About

As the Programme Lead, I provided guidance and support on teaching and learning on the Music Therapy MA course. I am involved in Ph.D supervision in the University, too. Our course is innovative and contemporary and we are involved in creating events, local and global partnerships and research.

Teaching responsibilities

At Derby, I teach key foundational theories on the Music Therapy course, as well as providing reflective supervision for students on placement and experiential learning through developing musical and clinical skills.

Professional interests

I have worked with children and families for the whole of my career as a teacher and therapist. In particular, I have worked with adoptive families since 2016. My professional interests are around offering accessible assessments and interventions can support families experiencing challenges with attachment relationships and neurodiversity.

Research interests

As with my professional interests, my research interests are with attachment theory. My book, A Clinical Guide to Interpersonal Constructs and Attachment Theory, connects my work to constructivism to look at attachment throughout the lifespan, in people from all backgrounds. I am particularly interested in supporting women and children, and understanding attachment in non-Western communities.

Membership of professional bodies

BPA (Chartered), HCPC, BAMT, EMTC.

Qualifications

Recent conferences

• Chroma Conference 2016
• Museums Wellbeing Alliance Conference 2017
• British Association of Music Therapists Conference 2018,
• ACAMH 2018 (poster),
• Nordic Music Therapy Conference, 2018,
• British Association of Music Therapists Conference, 2019,
• Kids in Museums Conference 2019,
• European Music Therapy Conference, 2019,
• Adoption UK Conference, 2019,
• Adoption UK Conference, 2021,
• British Association of Music Therapists Conference, 2021,
• Adoption UK Conference, 2022
• British Association of Music Therapists Conference, 2022
• European Music Therapy Conference, 2022,
• Family Symposium in Vienna, 2022,
• International Symposium of Music Therapy in Slovenia, 2024,
• Key note speech, West of England Music Therapy, 2024.
• European Music Therapy Conference, 2025

Experience in industry

I have worked as a Music Therapist since 2008, working in a wide range of health and social care settings. In 2016, I began to specialise in adoptive families. In 2017, I began to supervise and manage creative arts therapists and more recently, I have been the Clinical Lead for a therapeutic team working with adoption.

Currently, I run a private attachment and neurodiversity assessment business with an MDT. This includes undertaking assessments and screening for children, families and adults, as well as providing goal-based interventions and psychological support for parents.

International experience

As I am very involved in music therapy assessment and families across Europe - I am the Vice President for the European Music Therapy Confederation where we support over 6000 therapists. Previous to this role, I was the International Officer for BAMT.

I have lectured throughout Europe, regularly leading training courses and speaking at conferences. I am a member of the Family Hub, an international team of music therapists based in Vienna. I am also a research affiliate for Aalborg University in Denmark.

Recent publications

• Co-author of reflective training manual on the Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions with Professor Stine Jacobsen, Aalborg University, 2019.
• “What are the factors of effective therapy?”, was published in Approaches Journal, 2019.
• “Colour of Us”, an invited chapter for the World Congress of Music Therapy ibook, July 2020 and 2022.
• “Achieving Behavioural Advancement through the Dynamic Maturation Model and the Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions in a Music Therapy Context”, 2022 in Behaviourial Sciences Journal. This was in partnership with Dr Efthymios Papatzikis, Oslo University.
• Music and Parental Wellbeing Group: A Position Paper, to be published in January 2025.
• Jacobsen, S. L., & Swanick, R. (2023). Music therapy for young children with attachment challenges. In M. S. Barrett, & G. F. Welch (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Early Childhood Music Learning and Development (pp. 717-734). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190927523.013.46
• Swanick, R., Thompson, G. and Haslbeck, H. Recreational Music Therapy: singing and play familiar songs. In ‘‘Parenting focused music therapy - an integrative approach”, to be published by Jessica Kinglsey Publishers, 2026.
• Swanick, R. and Jacobsen, S. L. The Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions Training Manual. In “Advancing Arts Therapies through Manualized Interventions fo Treatment and Training”, to be published by Cambridge Scholars Publishers in 2026.
• Perkins, R., Sanfilippo, K. R. M., Graham, D., Durrant, M., Alway, P., Anstee, L., Corcoran, K., East, E., Ettenberger, M., Knight, J., Krause, A., Lense, M., McCaffrey, T., McConnell, B., Ortiz, T., Spiro, N., Swanick, R., & Tuncgenc, B. (2025). Music and Parental Wellbeing: A Position Paper. Music & Science, 8.
• Swanick, R. (2025). Understanding therapeutic support for adoptive families through the golden thread of attachment theory, constructionism and creative arts therapies. University of South Wales, PhD by Publication
• Swanick, R. A Clinical Guide to Interpersonal Constructs and Attachment Theory, to be published by Springer, New York, in 2026