level training, the number of music therapists is insufficient in Turkey. Health workers or musicians are performing music-based practices with end-of-life care and dementia patients, and these practices are viewed as music therapy. Ultimately, the services provided in end-of-life care and dementia in Turkey are not music therapy applications, but rather music- based interventions conducted by musicians or healthcare professionals.