Our Cause

About music therapy, and the ways we help

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead uses music therapy to bring relief and joy to the treatment of very ill children from the many cultures and backgrounds of the South Pacific islands, regional and remote NSW, including Aboriginal children, and of course children from Greater Sydney.

Music therapy brings together school kids, community, therapists and sick kids, and plays a huge role in reducing fear, stress and anxiety associated with medical treatment and time away from home and community, for the children and for their families.

Making a difference

Music therapists help brighten kids’ days. Roxanne has been a Music Therapist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead for 12 years, visiting patients one-on-one at their bedside, helping them engage in playing instruments, singing, composing, relaxing and talking about music.

Music therapy brings something familiar, fun and non-threatening into their environment, helping children to not only cope with hospitalisation, but to build resilience and coping skills.

Music therapists also work with other staff to support recovery, whether this is working alongside nursing staff to provide procedural support, or working with other allied health staff in interdisciplinary sessions, where the inclusion of music enhances the achievement of therapeutic goals.

Roxanne

For Roxanne, every day is different as a music therapist, and she says being able to facilitate experiences that become positive memories for patients and families is a privilege.

I love leaving at the end of a session knowing that I have made a difference in the day of a child and their family. I am always amazed by the imagination, creativity and tenacity of the children I work with. Even on the sick and painful days, these kids and their families can still benefit from music therapy. They inspire me to do my best to bring joy and peace to their day.

How we help

Funds raised go directly to support professional music therapists working at the bedside with kids in The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

It’s thanks to the generous support of fundraising such as Celebration Sing Out! that The Children’s Hospital at Westmead has been able to employ music therapists.

Leila’s first music therapy session was so powerfully uplifting. It reminded me that my daughter is so truly special, inspirational and strong, and brave, and would fight any battle in front of her that lay ahead. She changed as a patient that day. She was more content and definitely a little less fiercely opposed to the nursing staff doing their two-hourly observations.

Nicole

Lara had people who did physio and music therapy, who regularly helped brighten her day. That all made life so much easier.

Stacey

Music therapy doesn’t just help with Siddiqah and Azeaqee, it helps me too. It hasn’t been easy — the routine at home and being at the hospital can be quite scary, but Janet and the team soften the experience. Recently the music therapy team has supported Siddiqah through a secondary neurological condition requiring regular admissions, infusions, cannulation and ultrasounds under general anaesthetic — all of which can be extremely daunting.

Kida