Proposals Involving SU Music Therapy Faculty Accepted for 2020 World Music Therapy Congress in South Africa

Three proposals involving Shenandoah Conservatory music therapy faculty were accepted for the World Congress of Music Therapy, an international conference organized by the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) every three years. Next year’s event will be held in South Africa and the theme is “The Polyrhythms of Music Therapy.” Proposals include:

1. Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Therapy and Assistant Professor of Music Therapy Hakeem Leonard, Ph.D., MT-BC, and Assistant Professor of Music Therapy Bronwen Landless, M.M.T., MT-BC, will present on interprofessional education (IPE) psychiatric simulations at Shenandoah University that have included a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, as well as theatre and music therapy students. They will describe the three-year evolution of the simulation events developed and implemented in collaboration with Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre Sally Anderson, B.A., B.Ed., former Assistant Professor of Nursing Therese Collins, MS, RN, CNE, Assistant Dean for Advising, Retention & Progression, Professor of Nursing and Coordinator for the PMHNP Program Marian Newton, Ph.D., and former Assistant Professor of Nursing Brenda Johnston, M.S.N., PMHNP. They will also guide participants in brainstorming and developing their own IPE simulation events. The title of the workshop is “Combining the Rhythms of Nursing, Theater, and Music Therapy in Training and Education through Interprofessional Simulation Experiences.”
2. Landless will present “Attending to Voices: Exploring the Impact of Songwriting on People Experiencing Homelessness and their Surrounding Communities,” a paper presentation based on a qualitative research study she is currently conducting in Winchester, Virginia.
3. Anita Swanson (WFMT secretary), Angela Harrison (WFMT Chair of Public Relations), and Landless (WFMT North America Regional Liaison) will present on their work, conducted over the last two years, to establish World Music Therapy Day in order to increase global awareness of music therapy in a paper presentation titled “#WorldMusicTherapyDay: Inspiring the Global Music Therapy Community.”