In this new podcast, Anita Holford, co-editor of Music Education Works, is talking with Catherine Birch, who is a senior lecturer in Community Music at York St John University. She is currently researching, how trauma-informed approaches can benefit community music practice, through singing and songwriting work with women prisoners as part of the York St John Prison Partnership.
We talk about:
- Catherine’s background as a peripatetic music teacher, secondary school teacher, and secondary music education lecturer
- working with women prisoners for wellbeing and a renewed sense of self-identity, belonging and self-worth
- the prevalence of trauma – which can happen as a result of, for example, adverse childhood experiences, and domestic abuse – and its impacts
- using trauma-informed approaches as part of the ‘toolkit’ of being a music tutor or community musician and improving people’s experience of music learning or participation
- and we finish with two pieces of advice and a call to action for music educators and community musicians
You can access the podcast via a blog on our main website –
or on iTunes or Spotify (search for Music for Education & Wellbeing).
