Therapeutic songwriting, neurodisability, and identity. Thousands of Australians present with fractured identities following acquired spinal or brain injuries which can diminish their capacity to participate in and contribute to society. This project aims to investigate the effect of a song writing intervention on reconstruction of a meaningful integrated identity and psychological wellbeing post-injury. It aims to construct a model of mechanisms of change, identify factors influencing change an ....Therapeutic songwriting, neurodisability, and identity. Thousands of Australians present with fractured identities following acquired spinal or brain injuries which can diminish their capacity to participate in and contribute to society. This project aims to investigate the effect of a song writing intervention on reconstruction of a meaningful integrated identity and psychological wellbeing post-injury. It aims to construct a model of mechanisms of change, identify factors influencing change and explore the role of musical identity in the process of identity reconstruction. It is expected that the findings will show evidence that song writing can enhance wellbeing, improve self-concept, and increase social and economic participation in society.Read moreRead less
Musical investment: assessing and enabling musical participation for well being impact across the lifespan. This project tests a growing belief that by investing in opportunity for musical participation we may develop the capacity to improve individual, family and community well being. The work advances the knowledge base by generating theories and evidence about why we should invest in music-making in order to promote well being across the lifespan. It undertakes systematic investigations to id ....Musical investment: assessing and enabling musical participation for well being impact across the lifespan. This project tests a growing belief that by investing in opportunity for musical participation we may develop the capacity to improve individual, family and community well being. The work advances the knowledge base by generating theories and evidence about why we should invest in music-making in order to promote well being across the lifespan. It undertakes systematic investigations to identify specific variables that promote well being in music activities. It develops best practice guidelines for music practitioners across a range of disciplines using a variety of modalities and offers potential to inform policy development.Read moreRead less
Tipping the Scales: Fostering a healthy adolescence through musical participation. The prevention of mental illness is a priority for the Australian community. The death of a parent or sibling during childhood or adolescence is a significant risk factor for mental illness because of the multiple losses that stem from the original bereavement. Early intervention programs with a focus on enhancing resilience have been identified as the most appropriate strategy for promoting mental health. Thi ....Tipping the Scales: Fostering a healthy adolescence through musical participation. The prevention of mental illness is a priority for the Australian community. The death of a parent or sibling during childhood or adolescence is a significant risk factor for mental illness because of the multiple losses that stem from the original bereavement. Early intervention programs with a focus on enhancing resilience have been identified as the most appropriate strategy for promoting mental health. This project investigates and evaluates the potential of creative expression to function as a protective factor in fostering resilience and effective coping with bereavement during adolescence. Innovative models of analysis will provide multiple perspectives on this benefit.Read moreRead less
What's in the music? A lifespan model of emotional and musical creativity in therapeutic song writing. Composing songs as a form of therapy is a recent innovation in music therapy practice. This study examines the health benefits of original song writing for people with varying debilitating health conditions and those adjusting to injury, trauma or pending death. The results of this study will improve health service and delivery by music therapists.
Sustaining effective educational initiatives. This project aims to investigate how educational initiatives can be sustained over the long term. Schools and early childhood and care services deliver programmes to develop students' social and emotional wellbeing, promote mental health, prevent bullying and address eating disorders. However, effective initiatives often fade away when start-up resources run out. This project will review models of implementation and provide exemplars of good practice ....Sustaining effective educational initiatives. This project aims to investigate how educational initiatives can be sustained over the long term. Schools and early childhood and care services deliver programmes to develop students' social and emotional wellbeing, promote mental health, prevent bullying and address eating disorders. However, effective initiatives often fade away when start-up resources run out. This project will review models of implementation and provide exemplars of good practice to better enable sustainability at all phases of implementation, evaluation and long-term maintenance of educational initiatives.Read moreRead less
Mental Health First Aid Training for Teachers: Development, Evaluation and Dissemination. The project aims to provide teachers with training that will assist them to recognize mental health problems which are developing in students and to take appropriate action so that the student gets professional help.
Sexual health promotion in Papua New Guinea: a community capacity-building approach using drama-based experiential learning methods. The Australian government is committed to developing a secure and prosperous Papua New Guinea. A major constraint to PNG's prosperity is the HIV/AIDS epidemic, fuelled by a generalised Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) epidemic. This project will build the capacity of local PNG personnel to implement, evaluate, and further develop, effective interventions based ....Sexual health promotion in Papua New Guinea: a community capacity-building approach using drama-based experiential learning methods. The Australian government is committed to developing a secure and prosperous Papua New Guinea. A major constraint to PNG's prosperity is the HIV/AIDS epidemic, fuelled by a generalised Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) epidemic. This project will build the capacity of local PNG personnel to implement, evaluate, and further develop, effective interventions based on established experiential learning modalities. Learnings from this landmark study will also provide vital information for policy makers and funding bodies in Australia and other nations, to establish more effective strategies for improving the health and wellbeing of young people and preventing the spread of STIs and HIV/AIDS.Read moreRead less
School drug education for junior high school students in Victoria - Assessing the impact of a state-wide, evidence-based intervention
. Young people are faced with numerous and powerful influences to use both legal and illicit drugs, and drug education can play an important counterbalancing role in shaping a normative culture of safety, moderation and informed decision making in this group. The research will develop, implement and evaluate one all encompassing, evidence-based, drug education pr ....School drug education for junior high school students in Victoria - Assessing the impact of a state-wide, evidence-based intervention
. Young people are faced with numerous and powerful influences to use both legal and illicit drugs, and drug education can play an important counterbalancing role in shaping a normative culture of safety, moderation and informed decision making in this group. The research will develop, implement and evaluate one all encompassing, evidence-based, drug education program for junior high school students across Victoria. The study is unique in its size and scope and will be of national benefit because its findings will influence the nature of future drug education in all secondary schools in Australia.Read moreRead less