Caitlin Shaughnessy

Research Associate
Royal College of Music

Caitlin Shaughnessy is Research Associate at the Royal College of Music (RCM), working as part of the HEartS Professional and ProMiMiC teams. Her research interests are centred on the importance of music in everyday life as a medium for shared experience, supporting wellbeing and creative expression. In 2021 she completed her PhD at the University of Roehampton, exploring the role of musical play for autistic children and their families, focusing on everyday strategies for musical development.

Her other research projects have examined the role of music for supporting wellbeing in perinatal care, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts sector, self-regulation during musical learning in the early years, and the role of music in maintaining language for people living with dementia. Her research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Wellcome Trust, and the Society for Music, Education, and Psychology Research (SEMPRE).

  • 2024

    • Shaughnessy C, Hall A, and Perkins R (2024), Becoming the right musician for the job: versatility, connectedness, and professional identities during personalized, online music-making in hospital maternity wards, Musicae Scientiae, 28, 58-75. DOI»

    • Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Spiro N, Waddell G, and Williamon A (2024), Cultivating progressive development in the cultural industries: challenges and support needs identified by the creative workforce in the United Kingdom, Cultural Trends, 33, 487-504. DOI»

    • Spiro N, Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Waddell G, Campbell A, and Williamon A (2024), The HEartS professional model: a conceptual model for arts professionals’ work and wellbeing, Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 10 (101092), 1-8. DOI»

  • 2023

    • Spiro N, Sanfilippo KRM, McConnell BB, Pike-Rowney G, Bonini Baraldi F, Brabec B, Van Buren K, Camlin DA, Cardoso TM, Çifdalöz BU, Cross I, Dumbauld B, Ettenberger M, Falkenberg K, Fouché S, Frid E, Gosine J, graham-jackson al, Grahn, JL, Harrison K, Ilari B, Mollison S, Morrison SJ, Pérez-Acosta G, Perkins R, Pitt J, Rabinowitch TC, Robledo JP, Roginsky E, Shaughnessy C, Sunderland N, Talmage A, Tsiris G, and de Wit K (2023), Perspectives on musical care throughout the life course: introducing the Musical Care International Network, Music and Science, 6, 1-18. DOI»

    • Spiro N, Shaughnessy C, Waddell G, Perkins R, Campbell A, and Williamon A (2023), Modelling arts professionals’ wellbeing and career intentions within the context of COVID-19, PLOS One, 18 (e0292722), 1-22. DOI»

    • Spiro N, Yang J, Shaughnessy C, Luo C, Perkins R, Waddell G, and Williamon A (2023), Work and wellbeing among arts professionals in China during COVID-19 (August 2020 and October 2021), Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 8 (100691), 1-9. DOI»

  • 2022

    • Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Spiro N, Waddell G, Campbell A, and Williamon A (2022), The future of the cultural workforce: perspectives from early career arts professionals on the challenges and future of the cultural industries in the context of COVID-19, Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 6 (100296), 1-12. DOI»

  • 2021

    • Lisboa T, Shaugnessy C, Voyajolu A, and Ockelford A (2021), Promoting the musical engagement of autistic children in the early years through a program of parental support: an ecological research study, Music and Science, 4, 1-24. DOI»

A partnership of
Royal College of Music | Imperial College London

X-twitter Youtube Eye
Scroll to Top