“An asset to the profession, not an inconvenience”: The Lived Experiences of Past and Present Disabled Music Therapists and Disabled Music Therapy Student in the UK

Since the publication of the BAMT(2020) Diversity Report, there has been an increasing engagement in the music therapy profession with issues around diversity and minoritised identities, such as disability. The BAMT Support Network for Disabled Music Therapists was set up by Hilary Davies in response to this growing awareness, and her own frustration at the discrimination and lack of inclusion reported by many disabled music therapists. When provided with an accessible route into the music therapy profession, disabled music therapists have the potential to play a significant role in enriching the profession’s understanding of disability, and music therapy practice with disabled clients.
Although 6.4 % of respondents in the BAMT (2020) Diversity Report identified as disabled, there has only been a small amount of literature published about the lived experience of disabled music therapists. In response to this research gap, Davies and Pickard are currently engaged in a research project to explore the lived experience of disabled music therapists and music therapy students in the UK, within both training and professional practice. They aim to explore the barriers and discrimination faced by disabled music therapists, issues around disclosure of disability and accessing reasonable adjustments, and how lived experience of disability can enable unique forms of therapeutic practice to be developed.

This session will present the initial results of the first stage of this research: an online survey developed through consultation with members of the BAMT Support Network for Disabled Music Therapists and part funded by The Music Therapy Charity.