Research

Australian music therapy research is gathering pace as more RMTs enter higher degree programs in Australia and overseas. The diversity of topics reflects the broad interests in practice.

Go to Doctoral Research

Research within Coursework Masters

Current

Katerini Manolatos
What do Indigenous Australian adolescents find attractive about hip-hop? University of Queensland.

 

 

Completed

Some AMTA accredited courses now offer a course-work Masters degree.  Please check here soon for minor thesis research.

Masters by Research

Current

Hart, Carolyn
Toward a therapeutic model of intervention: Understanding the musical mechanisms that promote effective bonding during mother-infant interactions. The University of Queensland.

Langan, Dianne
Interactions between the Role of Music Therapy Training and Personality Type in the development of Cognitive, Value and Emotional Components of Interest. University of Technology, Sydney.

Roberts, Melina
A content analysis of song lyrics composed by bereaved pre-adolescent (7-12 year old) children during individual music therapy, University of Melbourne

 


 

 

Completed

2007 - Day, Toni
An Exploration of the role of therapeutic song writing for women parents who have experienced childhood abuse. The University of Queensland.

Calabro, Jacinta
Music Therapy for infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, NAMTRU, University of Melbourne

Hunt, Meagan
Belonging in the community: The use of music therapy with young traumatised refugees. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

Ledger, Alison
The effects of group music therapy on agitation levels of people with Alzheimer's disease, University of Queensland

Lindenfelser, Katie
Bereaved parents' experiences of music therapy with their terminally ill child. Due Jan. 2007. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne.

Martin, Rachel
The effect of a series of short GIM sessions on Music Performance Anxiety. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

Milford, Jeanette
Exploring the relevance of music therapy for people with schizophrenia. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

Natalia
The influence of relaxation and music on the anxiety of pregnant women. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

O'Grady, Lucy
The relationship between music therapy in community settings and community music. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

Tamplin, Jeanette
The effects of song singing and vocal exercises on the speech intelligibility of people with acquired dysarthria. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

2005 - Horne-Thompson, Anne
The use of music therapy for palliative care patients experiencing anxiety. NaMTRU, University of Melbourne

2004 - Baron, Annette
An assessment of the effectiveness of unaccompanied familiar songs and vocal improvisation for older adults with late stage dementia. NAMTRU, University of Melbourne

2004 - Holmes, Matthew
Personality Profile of Australian Music Therapists, NAMTRU, University of Melbourne

2004 - O'Brien, Emma
What is the nature of the interaction between client and therapist when writing a song, in music therapy, on a bone marrow transplant ward? NAMTRU, University of Melbourne.

2004 - Quinn, Loretta
The impact of music therapy on the quality of life of persons suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, NAMTRU, University of Melbourne.

2003 - Booth, Robyn
The status of Music Therapy in Victorian Special Schools, Faculty of education (Special Education), Monash University.

2003 - Langan, Dianne
Testing a model of domain learning in music. Faculty of Education, University of Technology, Sydney

2003 - Newland, Dorothea
Musical Empowerment for People with Multiple Disability, University of Technology, Sydney.

2002 – Wilmot, Catherine
The Use of Music in Intervention for Primary School Aged Children with Specific Language Impairment. University of Western Australia .

2001 -- Nugent, Natalie
The effects of live versus taped preferred songs on individuals with dementia of the Alzheimer's type displaying agitated behaviours. Faculty of Music, University of Melbourne, Australia.

2000 -- Marr, Jenny
The influence of music on imagery sequence in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). University of Melbourne, Australia.

1999 -- Baker, Felicity
The effects of live and taped music on the agitation and orientation levels of people experiencing posttraumatic amnesia.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1999 -- Dun, Beth 
The experience of music therapists working with children in coma.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1999 -- Fogerty, Beth
Group music therapy with Urban Koorie Elders who have a probable diagnosis of dementia: A descriptive approach. University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1999 -- Rainey Perry, Mary
Relating Improvisational music therapy to communication development. A case study approach with severely and multiply disabled children.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1998 -- Grasso, Melissa
Music and physiotherapy: Evaluation of a program developed for caregivers of infants and toddlers with cystic fibrosis. University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1998 -- Hogan, Bridgit
The experience of music therapy for terminally ill patients.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1998 -- Thompson, Stephanie
The function of hope in the dying child, a Therapist's perspective. University of Central England.

1995 -- Thompson, Richard
Towards enabling communication : a study of clinical improvisation with persons with dementia. London Nordoff Robbins Centre, City University, London.

1995 -- Lem, Alan
An integrated profile of brain-wave activity and structural variability of music in the study of music and imagery experiences.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1994 -- Allison, Dianne 
The use of programmed music versus non-programmed and no music, during childbirth.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1994 -- O'Callaghan, Clare
Song writing in palliative care. University of Melbourne, Australia.   

1993 -- Edwards, Jane
The effect of music and non-musical cues, musical history/experience and level of cognitive functioning on the song recall abilities of older adults who have some form of dementia.  University of Melbourne, Australia.

1988 -- Gray-Thompson, Helen (now Shoemark)
The use of picture-song books to aid the development of sight vocabulary in hearing-impaired children. University of Kansas

1987 -- Erdonmez, Denise
Preservation of acquired music performance skills in three cases of neuropsychological impairment.  University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1987 -- Short, Alison
Music therapy: Journey towards the self. New York University.

back to Masters Research

 

PhDs/Doctorates

Current

Burns, Sarah
An exploratory study to evaluate the impact of group music therapy with recently diagnosed breast cancer patients. Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle.

Tait, Anja
An arts-focused intervention with Indigenous learners. Faculty of Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University, Darwin.

Completed

2008- So-Young Moon
The rehabilitative effects of piano-playing music therapy on unilateral and bilateral motor coordination of chronic stroke patients. University of Melbourne.

2008- Shoemark, Helen
The markers of interplay between the music therapist and the medically fragile newborn infant. NAMTRU, University of Melbourne. The complete thesis is available from the University of Melbourne e-Prints Repository at  http://eprints.infodiv.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00004141/

2007- Daveson, Barbara
Client and therapist time experiences and descriptions in music therapy. University of Melbourne

2007- Morgan, Kylie
An evaluation of individual music therapy sessions, as an adjunct to standard care, when used as an intervention with people who are hospitalized with acute schizophrenia. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychological Medicine, Sydney University.

2004 - Baker, Felicity
The effects of song singing on the affective intonation of traumatically brain injured people. Aalborg University, Denmark.

2004 - Lem, Alan
Tracing the flow of imagery evoked by two GIM (Guided Imagery and Music) programs during unguided Music Imaging experiences. University of Western Sydney.

2003 - Short, Alison
Holistic aspects of rehabilitation post-cardiac surgery using the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology, Sydney.

2001 -- McFerran-Skewes, Katrina
The Experience of Group Music Therapy for Younger, Bereaved Adolescents, NAMTRU, University of Melbourne.

2001 -- Meadows, Anthony (Tony)
Gender implications in Therapist Constructs of Clients. Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. Doctoral Dissertation.

2001 -- O'Callaghan, Clare
Interpretations about the Relevance of a Music Therapy Program in a Cancer Hospital. University of Melbourne.

2000 -- Edwards, Jane
Developing a platform for research in music therapy with hospitalised children. University of Queensland, Australia.

1999 -- Erdonmez Grocke, Denise
A phenomenological study of pivotal moments in Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) therapy. University of Melbourne, Australia. 

1998 -- Magee, Wendy
Singing my life, playing my self. Investigating the use of familiar pre-composed music and unfamiliar improvised music in clinical music therapy with individuals with chronic neurological illness. University of Sheffield, England.

1998 -- Hadley, Susan
Exploring Relationships Between Life and Work in Music Therapy: The Stories of Mary Priestley and Clive Robbins. Temple University. Philadelphia, USA.