Music Therapy

Long hospital stays can feel scary and isolating for children and babies. That’s why we fund a full and vibrant music therapy service. Led by our specialist Music Therapists, it helps make your hospital journey easier, and sometimes, even fun.

Claire and Holly deliver sessions to over 30 babies and children each week across several wards in Bristol Children’s Hospital. 

The service is also available in St Michael’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which cares for some of the sickest babies in the region, through our NICU charity, Cots for Tots. 

Meet your music therapists

Claire

“I’ve been a music therapist since 2009. My first role saw me specialising in children with autism and other neurodivergence in London before moving to Bristol and working one day a week in Bristol Children’s Hospital. Thanks to your generous support, I now work with referred patients and their families on all overnight wards in Bristol Children’s Hospital, as well as babies in St Michael’s NICU.

Before qualifying as a music therapist, I played the French horn professionally in orchestras all over the world. Now, in my spare time I play in a wind quintet and in various orchestras in and around Bristol. 

What I love most about my role is helping patients and their families to creatively navigate their feelings about their diagnosis and hospital stay without the need for words. Giving them space to safely explore their feelings can really positively impact their mental health. I truly believe I have the best job in the world. It’s an honour.”  

Holly

“I qualified as a music therapist in 2016 and have mostly worked in educational settings, and with people with a learning disability. Part of my experience also comes from working in adoption support. I studied classical singing at university and still perform as a soloist and in vocal ensembles. I love singing with others and the connection you find in group singing.  

My role involves working with referred patients and their families on all overnight wards in Bristol Children’s Hospital.  

I feel privileged to support patients and their families often through difficult times. I think of music as a language that everyone can speak. It feels really special to work with so many different young people, helping them to communicate or express themselves in a way that feels right for them.” 

More about music therapy

Music therapy is a vital creative, psychological service delivered by registered music therapists. It helps children process the difficult feelings that often come with hospital stays. Time spent with your music therapist can take many different forms. Group sessions allow patients to bond with other children and create beautiful music together. Individual sessions often happen at your child’s bedside, with a variety of instruments to allow them to process the sometimes-challenging circumstances surrounding their hospital stay. 

Your music therapist will always meet your child’s needs and capabilities, and all sessions are fully accessible and tailored to each patient. They will base each session on your child’s emotions on that day and any treatments they’ve had or have got coming up.

From the jangle of a tambourine to the banging of a drum or the gentle melody of a ukelele, your music therapist comes equipped with a trolley full of interesting instruments. There’s something for every complex emotion and your music therapist will even write songs with your child to put what they’re experiencing into an exploration of sound. 

How to arrange a music therapy visit

Our music therapists work on a referral basis and will tailor visits to your child and their needs. Your child needs to have one or more of the following to see Claire or Holly: 

• A hospital passport 

• A mental health admission 

• A neurorehabilitation or oncology treatment pathway 

• An extended hospital stay (usually two weeks or longer) 

To request a referral, speak to your ward play specialist, child’s nurse or one of the medical team. Claire and Holly will come to see you at bedside and explain the service. 

Meet some budding musicians

Many of the families who share their story through us talk about the incredible impact music therapy has had on their child. This wonderful service, run by Claire and Holly, benefits a wide range of patients in both Bristol Children’s Hospital and St Michael’s NICU.

We’re incredibly proud to fund the music therapy service as part of a wide range of projects designed to make the lives of young people better and more comfortable. If you’re interested in seeing what else we fund, learn more about what we do.

A big thank you goes out to our friends at MusicSpace, who facilitate Claire and Holly’s time in Bristol Children’s Hospital.