19/06/2026
As a Registered Music Therapist, my work at Sydney Music Therapy spans hospitals, mental health, addiction recovery, disability, education, and community settings. Across these environments, one thing has become clear: different stages of recovery require different approaches. And sometimes, the tools we rely on clinically need to be adapted for the nervous system in front of us.
Sound Recovery™ emerged directly from this reality.
Before it became the structured, trauma‑aware modality it is today, it began in the detox unit of a hospital in Sydney. I walked into those rooms with all the tools I had as a registered music therapist — drumming, songwriting, creative expression and so much more — and quickly realised something important… it wasn’t the right fit for that moment in recovery.
The patients I was working with were often highly dysregulated. Their nervous systems were overwhelmed, fragile, and trying to stabilise. What I thought would be engaging — like drumming — was often too sensory, too activating. Songwriting required a level of cognitive and emotional access that simply wasn’t available yet.
So I had to listen differently.
Over time, I began stripping things back. Simpler. Slower. Safer.
That’s where Sound Recovery™ was born — not from theory, but from real people in real moments of vulnerability. It evolved through observation, trial, and deep respect for where someone is at, not where we think they should be.
This training is built on those experiences.
It’s about understanding regulation before expression. Safety before creativity. And meeting people exactly where they are — especially in the earliest, most raw stages of recovery.
Because sometimes the most powerful work isn’t doing more… it’s doing less, with intention.
If you’d like to learn more, stay connected, or follow the development of this trauma‑aware sound modality, you can follow on Instagram.
