Chinese population is increasing in Australia. It is one of the fastest growing ethnics groups of new immigrants in recent years. There is a demand for registered music therapists who are culturally and linguistically sensitive to the Chinese populations in Australia. To serve diverse populations, we need diverse music therapists. To develop professional culturally diverse therapists, we need supervision which is culturally diverse too.

This presentation introduces a bilingual (Chinese and English) peer supervision group for registered music therapists (RMTs) practicing in Australia, started in 2021. The bilingual peer supervision group aims at developing connections and support between RMTs with bilingual (Chinese-English) backgrounds, and to embrace own cultures in music therapy works in Australia. It creates a space for RMTs to discuss clinical work in their most competent language(s) and cultural background. It promotes professional development and collaborative learning amongst a group of of bilingual RMTs who are migrants to Australia at some stage, and develops their confidence to work professionally. It is important that linguistic barriers do not hinder the therapeutic process and the growth of a professional music therapist. The bilingual peer supervision group helps to develop professional and competent bilingual RMTs to serve the diverse populations in Australia such as the Chinese. The presentation will also present the unique challenges and opportunities for the bilingual therapists to work in Australia.

This presentation advocates the importance of culturally diverse peer supervision to support and develop diverse music therapists for the diverse populations in Australia.