Ep 112 Naviella Dowds

Luke spoke to Naviella Dowds about her journey to music therapy. This includes some discussion of her challenging experiences during training, which she initally discussed in a public forum at the most recent BAMT conference in Leicester, in 2024, as part of a keynote. Naviella Dowds is an HCPC-registered music therapist, PhD researcher at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and Founder and CEO of Lyrical Minds, a pioneering organisation specialising in rap, Hip-Hop and DJ-informed creative practice within music therapy and wellbeing. Naviella's journey into this work is deeply personal. During her own cancer recovery, she discovered rap and songwriting as powerful tools for processing emotions, finding her voice and supporting her mental wellbeing. This experience, alongside her academic and professional journey, led her to explore how rap, Hip-Hop and DJ culture can be meaningfully and ethically integrated into music therapy. Her PhD research, "Finding Voice: Exploring Rap-Informed Creative Practice as a Culturally Responsive Approach Within Music Therapy and Wellbeing," explores creative expression, identity, culture and wellbeing, while questioning how the profession can become more culturally responsive and inclusive. Through Lyrical Minds, Naviella delivers training, CPD, workshops, keynote presentations and creative programmes for professionals and communities. She is also a Board Member of BAMT, where she hopes to contribute to the future development of the profession. Looking ahead, Naviella is passionate about expanding opportunities for rap and Hip-Hop-informed practice, supporting greater cultural understanding within music therapy, developing international partnerships and taking Lyrical Minds around the world through training, research and collaboration. Her ultimate goal is to help create a music therapy profession where everyone can find their voice, their culture is respected, and there is space for different ways of making, experiencing and understanding music. Links: LinkedIn post of a video of Nav's performance at age 15, in tribute to her close friends who were tragically killed. Nav's post about the tragic death of Jason Arday Lyrical Minds Website