Music Therapy Conversations

About Music Therapy Conversations

The podcast of the British Association for Music Therapy. Luke Annesley talks to music therapists and other people about music therapy and related topics.

Publisher

Luke Annesley

Category

health & fitness · music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 Mar 2017

Latest episode

30 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

113 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Ep 113 Sarah Hodkinson

   Crystal spoke to Sarah Hodkinson in advance of their participation in the Roundtable Keynote discussion , entitled 'Navigating the Music Therapy Landscape: Considering the challenges and opportunities facing the profession in the UK', which will be part of the forthcoming BAMT online conference (https://www.bamtconference.co.uk/) in November - Music Therapy in a Changing Landscape. Sarah is a clinical academic, music therapist and EMDR therapist with more than 20 years' experience in paediatric palliative care. She is Head of Psychosocial Services at Shooting Star Children's Hospices, leading a thriving multidisciplinary team of arts therapists and family support workers providing holistic, family-centred care across London and Surrey. Sarah continues to work clinically alongside her leadership role, giving therapy to children with life-limiting conditions, their siblings and parents, families experiencing bereavement and those living with the impact of traumatic experiences. She designed and leads an award-winning Specialist Bereavement Service and is passionate about addressing inequalities in paediatric palliative care through research, knowledge exchange, co-creation, creativity and systems thinking. Sarah is a Principal Teaching Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Southampton, where her academic work focuses on music in healthcare and education. Her research includes publicly funded projects exploring music and rehabilitation for adults with cochlear implants, and research into inequalities in specialist bereavement care following child death. She has also developed international work combining music therapy and speech and language therapy in Moldova, where Commusicating is now embedded across six regions. Her work is presented nationally and internationally. Sarah particularly values the opportunity to inhabit both the clinical and academic worlds, where research informs practice and the experiences of children and families shape research and how future generations learn. Music remains an important part of her life: she plays many instruments, most often Celtic harp, guitar, piano and flute, and is Deputy Conductor of a 50-strong vocal ensemble that tours across Europe. At the heart of Sarah's work is a belief in learning from people with lived experience, creating models of care that are meaningful, compassionate and achieve excellent clinical outcomes. If you would like to donate to Shooting Star Children's Hospices, you can do so here.

2. 

   25 Aug 2026

   Ep 112 Naviella Dowds

   Host Luke interviews HCPC-registered music therapist Naviella Dowds about her personal journey and pioneering rap-informed music therapy practice.

3. 

   29 Jul 2026

   Ep 111 Sally Bouwman

   Crystal Luk-Worrall interviews Sally Bouwman, an assistant head and SENCO, about supporting students with challenging school experiences in this insightful episode.

Who has been a guest on Music Therapy Conversations

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Naviella Dowds
• Sally Bouwman
• Ben Richardson
• Mary-Clare Fearn
• Sami Alanne

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

77

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

Contact Music Therapy Conversations

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Music Therapy Conversations