In Episode 54, Davina Wilson talks to Michaela de Cruz. Michaela qualified in 2019 and is relatively new to music therapy but is not new to music activism. Over her 20 years as a jazz and soul performer, musician and songwriter, she has championed and contributed to causes as varied as racial awareness, gender and sexual equality and animal rights. As an activist in the music therapy scene, Michaela was on the panel for the first ever BAMT racial awareness event, which was a seminal effort for music therapy in the UK. In this podcast, Michaela speaks with her panel member Davina about the events which led to her putting her passion behind the fight for racial equality and equity in the music therapy space for both therapists and their clients, why she believes there can be no more excuses for ignorance of racial issues and discrimination in the community, as well as what she hopes to see in the future for music therapy training and practice across the UK. Michaela works primarily in adult mental health and runs her own private practice MdC Music Therapy. She will be presenting a roundtable discussion together with the BAMT racial awareness panel members at the upcoming European Music Therapy Conference in 2022. MdC Music Therapy - www.mdcmusictherapy.com Michaela Therese music - https://soundcloud.com/michaelatheresemusic/tracks Resource Books: Turner, D. (2021). Intersections of Privilege and Otherness in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Mockingbird. Routledge Keval, N. (2016). Racist States of Mind: Understanding the Perversion of Curiosity and Concern. Routledge. Shukla, N. (2017). The Good Immigrant. Unbound.