Lessons and reflections in greener Music Therapy practice: a guest blog from Jim Davey-Hewins

A highlight for me has been presenting at the BAMT Conference last year and having the opportunity to share some of the things I’ve learned about sustainable healthcare with other Music Therapists. Particularly when demonstrating how it can be better for the environment to provide more Music Therapy when we’re working in preventative care – this had some audible gasps from the audience! It can seem counter-intuitive to think it’s better to do more, as the assumption is that we should be doing less to have less of an impact on the environment.

However this isn’t the case if by providing Music Therapy we’re helping to prevent the need for more carbon-intensive healthcare treatment in the future. Another highlight was after the conference being contacted by other Music Therapy organisations that wanted to learn from the sustainability work we’ve done at Chiltern Music Therapy, which was really pleasing as it all helps our profession to lessen its negative impact on the planet.

Beyond that I have been focussing more on the mental health impacts of the climate crisis over the past year, and thinking about how we as music therapists might support our clients who are experiencing eco-distress or other related issues. Research has shown that this is an increasing concern, amongst young people especially, and that therapists do not always feel equipped to support people with these issues. I have been developing a version of a Climate Café that includes musical improvisation, and hope to be able to learn from and share some ideas with other Music Therapists in the future.

Beyond that it has been increasingly distressing to see the devastating impacts of the climate crisis around the world, as more and more extreme weather events are taking lives and destroying communities. The fact that it is often those who have contributed the least to the problem that feel the worst impact is just another deeply saddening example of an unjust world. Although I am in the privileged position of the effect on me currently being relatively small, I do still rely on self-care, and find it helpful to keep connecting with others who are thinking about and working in this area.

I’m looking forward to presenting as part of Greener AHP Week, as well as submitting an article Tessa Watson and I are writing about environmental sustainability and Music Therapy in the UK to the British Journal of Music Therapy.

5 challenges for becoming a greener Music Therapist:

• Travel: are you able to keep a set of second hand instruments at a work setting if it means you can walk, cycle or catch the bus instead of driving?
• Instruments: do other local music therapists have any unused instruments that you could borrow instead of buying something new? If not, can you find second hand instruments elsewhere rather than buying new ones?
• Finance: do you know how your money is invested? Check with your pension provider and bank to see if they are using your money to fund fossil fuel extraction or other unethical practices.
• Mental health: the climate crisis is a traumatic issue and can have a psychological impact. Make sure you are considering your own self-care – try finding a local or online Climate Café for a supportive space to get in touch with your feelings around this issue.
• Food: are there any changes you could make at lunchtime? Try swapping less sustainable ingredients such as red meat for something else you still enjoy. You could begin by doing this for one meal a week, then seeing if you can expand on it.

To find out more about AHP Week, visit the Greener AHP Hub.