Presenters: James Burns, Hannah Healy, Sarah Alley

Chair: Professor Hilary Moss

This seminar will present three community engaged research
projects by PhD students at the Irish World Academy of Music
and Dance. James Burns, Sarah Alley and Hannah Healy are
all Music Therapists, who have established Music Therapy
initiatives, for children in Ireland who experience trauma. Each
is exploring the impact of music, and Music Therapy on the wellbeing
and resilience of children facing extraordinary challenges.
James works with children with communication difficulties
resulting from a traumatic brain injury. Sarah works with children
who experience anxiety as a result of family and community
trauma, and Hannah works with children who have experiencd a
significant loss, specifically focusing on the loss of a person due
to imprisonment. This seminar will combine theory, research and
real-life examples of how, when and where music can support
children and overcome difficulties. Attendees will learn about
Music Therapy and childhood mental health and will leave with an
understanding of how these creative innovative practitioners are
supporting children and their families in Ireland.

James Burns is a Music Therapist at Children's Health Ireland
at Temple Street. He is currently completing his PhD on Music
Therapy and paediatric acquired communication impairments at
the Irish World Academy.

Hannah is a current PhD student at the University of Limerick,
studying Music Therapy as an intervention for children who
are experiencing grief. Hannah is focusing her work on how the
significant loss of having a parent/sibling in prison can impact a
child. Hannah is currently employed within the Irish Prison Service
and runs a Music Therapy practice in Cork.
Sarah Alley is a PhD student at the Academy, focusing on the
power of Music Therapy for child mental health, particularly
anxiety in the school context. She is the Music Therapist working at
Corpus Christi Primary School, Moyross.

Admission is free and all are welcome.