The March, 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami marked one of the larger natural disasters on record. Thanks to generous donors and fund raising events around the country, funds from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) Disaster Relief Fund were directed to the Japan music therapy community for their recovery and response activities. The American Music Therapy Association, in cooperation with the Japan Music Therapy Association (JMTA) and the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) are working in partnership to assist in recovery.  During the recent WFMT World Congress held in South Korea, donor contributions were transfered from AMTA's Disaster Relief Fund to the JMTA. During the World Congress a meeting was held on the subject of disaster and crisis response in Japan, and beyond. 

 

AMTA is honored to be involved in disaster response for, and with, the music therapy community. Our primary focus is on assisting our colleagues affected by disaster so they may return to work, as quickly as possible, and provide much needed music therapy services to their communities. To date, 2011 marks a highly active year with respect to disaster events. In addition to the Japan earthquake and tsunami, AMTA has been active in disaster response and welfare inquiries for numerous other events within the U.S. For more information on disaster and crisis response visit the Support Music Therapy section of AMTA's website or contact AMTA at info@musictherapy.org.