My Music Therapy placement at Great Ormond Street Hospital

Part of the MA Music Therapy programme is a clinical placement out in the community every year - and my first placement was at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

We work with the professors to talk through what we are looking for in a placement, what population of people we potentially want to work with, and background experience.

I have been very fortunate to have worked in many different settings for music therapy, including hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. When discussing this with my professors, I wanted to challenge myself to work in settings, and with people, I did not have as much experience with.

I feel honored to have my first placement at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. I have worked in hospitals before, but never to this size. While I have worked in a children’s hospital before, worked with children in schools, and was a camp counsellor for years, I still feel this is an area for growth.

Taking the train to London and walking around the big city is exciting and new. It sometimes doesn’t feel real that I am having all these experiences. I have been able to shadow several staff members at GOSH, and that has been educational in seeing how all the members of an interdisciplinary team come together to support the children in so many ways. I have been able to work on and observe different wards in the hospital and am feeling more comfortable with the setting week by week.

There has been quite an age range of children I have observed and met so far from a couple of months old to teenagers. The music interventions used for each child really are personalised, and it’s been inspiring to watch and be part of the music-making process. Starting in January, I move away from more of an observational period to hands-on clinical practice, and I am very much looking forward to that. More to come soon!

Dominique studies a Music Therapy MA at ARU in Cambridge. Find out more about this and other degree courses at one of our Open Days.