Music Therapy New Zealand

10/11/2025

Huge congratulations to Mauri Tui Tuia | Creative Therapies NZ for this amazing and very well deserved recognition for their trauma-informed creative support for tamariki.

Next up is the Creative Northland Excellence in Creative Industries Award

Congratulations to this year's winner: Mauri Tui Tuia - Creative Therapies NZ 🎉

🎙 From the Judges:
“Mauri Tui Tuia exemplifies innovation and impact in the creative industries, bridging art, health, and education through trauma- informed, culturally grounded creative therapies. Serving diverse communities across Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau, their work reaches tamariki, whānau, educators, and iwi partners creating measurable social and wellbeing outcomes.

As Aotearoa’s only organisation uniting arts, music, and dance movement therapy, Mauri Tui Tuia is forging new pathways in an emerging market, demonstrating commercial sustainability while redefining how creativity drives community resilience and inclusion based right here in Tai Tokerau.”

Also, a massive well done to our finalist:
✨ Turner Centre

Northland Business Excellence Awards powered by Northpower & Top Energy NZ and proudly presented by NZ Chambers of Commerce Northland.

30/10/2025

Kiwi music therapists at the recent Australian Music Therapy Association's 50th anniversary conference - from the left, Dr Ajay Castelino (now a postdoc researcher at the University of Melbourne, NZ Registered Music Therapists Shona How (Waikato), Amodini Jayawardena (Northland) and Carlos Riegelhaupt (Wellington), and Melbourne-based music therapist Russell Scoones. MThNZ values our close connection with AMTA.

28/10/2025

Continuing our focus on New Zealand Registered Music Therapists who contributed to the Australian Music Therapy Association's recent 50th Anniversary Conference in Melbourne. Amodini Jayawardena is an early career music therapist working in community, education and mental health in Whangārei. Amodini's conference presentation explored the conceptualisation of cultural reflexivity: a shift in practice, and more importantly in mindset, from the focal point of cultural differences to cultural uniqueness. It places the emphasis on the self as the starting point, encouraging critical self-reflection andsocio-politicalawareness regarding culture.

28/10/2025

As well as congratulating the Australian Music Therapy Association on their recent 50th anniversary celebrations, we are proud of New Zealand Registered Music Therapists Amodini Jayawardina and Carlos Riegelhaupt, who were selected to present at the Australian Music Therapy Conference in Melbourne.

24/10/2025

Congratulations to Southern Music Therapy in Christchurch for their wonderful work in neurorehabilitation, featured in this TV One Seven Sharp segment.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/helping-stroke-patients-rediscover-their-voices
(Free TVNZ account needed to view this video)
Edit: See Southern Music Therapy's comment below to watch this on their website.

24/10/2025

Thank you to Music Therapy New Zealand's Executive Officer, Sarah Cole, who concluded her role this week. We wish you well in your future endeavours.

22/10/2025

Many congratulations to our friends in the Australian Music Therapy Association who celebrated their 50th anniversary conference in Melbourne last weekend.

19/10/2025

The latest issue of Approaches (Vol. 17 No. 3 – 2025) is now available.

18/10/2025

Great to see Southern Music Therapy on Seven Sharp

15/10/2025

Sir Roy McKenzie Music Therapy Scholarship 2026 is now live and taking applications at the below link:

This scholarship is for students studying the Master of Music Therapy degree or are a PhD candidate pursuing studies in Music Therapy at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

14/10/2025

Australian Music Therapy Association's 50th Anniversary Conference - last day to register for virtual attendance.

AMTA is pleased to invite virtual registrations for day 2 of our national conference, 'Orchestrating impact and innovation'. Live-stream or watch back:

- international keynote speaker Dr Wendy Magee
- local spotlight speaker Dr Tanya Silveira-Price
- a selection of other presentations
- the closing ceremony, including an address by AMTA's CEO Bridgit Hogan and
- the registration ceremony for recently certified registered music therapists.

We’re proud that this milestone moment is more accessible than ever, giving our international community the flexibility to join in and celebrate with us.

For all the detail and a link to the online registration form, please visit the AMTA website: https://www.austmta.org.au/news-and-events/events/2025-conference/registration/


📷Text: "Virtual registration open now". AMTA2025 logo. AMTA 50 years logo. A photo of a presentation from last year's conference.

14/10/2025

Celebrating world Allied Health Professions Day, October 14th. Allied health professionals are qualified healthcare workers, other than doctors, dentists, and nurses - so including registered music therapists - who support people with a wide range of health needs. (Thanks to Dr Jane George for the image.)