Six months on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we are adapting to the world we find around us.

What implications does this have for our mental health, and the mental health of those we care for? How do mental health professionals, especially those working in creative arts and therapy, rise up to meet these challenges?

This online day conference will bring together global healthcare and mental health professionals from across the fields of medicine, neuropsychology, music therapy and arts in health to set out where we go from here and best practice now and in the future.

Itinerary

09:00 - 09:30 

Registration

09:30 - 09:45 

Introductions

09:45 - 10:15 

Neuropsychological aspects of psychological trauma: how our brains prepare us for the worst

Dr. Lesley Murphy (Consultant Neuropsychologist)

10:20 - 10:50 

The NLMT Phone Support Service

Marianne Rizkallah and Priya Vithani (NLMT Music Therapists)

11:15 - 11:45 

From whiteboard to keyboard: case studies on the use of visual support in online sessions with children with emotional behavioural challenges

Crystal Luk (Music Therapist, Richmond Music Trust)

11:55 - 12:25 

Making masks for the hard of hearing

Steph Hanson (Snugs & Co)

LUNCH

13:15 - 14:00 

Wayfaring strangers: cultivating community in online spaces

Natasha A. Thomas and Adenike Webb (Music Therapists, Black Creative Healing, The Black Music Therapy Network)

14:10 - 14:40 

NLMT x RESET: developing and delivering a new online songwriting group during COVID-19

Edwin Duah (Founder of RESET Therapeutic Services), Priya Vithani and Marianne Rizkallah (NLMT Music Therapists)

14:45 - 15:30 

Experiences on the front line of COVID-19 and the impact on staff

Shilen Patel (NHS COVID-19 ITU Intensive Care Doctor and founder of Red Green Cards) 

15:45 - 16:45

Panel: "Could online working ever be a match for face to face services?"

featuring speakers Dr. Margaret Ellerby (GP, North London borough), Jonathan Cousins-Booth (Chair of the British Association for Music Therapy), Michaela de Cruz (Music Therapist, MdC Music Therapy), Katerina Georgiou (Gestalt Therapist)