Venue: Theatre 2
Time: 4pm-5.30pm
Presenter(s): Sarah Alley and Karen Diamond
Chair: Professor Hilary Moss
This seminar will feature two music therapists who work in primary schools supporting children with trauma. Sarah Alley and Karen Diamond are experienced senior music therapists with a wealth of experience working with children. Combining theory, research, and real-world examples, this seminar highlights how creative music initiatives within schools can nurture children's mental health, wellbeing, and educational outcomes.
Sarah Alley is a PhD student at the Academy focused on the power of music therapy for child mental health, particularly anxiety in the school context. She is a Music Therapist working at Corpus Christi Primary School, Moyross, Limerick.
Karen Diamond is a Music Therapist based in Northern Ireland with over thirty years’ experience who worked for a regional music therapy charity as Clinical Services Director before establishing her own music therapy consultancy practice. In 2023 she took up the role of Director of Professional Affairs with the British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT) the professional body for Music Therapists in the UK. Karen has worked with children and adults across a wide range of care pathways specialising in recent years in early years, learning disability, and early intervention for children aged 3-11 years. Karen continues to practice in nursery and primary schools in Belfast. Recognising the increasing need for a more trauma informed approach with this age group she and a colleague created the Resilient Rhythms programme.