Rate My Professor Rachel Swanick

Dr Rachel Swanick is the Programme Lead for Music Therapy at the University of Derby within the College of Health and Humanities. She holds a PhD by Portfolio from the University of South Wales awarded in 2025, a PGDip in Psychology Conversion from Bolton University completed in 2017, an MA in Music Therapy from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2013, a PGCE with Qualified Teacher Status from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2008, and a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Music from Leeds College of Music in 2002. Swanick has practised as a music therapist since 2008 across various health and social care settings, with a specialisation in work with adoptive families beginning in 2016. She began supervising and managing creative arts therapists in 2017 and has served as Clinical Lead for a therapeutic team focused on adoption. In addition to her academic role, Swanick runs a private practice offering attachment and neurodiversity assessments through a multidisciplinary team.

Her research interests centre on attachment theory, constructivism, attachment across the lifespan, and supporting women and children, including in non-Western communities. Swanick authored the forthcoming book A Clinical Guide to Interpersonal Constructs and Attachment Theory, scheduled for publication by Springer in 2026. She co-authored a reflective training manual on the Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions in 2019 and has published articles such as “What are the factors of effective therapy?” in Approaches Journal in 2019 and “Achieving Behavioural Advancement through the Dynamic Maturation Model and the Assessment of Parent-Child Interactions in a Music Therapy Context” in Behavioural Sciences in 2022. Additional publications include chapters in the Oxford Handbook of Early Childhood Music Learning and Development in 2023 and a position paper on Music and Parental Wellbeing published in Music & Science in 2025. Swanick is Vice President of the European Music Therapy Confederation, a Chartered Psychologist, and an HCPC Registered Music Therapist. She has delivered keynote speeches and training across Europe and contributes to international research collaborations.