Contemporary music therapy discourse offers a clear narrative of music therapy programs, practices, and processes that enable participation in health promoting creative activities for hard-to-reach people from diverse populations. The dissemination of examples of positive access to music therapy for underreached and marginalised participants is a powerful contribution to contemporary discourse around health equity and access to health promoting services. Research, theoretical and practice examples of music therapy programs that successfully enable participation for diverse underreached populations shine a light on how music therapists can have an impact in broader efforts to tackle entrenched disadvantage.
However, this narrative also represents an imbalance in sharing real world experiences of access to music therapy for diverse populations. A Critical Thematic Literature Review completed as part of a presenter's PhD candidature revealed that challenges and barriers in supporting access to music therapy for underreached participants were not sufficiently interrogated in the music therapy discourse. There is an opportunity to attend to access to music therapy for diverse populations by considering and documenting both successes and continuing challenges in a more balanced way.
Panel members from diverse fields of music therapy from urban, regional and rural settings will apply reflexive practices and an anti-oppressive framework to share their real world experiences of music therapy processes and practices that may be roadblocks for diverse participants when accessing music therapy and creative spaces. Focusing on real world persistent barriers to access will build on the important work of Hakvoort and Gilboa exploring mistakes in music therapy (2022). There is an opportunity for deep learning for our profession about enabling creative journeys by looking closely at when access has not been enabled.
Gilboa, A., & Hakvoort, L. (2022). Breaking Strings: Explorations of Mistakes in Music Therapy.