Date: Tuesday 5 November 2024
Times: 0730-0900 GMT (option 1) and 1600-1730 GMT (option 2)
Location: Online on Zoom
Focus: How can music practitioners working in music and parental wellbeing be supported and cared for?
Cost: FREE
Our second online event took place on Zoom on Tuesday 5 November 2024. Two time options helped accessibility and attendance around the globe: 0730-0900 GMT (option 1) and 1600-1730 GMT (option 2). The event was free to attend.
Event 2: Overview
Event 2 addressed a main question:
How can music practitioners working in music and parental wellbeing be supported and cared for?
Two short video presentations were shared followed by informally-chaired breakout groups. Back together, two further video presentations took us into our second breakout group discussions. Finally, the event ended with a short plenary session, and the launch of the Network’s rebranded website including members-only pages, resources, and a discussion forum.
Our speakers were (in alphabetical order): Pui Sze Cheung (University of Limerick, Ireland), Edmund Jeffrey (Melodies for Dads, Breathe Arts Health Research, UK), Courtney McLoughlin (Calgary Public Library Foundation, Canada), and Kate Valentine (Singing Mamas, UK and international).
Pui Sze Cheung
Pui Sze Cheung is an IACAT and HCPC registered music therapist and health researcher with a strong record in arts and health research. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, an MA in Music Therapy, and a PhD focused on music therapy and perinatal mental health. Trained in Prenatal Music Bonding, Creative ArtsBirthing, and Music Therapy Assisted Childbirth (MTABC), Pui Sze pioneered the first music-based intervention for perinatal mental health in Ireland, supporting families during the prenatal, childbirth, and postnatal periods. Currently, she is offering music therapy services and involved in various health research projects in both the UK and Ireland.
Edmund Jeffery
Edmund Jeffery is a singer song-writer who studied at Leeds College of Music. Since graduating Edmund has applied his skills to run specialist music sessions for those with dementia, brain Injury, lung conditions, and Parkinson’s disease. He has worked in partnership with many leading London hospitals and arts in health charities, contributing to clinical studies measuring the benefits of singing for those with lung conditions. Edmund has recently started working with Breathe Arts Health Research, helping to develop a music programme to support dads with symptoms of paternal postnatal depression.
Courtney McLaughlin
Courtney McLaughlin is a Canadian Certified Counsellor and Director of Donor Engagement at Calgary Public Library Foundation in Calgary, Canada. With more than a decade of experience in the non-profit industry, Courtney has seen many times the need for wellness education and mental health resources for employees within the charitable sector. With this in mind, she pursued her Masters in Counselling Psychology (Yorkville University) and created a no/low cost therapy program for charitable sector workers in her home city. Courtney is passionate about team-building in the non-profit space and creating teams that are both supportive and supported. Retention in the charitable sector is key as our society increasingly relies on this industry to answer some of the biggest problems we collectively face. Courtney is currently based in western Canada but has also lived, studied, and worked in Berlin and London, where she earned her Masters in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (Goldsmiths College, University of London).
Kate Valentine
Kate Valentine is a nurse, practicing in the field of integrated care using singing in communities. She educates, consults and advises on Creative Health practices and specialises in the field of singing for perinatal care. She is the founder of Singing Mamas, the radical international non-profit movement for local singing communities. Her network of singing leaders are made up of nurses, doctors, teachers, musicians, mums, services users, midwives and so on. Key to the successful impact and scaling of Singing Mamas is the training, development and deep care of each leader. The network is a close, committed and skilled community of practitioners at the heart of the movement.
A summary infographic of the event can
be found below.
Presenter videos are available on our
members-only resources pages.