This event brings together music practitioners and organisations, health professionals, policy makers, people with lived experience, and researchers, to look at areas of possibility and challenge within the field of music and parental mental wellbeing.  

The session will include: 

• Introduction and welcome, led by Rosie Perkins  
• Musical welcome, led by Zoë Palmer 
• Short presentations led by Emily Tredget (Happity), Rosie Perkins (RCM), and Hannah Dye (Breathe Arts Health Research) 
• Clinician perspective from Maddalena Miele (St Mary’s Hospital, London)
• Discussion groups followed by a plenary and close 

If you are not already registered for this event, please click here.  We look forward to welcoming you!  

Please note that the schedule and presenters may be subject to change.  

Rosie Perkins is Professor of Music, Health, and Social Science at the Royal College of Music. Based in the Centre for Performance Science, Rosie’s research investigates two broad areas within music and mental wellbeing: how music and the arts support societal wellbeing and how to enhance artists’ wellbeing and career development. Rosie has particular interest in music and parental mental wellbeing and is currently editing a volume on this topic to be published by Oxford University Press. Rosie is an honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London and a Fellow of AdvanceHE (FHEA) and the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). In 2019, she was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music. 

Rosie will give an overview of research studies at the RCM focusing on music and parental mental wellbeing. This will include past and current work on the role of singing and songwriting in supporting mothers experiencing symptoms of postnatal depression; the provision of live, personalised music for patients in hospital during pregnancy; and the role of music in supporting families affected by ZIKA virus in Brazil. 

Zoë is a co-creative artist and facilitator who works at the intersection of the arts, health, and environmental justice. Since 2011 she has been part of a team delivering creative interventions at The Royal London Hospital including the award-winning Lullabies project. Zoë was co-lead facilitator of Music and Motherhood, a research project into the impact of singing interventions on postnatal depression developed by the Centre for Performance Science.

Her recent work includes: another garden (will be my city) (Season for Change at Toynbee Hall), Camille’s Rainbow, (Carnegie Hall, Minnesota Opera, San Fransisco Opera), Hjertelyd (Den Jyske Opera). Keepers Of The Corallite, a song cycle created with composer Daniel Saleeb for Countertenor Iestyn Davies, was premiered in 2018.  From 2011-17 Zoë co-created Musical Rumpus, an award-winning opera series for children which has toured across the UK and Europe to venues including The Royal Opera House, Elphilharmonie, Rich Mix, The Sage Gateshead, and Ovalhouse.  Other writing credits include Nooma (Carnegie Hall, Minnesota Opera, San Fransisco Opera), Robin Hood (The Opera Story), Orla’s Moon, Orla & The Sun (Wonderful Beast Theatre Company), Otoyotoy (Carnegie Hall) Between Constellations (Pittsburgh Festival Opera Global Commissioning competition, Semi-finalist), The Finding (Mahogany Opera Various Stages), Fosterling (Ovalhouse). Zoë has an ongoing collaborative relationship with Moving Star Ensemble at Carnegie Hall and is a visiting professor at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  More information can be found at www.zoelaureenpalmer.com.

Emily is co-founder and CEO of Happity, a platform which helps connect new parents through baby and toddler classes. She set up Happity after struggling with postnatal depression and anxiety after the birth of her son and wanting to find a way to reduce instances and severity of mental illness in new parents through reducing loneliness. Emily was nominated for a Parliamentary Award for her work supporting new parents throughout Covid (mostly notably changing Government legislation to support new parents through baby classes) and has campaigned over the past six years to reduce the stigma of maternal mental health.  

Emily will be sharing her experience of poor mental health post-natally, the collective experience of new parents in recent times, and how her work at Happity can support new parents’ mental wellbeing. 

Hannah is Head of Programmes at Breathe Arts Health Research.  She oversees the strategic development and delivery of the organisation’s award-winning arts and health programmes, which have research and evidence at their heart. Her role there has seen collaborations with Guy’s and St Thomas’, Wellcome Trust, Warwickshire County Council, King’s College London, Sea Containers London, and Southbank Centre. Hannah is also a freelance Producer delivering a variety of arts programmes with schools, universities, professional artists, under-represented community groups, and NHS Trusts. She has worked with organisations including Candoco Dance Company, English National Ballet, National Youth Dance Company, Sadler’s Wells, and China Plate Theatre. During her career, Hannah has also developed inclusive dance projects with The British Council in Vietnam, Senegal, Armenia, and Nigeria.  

Hannah will present on the Breathe Melodies for Mums programme; how it was developed from research into practice; its impact so far via in-person and online models of delivery; and future ambitions. To bring the programme to life, Hannah will share personal stories and insights into the impact the programme has had on the women it has reached.   

Dr Miele, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, has led the perinatal mental health service at St Mary’s Hospital, Central North West London (CNWL) FT, in partnership with the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust maternity unit since 2009. From December 2016 to January 2020, she was Clinical Lead of the Perinatal Mental Health Service for CNWL FT. She has a clinical background in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and completed a PhD in neuroscience at the department of Physiology at Oxford University. She trained in General Adult Psychiatry at the Maudsley, Bethlem and St Mary’s Hospitals with an endorsement in Liaison Psychiatry. She trained in Infant Mental Health with Dr PO Svanberg (Care Index and Parent Infant Interaction Observation Scale). She has been a member of the Perinatal Faculty Executive and the Perinatal Quality Network Advisory Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the College representative for the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (2015-2018). Dr Miele has been heavily involved in perinatal mental health service development and is the chair of the North West London division of the London Perinatal Mental Health Network (NHS England). She co-authored the London Perinatal Mental Health Care Pathways endorsed by the Mental Health Strategic Clinical Network and is the creative director of the animation movie “Building Better Perinatal Mental Health Services” available to watch here. She is the lead author of the Pre-conception Advice: Best Practice Toolkit for Perinatal Mental Health Services launched by Pan London Perinatal Mental Health Network in 2019. She is actively involved in training and teaching programs to raise awareness on perinatal mental illness and improve clinical skills in perinatal and infant mental health care. She is one of the lead trainers for the Parent Infant Interaction Observation Scale course at Warwick University Medical School and a trustee for the Association of infant Mental Health UK and the Brazelton Centre UK. 

Register for the event here.