AMPS2022: Morning keynote with Dr Margaret Osborne
#AMPS2022
Nail it down the middle: Supporting musicians’ psychological wellbeing
The constraints that arise from performance anxiety range from mildly unpleasant feelings, pervasive psychological and physical injuries, to career ending fear. The desire to assist musicians to transform their relationship with anxiety from one of dread and avoidance to one of acceptance and confidence sits at the core of my research, clinical and teaching practice. Mental health and wellbeing requires long-term changes in behaviour, achieved by establishing individual autonomy, competence and mindful self-awareness. In this talk I review a multifaceted approach to psychological wellbeing incorporating behaviour change principles, performance skills training, psychological flexibility, and self-compassion techniques that can be applied immediately in practice and performance. An innovative virtual reality method for music performance enhancement instruction being developed at the University of Melbourne's Performance Enhancement Lab will also be showcased.
