1. When did you first become involved with music therapy?I've always loved music, being a classically trained from a young age, but felt that going down the path of being a performer is much too lonely. I first became interested in music therapy when I was still in high school. We had to do work experience and I decided to volunteer at an organisation which supported people with intellectual disability. That's when I started looking into music therapy, a way of using music to help people like those I saw during my work experience, so after doing a bachelor of liberal studies, I went on to study masters of Creative Music therapy at UWS for 2 years, and now I'm working at Nordoff-Robbins Music therapy centre out at Kingswood, doing a bit of outreach with them, as well as helping out at a colleague's private practice.

2. Who do you think music therapy is most effective towards?I believe music therapy is a very versatile intervention, in particularly Creative Music Therapy, which is an approach using live improvisation in sessions. Because it is so individualised and tailored to each and every client's needs and goals, music therapy can be effective towards the whole spectrum of population, from mums and bubs, to kids, teenagers, adults, and aged care. I believe there are music therapists who work in palliative care as well, so really, it caters to a very wide range of client population. Of course, we will often conduct an initial assessment to see if music therapy is really suitable or not, and that's also where we determine specific goals and future directions of the sessions. For mums and bubs, we might be working on the parent/child relationship, forming healthy bonds and introducing ways for the parent to interact with their child. For kids with autism, we might be working on social skills such as waiting, taking turns, encouraging sharing and prolonging their attention span, or we might work on their development, such as speech, encouraging communication and self expression. For adults with physical disability such as cerebral palsy, we might focus on maintaining their motor skills, motivating them through live music to play instruments such as the drums, or the piano. For others, it's really all about the quality of life and enhancing their wellbeing. All sorts of different people come to us for music therapy and it has always been some sort of misconception that you need some sort of musical background or skills to benefit from music therapy, but that isn't true. Based on the fact that most people will respond very intrinsically to music, we use live improvisations to engage and communicate.

3. How do you feel of the possible integration of music therapy in all public schools?That will be a big step and definitely one that I feel is necessary. Music therapy has been around for decades, but it is still a fairly unknown form of intervention and treatment. We are trying to change that, lots of research is being done in this field, where we try to quantify results and track progress in our clients, but I think we are still a far way from it. We are, however, doing some outreach programs in schools, mainly for special ed, which is a step for us, but of course, a lot of it is restricted to how much funding there is available, and despite music therapy being a long term intervention, sometimes our programs only last for a term or two.

4. What do you think will be the most evident benefit of the presence of music therapy in a school?Children and teenagers who are in school, that is when they develop the most, both mentally and physically. Apart from that though, that is also when they learn a lot about themselves, where they find their identity and develop coping mechanisms for problems such as stress from school work and social life. Music therapy will benefit in various ways, depending on each individual. There was a case back a couple of years where I met this young client with a complicated family background. He was often neglected at home and displayed lots of behavioral problems for school teachers. He would abscond from class and vandalise walls, break windows and everyone thought he was simply unmanageable. Then he came to music therapy. He saw the drum kit which was in the room, and he was just drawn to it. W

ithin minutes, he was calm, he was focused, he was playing complicated rhythmic patterns and simply expressing himself through the rhythms, while we joined in with piano and violin, improvising almost like in a jamming session. We experienced no challenging behaviors from him, and he commented at the end that if he was allowed to play the drums before class everyday, he would be fine. Drumming, to this young man, was his coping mechanism, that was the way he expressed his frustrations and his way of managing his emotions. Others might sing, or write lyrics, or perhaps simply enjoy interacting with others in a group music making experience. It was a safe place for kids like him to explore their potential, find themselves and get creative. We also know how music can alleviate anxiety and stress, there is no doubt that music therapy sessions will be a valuable addition to any school or intervention programs.

5. Where would be a good location you can recommend that can be accessed by the public for music therapy, if schools do not adopt it?We have a lovely music therapy centre out at Kingswood, the organisation is called Nordoff Robbins Music therapy Australia, and it's a non-profit organisation. We do a lot of outreach programs in schools as well, such as the Hills school and we did some work at Habersham as well. There is also a satellite at the Hills area, currently located in Cherrybrook. We have another clinic opening up near St Leonards, so we are trying to spread our presence from the West to the rest of Sydney. Clients can get referred to music therapy by their speech pathologist or child psychologists, or recommended by carers or parents. There is also the Australian Music Therapy Association website, where there is a directory of current music therapists that are practicing, so anyone can directly contact one of them for an assessment.