Latin American Music Therapy

Patricia Zarate de Perez (Ed.). Latin American Cultural and Musical Contexts in Music Therapy. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, May 2025.

In this anthology, saxophonist, music therapist, and educator Patricia Zarate de Perez has gathered a selection of articles by Latin American music therapists. She herself authors the opening chapter, titled “Decolonizing Music Therapy – One Latin American Perspective.” Here, we are introduced to a number of theories and concepts developed by Latin American decolonial thinkers. These theoretical frameworks are proposed as a foundation for music therapy education, practice, and culture, which are then explored across nine chapters. De Perez presents her own clinical work from Panama as a case in point.

De Perez has also contributed to the development of what she terms “Global Music Therapy (GbMT),” which critiques the establishment and continued implementation of conventional music therapy models from the Global North in the Global South.

A personal context

To place this in a more personal context: in the 1980s and 1990s, some of my books were translated into Spanish and Portuguese. These were among the first English-language texts to be translated and should be considered representative of Global North perspectives. On the occasion of these publications, I was invited multiple times to Brazil, Chile, and Colombia—three countries that, along with Argentina, have the longest-standing music therapy training traditions in Latin America.

In these books, I presented various music therapy models as described in my book Music Therapy and Its Relationship to Current Treatment Theories—namely humanistic, analytic, and behavioral approaches, as well as some more critical perspectives on psychiatry. This serves as an illustrative example of how Latin American music therapists have engaged with Eurocentric theories from the Global North.

Afrocentric epistemologies

De Perez notes that such importation has complicated the development of music therapy in Latin America. The overemphasis on Western concepts of music and health has contributed to the erasure of indigenous and Afrocentric epistemologies—knowledge traditions that have existed for over five hundred years and continue to be marginalized. The model de Perez envisions for the future of music therapy in the Global South is one of Global Music Therapy that seeks to integrate therapeutic approaches from the Global North with Afrocentric and indigenous epistemologies, knowledge systems, and narratives. “The ultimate goal is a Global South Music Therapy that treats all these knowledge systems as equally valid, applying each according to the needs and wants of clients from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds,” she writes.

Education and clinical practices

This vision is followed up in the subsequent chapters. We are offered insights into music therapy education and clinical practice in countries such as Panama, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, and Argentina, as well as in Latin American communities in the United States. The situations in the various countries differ significantly. Some, like Brazil and Argentina, have offered music therapy training since the 1960s and 1970s. In Argentina, for instance, there are seven accredited programs, and strict national regulations govern what qualifies as valid training. The same is true in Brazil, which has 7,000 music therapists among a population of over 200 million.

De Perez has also written a chapter that provides a comprehensive overview of the status of music therapy in all Latin American countries. Many of these countries struggle to gain recognition for the profession, often due to lack of funding, rigid higher education structures, and insufficient public awareness. The book highlights a number of pioneers and emphasizes the importance of support from medical authorities and the contribution of therapists trained abroad, often in the United States.

Telehealth and neurological music therapy

In the country-by-country reviews, we learn a great deal about the individuals involved, their histories, and the struggles for recognition. Notably, the chapter on Chile includes a detailed case study of a stroke patient whose music therapy was conducted remotely via telehealth by a therapist based in London. The therapy, based on neurological music therapy with a focus on speech and language training, resulted in significantly improved communication abilities after nine months. This case can also be read as an example of a strictly evidence-based approach—somewhat surprising following the postcolonial critique of the first chapter, where we were introduced to the concept of “epistemological disobedience.”

Postcolonial tensions

The final chapter is written by Brazilian Gustavo Schulz Gattino, a university lecturer in Aalborg who resides in Portugal. Drawing on his experiences as a Brazilian with extensive research credentials in European music therapy, he articulates the postcolonial tensions felt by many Latin American music therapists. He identifies three key issues.

First, he points to the devaluation of local knowledge. Brazilian music therapy research—particularly in psychometric and behavioral analysis—receives far less recognition and international dissemination than it deserves. One might ask whether this reflects a lingering postcolonial mindset or is simply a matter of language barriers. On the other hand, neither psychometric research nor behavioral analysis are paradigms I personally align with, so my own reservations are epistemological rather than Eurocentric. Furthermore, the positivist approach Gattino references could itself be seen as a form of “expert knowledge” that is in stark contrast to the Afrocentric and indigenous epistemological frameworks the book aims to uplift. That said, Gattino—himself a multilingual and prolific scholar—has produced excellent research and literature reviews, particularly in the field of autism and music therapy assessment.

Indeed, such tensions between epistemological traditions, local cultures, and imported models from North American and European music therapy define the current landscape in many Latin American countries.

A diverse and complex field

This book offers a fascinating overview of a diverse and complex music therapy field, shaped by unique historical traditions, varied practices, and rich musical cultures. It provides a timely and informative look at the current state of music therapy practice and education in Latin America. The chapters navigate between postcolonial critique and evidence-based approaches in an effort to create a new form of Global Music Therapy—one that combines therapeutic methods from the Global North with Afrocentric and indigenous epistemologies, knowledge systems, and cultural narratives.