Cambridgeshire Music For Wellbeing

A community based organisation formed and founded by Rachael Gow in 2024. Cambridgeshire Music for Wellbeing (CMFW) was created to provide music wellness programmes and music therapy sessions to a variety of demographics and populations across the community. Our aim is to support mental wellbeing and empower people through music making.

We are a young but growing business, introducing two new music therapists to the team in March 2025.

Our books are currently open for enquiries, please contact:

cambridgemusicforwellbeing@gmail.com

At CMFW, we offer individual and group music therapy sessions with our experienced therapists. We pride ourselves in providing client-centred integrative music therapy informed by psychodynamic, systemic and polyvagal theories amongst others.

Each of our therapists bring a different set of expertise and holds specialisms in varying populations. When an enquiry is made, we work with the client or their advocate to match them with the appropriate therapist based on the client’s needs.

Our specialisms include but are not limited to:
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in children and adults
Dementia care
Grief, loss and bereavement
Mental Health Conditions in children and adults (including eating disorders)
Neuro-rehabiliation (Neurologic Music Therapy)

Meet our therapists in the sections below!

Under Construction

Please email cambridgemusicforwellbeing@gmail.com for further information at this time

Services We Offer: 

Individual Music Therapy

  • Music therapy work can be short or long-term depending on the need and aims of the therapeutic intervention.

    It is generally not advised to undergo two creative therapy interventions at the same time, so keep this in mind when enquiring.

    Individual music therapy will begin with an assessment period of 3 sessions over 3 weeks (1 session a week). These sessions will typically last between 45-60 minutes.

    When you enquire or request an assessment period, we will ask you to complete a form with relevant information the therapist might need to know. This will be along the lines of any diagnoses, aims, referral reasons and general background information. If you would like to trial a session before committing to a full assessment session, we also trial sessions.

    All information will be held within GDPR regulations. Consent and contract forms will be sent to you to sign as well.

    After the assessment period has ended, we will form a report and discuss the findings and recommendations with you and set out a plan moving forward.

    Sessions will usually be of a set length (45-60 minutes) and a set amount of weeks. Goals will be discussed and set before the main block of sessions begins.

    Music therapy can take place in the client’s home, though we do ask for a quiet relaxing space where there will be no interruptions during the session time. Or the sessions may take place in a local community space. The room hiring fees for which will be added to the monthly invoice.

    Reports for both individual and group sessions will be provided after the initial 3 sessions, at the middle point and again at the end of the intervention.

    For ongoing long term music therapy work, reports will be completed on a 6 monthly basis and can be requested at any point other than this for an extra fee.

    There are three spaces at any one time for 'sliding scale' clients. These are only held for individual music therapy work with Rachael. Sliding scale is applicable to those who require music therapy but cannot afford the full fees disclosed above. These spaces can be enquired about. We do not ask for any proof of income, they are allocated based on the expectation that any potential client enquiring is honest about their situation.

    Please do get in contact to find out more.

  • Fees for individual music therapy are £65 per hour. Sessions can vary in length between 30 minutes and an hour.

    The fee covers the session time with the client each week, the preparation for each session, musical instruments for use in the sessions (and their upkeep), music software and equipment we might need, and travel costs.

    We do ask for added travel expenses if the therapist is traveling further than 20 miles each way.

    We recommend weekly sessions, but also consider fortnightly work as well.

Group Music Therapy

  • Music therapy work can be short or long-term depending on the need and aims of the therapeutic intervention.

    It is generally not advised to undergo two creative therapy interventions at the same time, so keep this in mind when enquiring.

    When you enquire or request an assessment period, we will ask you to complete a form with relevant information the therapist might need to know. This will be along the lines of any diagnoses, aims, referral reasons and general background information.

    All information will be held within GDPR regulations. Consent and contract forms will be sent to you to sign as well.

    For group music therapy, the clients will preferably be of a similar ability and be working towards the same goals. Examples could be ‘build social communication skills’ or ‘encourage playfulness amongst peers’.

    Sessions will usually be of a set length (45-60 minutes) and a set amount of weeks. Some groups are set up on a long-term basis, but this will be discussed before the work starts. Goals will also be discussed and set before the group begins.

    Please do get in touch to find out more!

  • Our fees for group music therapy are £100 per hour. This is usually split between the group members evenly.

    The fee covers the session time with the clients each week, the preparation for each session, musical instruments for use in the sessions (and their upkeep), music software and equipment we might need, and travel costs.

    We do ask for added travel expenses if the therapist is traveling further than 20 miles each way.

    We recommend weekly sessions, but also consider fortnightly work as well.

Therapeutic Music Lessons

  • Coming Soon!

  • Coming Soon!

Neurologic Music Therapy

  • Come back soon for more updates!

  • Come back soon for more updates!

Community Projects

  • Come back soon for more updates!

  • Come back soon for more updates!

Music Well-being Workshops

  • Come back soon for more updates!

  • Come back soon for more updates!

Programmes

CMFW runs five main programmes within the community. They are as follows:

  1. The Bar Hill Community Choir

  2. Musical Minds (Adult’s SEN Music Therapy Group)

  3. Be In A Band (Children’s Music Club)

  4. The Muses (Art and Music)

  5. Mnemosyne - Memory Music

For more information on each programme, see the relevant sections to the right.
Each tab has information on the programmes currently offered by CMFW. If the information you are looking for is not available, please do contact us at:

cambridgemusicforwellbeing@gmail.com

  • A community choir based in Bar Hill, Cambridge, UK.
    This choir is open to all ages and all abilities. We cover a range of genres of music and take requests from the choir members.
    We meet every Thursday evening during term time at the Octagon room in Bar Hill.
    A small contribution is asked of each member each week to cover hiring and professional fees and music copyrighting.

    We are set to perform at the summer fete at Bar Hill in July 2025.

    If you would like to join, feel free to come along to a rehearsal, or send us an email to find out more!

  • This is a group activity club run during the school holidays for children between the ages of 7-13.
    The premise of the club is to form a band together in small groups. This covers everything from coming up with a name, designing a logo, writing lyrics and choosing instruments to play during the songs.

    This programme ran as a pilot series this summer for SClub21, a local organisation for children with Down Syndrome.

    This programme aims to run during every term break. Please do get in contact to be placed on the waiting list.

    Be In A Band can be adapted for SEN groups, and older children groups.

  • This is a music and art short term group programme aimed a people in the community who experience mental health problems.
    The programme is designed to support group members process and lear to cope with traumatic experiences and low mood through the creative mediums of art and music.

    This programme is aiming to be fully funded by Arts bursaries and grants.

    There is currently a fundraiser running live for this, which can be found by following this link:

    https://gofund.me/eeef3933

  • A community choir and social gathering time for the elderly, those living with dementia and all their loved ones.

    Mnemosyne is an opportunity to come together to sing familiar songs associated with joyful memories. This also provides the opportunity to meet with others, spend time with friends and family and make meaningful connections.

    This is currently being offered in a few care homes across the Cambridgeshire area. If this is something you would like to see in your care home or day centre, please do get in contact.

  • This is a weekly music therapy group session for adults with learning disabilities. It aims to work on developmental skills, social interaction and communication skills as well as encouraging playfulness, engagement and nurtures a love of music. The sessions aim to provide an opportunity to explore the world around them through a different medium.

    The programme will launch in February 2025.

Meet the Team

  • Rachael Stalker-Gow

    FOUNDER
    HCPC REGISTERED MUSIC THERAPIST

    Rachael is a HCPC registered music therapist, community musician and music teacher. She currently works across the Cambridgeshire area.

    Rachael grew up in Kent and studied in York for her degree and Cambridge for her masters.
    Rachael is passionate about how powerful music is and loves to share this with others. This is what led her to creating CMFW in early 2024.

    Rachael’s specialist areas are Special Educational Needs in children and adults, mental health conditions, and dementia care.

    Please do get in contact to find out more about the team!

  • Jane Douglas

    HCPC REGISTERED MUSIC THERAPIST

    THERAPEUTIC PRACTITIONER AND TEACHER

    Jane Nicola Douglas is a state registered music therapist and music teacher based in Northamptonshire. She currently works in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in schools and nurseries. 

    Jane Nicola grew up in Somerset and later moved to London to study music and then Cambridge where she qualified as a state registered music therapist. Jane Nicola has also worked abroad as a music teacher in the countries of China, SIngapore and Hong Kong and she also composes her own songs and compositions in her spare time.