Ethics Online Conversations: A new interactive approach to encourage and facilitate ethical discourse in music therapy

Abstract

Societal changes, economic challenges, and multiple global crises require reorienting and repositioning in relation to ethical questions. The need to deal and cope with these challenging circumstances also applies to music therapists and the field of music therapy. To address such ethical issues in music therapy and to provide a forum for exchange and discussion, we started organising online meetings open for music therapists and music therapy students in June 2020. Each meeting is dedicated to a topic or question illustrated by case vignettes. In some cases, experts with specialised knowledge in music therapy or related fields are also invited as discussants to speak on specific topics. So far, the following topics have been covered: (1) ethical issues in times of the pandemic, (2) ethical aspects of listening, (3) facts and opinions: What to do when "conspiracy theories" emerge in music therapy sessions?, (4) the virtuous music therapist, (5) decision-making models, (6) confidentiality, (7) music therapy with people affected by migration or those forced to flee, (8) dealing with the history of colonialism in songs in music therapy, (9) the art of confidence in times of crisis, and (10) ethical implications of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music therapy. In this report, we describe the advantages and challenges of this new online format as a case example for developing an open space for ethical discourse. Connecting ethical theories to questions arising from clinical work in music therapy is at the core of this approach. We consider this new format an essential add-on for teaching ethics in music therapy and for continued professional development.