Vivian Chan, BFA(Hons), MMT, MT-BC, MTA, FAMI is a board-certified music therapist in the United States and Canada. She specialises in music psychotherapy and trauma-informed care and has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. She offers music therapy and music psychotherapy services to individuals facing mental health challenges and other life-altering conditions. As a qualified Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music therapist, Vivian is passionate about helping clients explore their emotions, their inner self and the unconscious to develop coping mechanisms, and enhance their journey of personal development and overall well-being through the potential benefits music can bring. Vivian also teaches and supervises music therapy internship at Chulalongkorn University and has presented at various international conferences in Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. She also guest lectured at the University of Hong Kong and at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She served as the Regional Liaison for the Western Pacific Region of the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) (2016-2020), as the Chair of the Education and Certification Commission of the WFMT (2020-2023), and is currently the President of the WFMT. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Ethics Committee of the Hong Kong Music Therapy Association (HKMTA), and is the Director of Koru Music Psychotherapy and Wellness.

Kat McFerran, is an international expert on the topic of music, wellbeing and young people. She has undertaken a range of studies investigating healthy and unhealthy uses of music with and by young people, preferring participatory approaches with an emphasis on reflexive, qualitative investigations. She has also contributed to the development of an assessment tool for increasing young people’s conscious and intentional uses of music. Her music therapy research spans school, community and hospital based practices with young people incorporating a range of music strategies such as song writing, improvisation, performances and music sharing. She is committed to building healthy music cultures in schools that promote wellbeing and connectedness, as well as providing direct therapy services for young people who wish to work towards personal and interpersonal change and growth.

In 2021, Professor McFerran was recognised as the top Australia researcher in music and musicology by The Australian newspaper, for the highest number of citations from papers published in the last five years in the top 20 journals in her field. She has published her research in international and interdisciplinary refereed journals and has contributed numerous case studies and practice reflections to edited books, as well as sole authoring the first text on Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy’ in 2010 (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), along with a co-authored texts on ‘Building Music Cultures in Schools’ in 2014 (with Daphne Rickson, Barcelona Publications), Developing Research Questions in Creative Arts Therapy in 2018 (with Mike Silverman, American Music Therapy Association), Receptive Music Therapy in 2022 (with Denise Grocke, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) and Psychology of Music Listening for Health and Wellbeing Professionals in 2024 (with Carol Lotter, Palgrave Publications). She is an active Editorial Board Member of the Australian, American and Nordic Journals of Music Therapy, as well as Music Therapy Today, and Social Work with Groups.

Professor McFerran is currently Director of the Researcher Development Unit in Chancellery Research and Enterprise where she leads a dynamic team to support existing initiatives, and partner with academic and professional teams to develop new programs and systems to support research focused staff. Previous leadership experience includes being Head of the Music Therapy program during a time of significant growth and change and expansion of the creative arts therapy program to include a new Masters in Dance and Drama Therapy in 2020. She continues to be Director of Graduate Research in the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit where she supervises a range of projects exploring music and youth. Beyond disciplinary expertise, she has held numerous leadership roles within the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, including being Associate Dean for a range of portfolios: Research (2014-2015), International (2016-2017), Diversity and Inclusion (2018-2019), Student Wellbeing (2020-2022). Within the wider university community she was also Associate Dean within the Melbourne Graduate School of Research (2013-2014), and has contributed to central research committees including Graduate Research Scholarships Committee (2006-2014), Research Higher Degrees Committee (2012-2018), and chaired the Lorna Stirling and Faye Marles Scholarship Committees. She was a founding member of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute Reference Group, and the Disability Research Initiative Steering Group.