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“When the heart sings the mind heals”: Improving the lives of children living with a brain tumour through an innovative national music therapy service.

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Stream Two
Friday, October 17, 2025
11:30 AM - 11:50 AM
Centre Stage 2

Overview

Annette Baron


Speaker

Agenda Item Image
Annette Baron
Music Therapy Manager
Robert Connor Dawes Foundation

“When the heart sings the mind heals”: Improving the lives of children living with a brain tumour through an innovative national music therapy service.

Abstract

This paper will describe an innovative, national music therapy program established through a not for profit charity, providing individually tailored music therapy sessions to infants, children, adolescents and young adults diagnosed with a brain tumour and their families in their home. This Australian program has grown considerably over the past 10 years and has touched the lives of over 150 young people living with a brain tumour. The paper will showcase the depth and complexity of the work supporting young people in the intensive phase of their treatment, to those who are off treatment and recovering from the neurocognitive and physical impacts of having lived with a brain tumour as well as the impacts on a young person’s mental health and self-identity. Furthermore, the paper will highlight the role of music therapy in supporting young people who are palliative and the flexibility of the program to extend its care to bereaved families. This first of its kind program has been evaluated and a brief summary of outcomes will be showcased along with consumer reflections. In addition, the standardised Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) will be discussed as a valuable tool in creating goals with families and young people which has since highlighted the significant impact and outcomes that music therapy has for this client population. In a time where the National Disability Insurance Scheme is reassessing its support for creative arts therapies, this Foundation is proud of the rigour, professionalism, strength, efficacy and growth of its music therapy program. The Foundation believes that the success of this innovative service delivery model is something to be benchmarked against and is now also being piloted in the United States of America.

Biography

Annette Baron is the Music Therapy Manager for the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that provides music therapy for children and their family or carers impacted by brain tumours. Annette has more than 20 years of clinical, research and leadership experience, specialising in acute and subacute paediatric care.
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