13th European Music Therapy Conference 2025

Dear colleagues,
Dear congress participants.

On behalf of the German Music Therapy Society (DMTG), the University of Music and Drama Hamburg (HfMT) and the Medical School Hamburg (MSH), we cordially invite you to the 13th European Music Therapy Conference in Hamburg.

The topic of this year's conference is “Bridges”

With the motto we strive to bring contrasting viewpoints into dialogue, diverse interests into discussion and neighbouring disciplines into interaction. Therefore, we invite students, researchers and practitioners from different music therapy perspectives and from other disciplines to engage with each other in a lively and inspiring exchange.

Music itself flows and “bridges”

Music is a medium that connects, establishes contact, mediates differences, allows encounter, or bonds separate entities. Bridges also play a role in many genres of popular music: As such, the bridge might represent its own aesthetic structure and bring an exciting contrast into the music.

In music therapy we use music in many ways

Music serves as a bridge to the inner world of feelings and memories, as a bridge to non-verbal clients with disorders of consciousness or intellect, or as a bridge to overcome cultural boundaries.

The Hamburgers are excellent bridge builders

With its huge harbour, Hamburg is widely known as the gateway to the world. And with its three rivers Elbe, Bille and Alster and their tributaries and canals, the city has around 2.500 bridges – more than Amsterdam and Venice together!