Festival of Communities
On Saturday 15th June, the Centre for Mind in Society got involved with the Tower Hamlets Festival of Communities.
The festival celebrates everything that makes East London a fantastic place to live and work by bringing together fun family activities, food stalls, games, and hands-on demonstrations from Queen Mary researchers and local organisations. Sharan Sidhu (Reader/Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry) and Catherine Carr (Music Therapist) wanted to explore the potential of music therapy for dental anxiety.
Zoe Adams (Centre for Mind in Society) then developed a stand at the festival to raise awareness about anxiety at the dentist, and explore the potential role of music in alleviating this anxiety. Together with colleagues Richard Fitzgerald (Academic Clinical Fellow in Special Care Dentistry), Emma Windle (Music Therapist) and Violeta Interian (Psychology PhD candidate), the team hosted a stand called ‘Music and Dentistry.’
The stand was divided into two parts: music listening and music making. The first part, music listening, let people listen to 5 different genres of music from country to classical, and choose which genre was the most relaxing. Reggae was the winner! The second part, music making, allowed people to choose from a great range of instruments like the African calimba and Chilean rainstick, and sing songs with Emma. It was a hugely popular event for all ages with over 100 visitors throughout the day!
