How might music therapists expand their role in preventative health? In this presentation, I explore music therapy as a means of enhancing well-being, fostering protective factors, and increasing quality of life at both ends of the lifespan. Drawing on Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations 2030 Agenda as a guiding framework, I reflect on my work with young children and older adults to consider how music therapy can contribute to health equity, inclusive education, and community well-being.

In early childhood, music therapy techniques are increasingly being used to support regulation, attachment and communication. While traditionally aligned with disability support, these approaches also offer health potential for all children. I’ll discuss how building educator capacity through music therapy techniques in kindergartens supports inclusive communication and education.

For older adults, my research examines how music therapy improvisation techniques can be incorporated into music programs to promote cognitive health and emotional well-being. Findings from both a feasibility study and a large-scale RCT support the impact of music learning and music therapy for older adults in support of healthy ageing and dementia prevention.

Predominantly, this session will present ideas for practice and policy exploring the following questions. How can music therapy further support preventive care? What are the enablers and barriers of working in spaces where ‘risk’ or diagnosis is not the entry point? And how do we strengthen the visibility and value of preventative music therapy within public health and education systems?