Dr Sami Alanne, DMus, music therapist, training psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, is an Adjunct/Associate Professor of music therapy and a researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki. His studies include traumas, refugeeism, mental health, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy relating to music, culture, philosophy, and society. He is the author of the books The Theory and Practice of Psychodynamic Music Psychotherapy (Barcelona Publishers) and Music, Music Therapy and Refugees: Aspects of Trauma (Palgrave Macmillan).

Dr Alanne graduated as a music therapist at the Sibelius Academy in 1999 and the Master of Philosophy in music therapy at the University of Jyväskylä in 2001. He has worked in music therapy and mental health fields for over 30 years. As a music therapist and a psychotherapist, he has worked with children, adolescents, their families, and adult clients providing individual and group therapy at his private practice and health care company Apollo Terapiapalvelut (Apollo Therapy Services) in Helsinki. Besides his clinical work, during his career Alanne has been actively teaching, supervising, doing research, project work, and media appearances relating to music therapy, psychotherapy, health care, social welfare, and mental health services.

In 2010, Alanne was awarded the title of Doctor of Music at the Sibelius Academy. His published dissertation was Music Psychotherapy with Refugee Survivors of Torture. In 2011, Alanne graduated as a psychodynamic music psychotherapist at the University of Oulu, and in 2013, as a trainer psychotherapist in music psychotherapy at the University of Oulu, Faculty of Medicine. After his special advanced level training of music psychotherapy at the University of Oulu in Finland, Alanne published another monograph Musiikkipsykoterapia (2014) in Finnish that was a study of psychodynamic music therapy theory, methods, and research.

Since then, Dr Alanne continued his research and teaching of music therapy and psychotherapy: He has published several peer-reviewed scientific articles and books and presented them at multiple international conferences. During 2017–2019, he was a member of specialist group and project PALOMA (Developing National Mental Health Policies for Refugees at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland. In 2021, Alanne was awarded with a Title of Docent in music therapy (Adjunct/Associate Professor) indicating high level research and teaching competence at the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki), and Uniarts Helsinki`s Sibelius Academy, and CERADA (The Center for Educational Research and Academic Development in the Arts). After that he has also worked as a visiting researcher at the Uniarts Helsinki`s Research Institute. In 2022, Dr Alanne graduated as a psychoanalyst and a trainer psychotherapist at the Therapeia Institute and the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine.

References

Alanne, S. (2010). Music Psychotherapy with Refugee Survivors of Torture. Interpretations of Three Clinical Case Studies. Sibelius Academy, Music Education Department, Studia Musica 44.

Alanne, S. (2014). Musiikkipsykoterapia. Teoria ja käytäntö. [Music Psychotherapy. Theory and Practice.] Acta Universitatis Ouluensis D Medica 1248.

Alanne, S. (2023). The Theory and Practice of Psychodynamic Music Psychotherapy. Dallas, TX: Barcelona Publishers.

Alanne, S. (2025). Music, Music Therapy, and Refugees: Aspects of Trauma. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.