International Abstracts Translation team
German Translator: Monika Nöcker-Ribaupierre, Dr.sc.mus.
Monika Nöcker-Ribaupierre has over 20 years of clinical experience, working in NICU, with developmentally delayed and multiply disabled children. Currently, her primary focus is auditory stimulation after premature birth. Prior to this, Monika was chair of the postgraduate music therapy training program at Freies Musikzentrum Munich e.V. and Vice President of the European Music Therapy Confederation. She is Vice-President of the International Society of Music in Medicine and serves on the scientific board of “Musiktherapeutische Umschau”, Bundesverband ”das frühgeborene Kind” e.V. and the Editorial Board of the interdisciplinary journal Music and Medicine. She has published a number of books, book chapters and articles.
Japanese Translator: Dr. Kana Okazaki-Sakaue, D.A, MT-BC, NRMT, ARAM
Kana is a music therapist trained both in UK and USA. She studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music, London, England and was trained at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre in London. She also obtained Master’s and Doctorate degree in Music Therapy at New York University, USA. She is currently working as a Professor at the Music Therapy Training Program, Kunitachi College of Music, Tokyo, Japan. And she is also serving as a board member of the Japanese Association for Clinical Music Therapy and the Chair of Education, Certification and Regulation Commission of the World Federation for Music Therapy. She has been active as the Advisor for Tohoku Music Therapy Project, supporting music therapy work for survivors after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, since 2011. Her current clinical work includes special education setting as well as experiential training for music therapists and trainees. She supervises music therapists and other related professionals such as psychologists and psychiatrists. Her specific research is about clinical improvisation.
Aiko Onuma is a music therapist/educator who works in the greater Boston area as well as internationally. Aiko is currently the president of “Kakehashi” Music Therapy Connection Group and provides music therapy services and individualized music instruction for all ages and levels. She holds a Bachelor degree of Music Therapy from Berklee College of Music.
Yi-Ying currently works at Taipei Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, serving multiple population in medical setting. She completed graduate studies at Montclair State University in the U.S. and was clinically trained in Beth Israel Medical Center.
Juri Yun is a certified music therapist in Germany (DMtG) and S. Korea (KCMT). Ms. Yun received Diplom from Music Therapy Institute Berlin in Germany and completed doctoral coursework in Music Therapy from Ewha Womans University. Ms. Yun currently serves as the clinical supervisor at Ewha and a researcher for the Ewha Music Wellness Center. Her clinical expertise lies in working with adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders and children with special needs.
Magíster en Musicoterapia de la Universidad Internacional de la Rioja, España. Certificado en Artes en Medicina de la Universidad de la Florida, Estados Unidos. Certificado en Musicoterapia Neurológica. Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy, Canada. Certificado en Musicoterapia en Cuidados Intensivos, Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva. Certificado en NICU-MT, The National Institute for Infant and Child Medical Music Therapy, Estados Unidos. Miembro de la Asociación Internacional de Música y Medicina. Miembro de la Asociación Colombiana de Musicoterapia. Miembro de Latin American Music Therapy Network. Miembro equipo Editorial de PUENTES la Revista Iberoamericana de Musicoterapia en Cuidados Intensivos. Miembro del equipo de traducción de la Revista Música y Medicina. Licenciado en educación Musical Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia. Coordinador Programa de Musicoterapia del Hospital Infantil Concejo de Medellín, Colombia. Tiene experiencia como Musicoterapeuta en el ámbito Hospitalario, Educativo y Social. Gestor de proyectos musicales para la transformación social con comunidades vulnerables. Tiene un marcado interés en la indagación y reflexión continua de la práctica musicoterapéutica.Ponente Internacional.
Kate Walker, originally from Australia, is a music therapist based in France. Her clinical experiences include children and adults with sensory impairments (specifically visual and auditory), adult psychiatry, as well as people with dementia and alzhiemers. Her research interests include neurologic music therapy, the effects of cultural influences, and the many ways music interacts with our brains. Kate was a presenter at the 2021 and 2022 Online Conference for Music Therapy. She holds a Master's of Art Therapy, specializing in Music Therapy, from the University of Paris Descartes, France.
Turkish translator: Sukru Torun MD, MT-TR
Sukru Torun is a full-time Professor of Neurology with 30 years of experience and a music therapist authorized by the Turkish Ministry of Health in 2016 for Turkey. Currently, he is the chair of the first music therapy master training program approved by the Turkish Council of Higher Education in 2021 at Anadolu University Health Sciences Institute and the music therapy department. Dr. Torun is the member Complementary and Functional Medicine Scientific Board of the Ministry of Health. Also, serves in the workng groups of dementia-behavioral neurology, quality of life and neurorehabilitation of the Turkish Neurological Society. Having many scientific publications related to his fields of study, Dr. Torun is also one of the academic editors of PLoS ONE, a SCIE and SSCI indexed and Q1 category journal covered by WoS. Professor Torun continues his music therapy research and practice for developmental and acquired neuropsychosocial disorders in the country's first officially approved music therapy unit, which he established in Eskişehir in 2017.
Hebrew translator: Tamar Hadar, PhD
Tamar Hadar, PhD, The School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa; Department of Education, Western Galilee College & Tel-Chai College, Israel. A music therapist, supervisor & lecturer, working with children and families in an early intervention unit and in a private practice. Her research centers on clinical improvisation – theory & assessment; music therapy for infants & preterm babies; and culturally sensitive music therapy. Tamar has originated a time-oriented model for analyzing clinical improvisations.
Hebrew translator: Dikla Kerem, M.A., PhD., FAMI, EAMI accred., music therapist-GIM/MI/MB, psychotherapist
Dr. Dikla Kerem received her M.A. in music therapy from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, USA (1982), and her Ph.D. from Aalborg University, Denmark (2009) where her doctoral thesis examined the effect of music therapy on deaf children with cochlear implants. She holds a psychotherapy certificate from the University of Haifa (2000) and has about 30 years of clinical experience with children, adolescents and adults, as well as extensive experience supervising music therapists. She is a fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery (FAMI), an EAMI (European Association of Music and Imagery) accredited BMGIM therapist (The Helen Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music) (2020) and served as a member of the EAMI board for two years. Dr. Kerem was a co-founder of the Master’s Degree music therapy program at the University of Haifa in Israel, and chaired the program for six years. She was also a lecturer in the M.A. music therapy program at Bar Ilan University. She is also currently a supervisor at the School of Psychoanalytically Oriented Arts Psychotherapy at the University of Haifa. In July 2021, Dr. Kerem’s peers at The Israeli Association for Creative Arts Therapies (YAHAT) recognized her achievements by awarding her a prestigious certificate of appreciation.
Farsi translator: Amir H Yassarim, MD, PhD
Dr. Amir H Yassari is a distinguished professional in psychiatry and neuroscience. He received his MD from the Medical University of Vienna and worked globally in various internships and research. His pursuit of a Master of Science in Cognitive Neuroscience led to a celebrated thesis on emotional processing and intelligence. His academic journey included valuable research stints at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and UC San Diego's Psychiatry Department. Subsequently, at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Dr. Yassari honed his skills across multiple units, notably leading the Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Unit in 2020. Dr. Yassari's dedication to mental health care inspired the establishment of the Anxiety & OCD Research Group and the Sports Psychiatry Outpatient Services, along with roles emphasizing quality and safety in healthcare. Additionally, he founded MindBrain Clinicum in Hamburg, providing specialized mental health care and therapy. In his PhD project, Dr Yassari explores the impact of a novel sound stimulation auditory training program (Music for the Mind) on individuals with depression, aiming to enhance mindfulness, neurocognitive abilities, and social interactions and reduce depressive symptoms. This research could pioneer a unique, practical add-on therapy for depression. Besides his clinical practice, Dr Yassari contributes to mental performance coaching through Coaching Fast Forward GbR and supports academic research as an ad-hoc reviewer for the Frontiers Psychiatry journal.
Italian translator: Chiara Proietti
Chiara Proietti is a music therapist/art therapist based in Rome, Italy. She holds a Degree in Art from
Sapienza University in Rome, a Master’s Degree in Professional Musical Play Operator, a Master’s Degree in
Art Therapy, specializing in Music Therapy from the Four-Year School of Music Therapy in Assisi, Perugia,
Italy. She initially studied singing and guitar, then her interest in ethnomusicology led her to study African
percussion and the Australian didjeridoo. A few years ago she began studying the accordion and in her
musical sessions she uses the ukulele more and more often with musical compositions for children. She
obtained the qualification of yoga gymnastics teacher at the National Educational Sports Center (C.S.E.N) in
Italy and is interested in well-being and holistic disciplines. Her clinical experiences include children with autism, adult psychiatry, people with dementia and Alzheimer’s. She previously worked as a guitar teacher, as a music educator and music therapist in private associations and as a social welfare worker to prevent and help families’ social hardship. She currently provides music courses for infants, preschoolers and children with special needs. Alongside her teaching activity, she also performs live music as a street artist, believing it is always important to bring music into contact with people everywhere. Her research interests include the importance of musical memory as a working basis for music therapy and the possible interactions, at a therapeutic level, between music
therapy and holistic disciplines.
