Tessa Watson

Associate Professor and Convenor of the MA Music Therapy programme. Tessa is a qualified music therapist, registered with HCPC. Her clinical experience is extensive, including work with the elderly, in forensic mental health, and with young people and adults with learning disabilities. Her current clinical work is with the children and families at Alexander Devine Children's Hospice. Tessa is passionate about advocating for marginalised groups and considers her work to be creative activism. Pround co-founder member of HENCoP (Health Education Network for Coproduction), Tessa values working with service users and carers across all her varied roles (see here).

Tessa’s research interests are diverse including clinical work with adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities, multi-disciplinary work and work with carers, and the development of theories of learning and teaching in the training of Music Therapists. Tessa is a career teacher who is passionate about the student experience, and when studying her PG Cert in Higher Education researched into the student experience on the Roehampton music therapy training course. 

As well as her interests in research Tessa has contributed to the development of the profession through her work with British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT), European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) and Euoprean Consortium for Arts Therapies Education (ECArTE).

Tessa was one of the Editors of the British Journal Music Therapy from 2013-2024. She enjoys writing and speaking about her work and speaks at conferences internationally and in the UK. She also leads workshops and masterclasses on writing in the UK and internationally. Tessa is an HCPC partner working on the CPD scheme and fitness to practice panels, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Some notable publications are 'Contemporary issues in music therapy training; a resource for trainees, trainers and practitioners' (book in press with Routledge), 'Music Therapy with People with Learning Disabilities; a view from the UK' (in Handbook of Music Therapy), ‘Supporting the Unplanned Journey’ in Collaboration and Assistance in Music Therapy Practice, London; Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2017), ‘The World is Alive! Music Therapy with Adults with Learning Disabilities’ in the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, OUP (2016), Integrated Team Working: Music Therapy as Part of Transdisciplinary and Collaborative Approaches, London; Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2008) with Karen Twyford, and Music Therapy with Adults with Learning Disabilities, London; Routledge (2007). Tessa is currently working with a team of international researchers to prepare an article for publication that will report on a project exploring standards for safe and effective music therapy training across Europe.

BA (Hons), MA, SRAT (M), PGCLT (HE).

Research interests include work with adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities, group work and the student experience during training.

Clinical work experience:

Tessa has over 30 years of clinical work experience in varied settings. In the area of psychiatry she has worked with the elderly, in adult acute and rehabilitative care, and in forensic settings. In the area of learning disabilities she has worked with clients with a wide range of disabilities, including those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, aspergers syndrome, and a dual diagnosis of mental health and learning disability. Tessa has experience of training and supervising diverse groups of staff, and has managed teams of therapists and health staff within the NHS. Her current clinical work is with the children and families at Alexander Devine Children's Hospice. Tessa is passionate about advocating for marginalised groups and considers her work to be creative activism.

Registered with HCPC, member of BAMT, Senior Fellow of HEA