معرفی
Kate Aitchison is a Research Fellow/Senior Research Officer at the University of Queensland's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. She works with the ULTRA program (University of Queensland's Clinical Trials Capability) focusing on qualitative methods in clinical trials. As a registered music therapist, she bridges clinical practice and research in mental health settings.
Her research interests center on qualitative methodologies including thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis. She specializes in music therapy applications for adolescent mental health, with particular focus on resource-oriented assessment approaches and eating disorder treatment. Her work emphasizes consumer and community involvement in research design and implementation, alongside arts-based methods to improve equity and diversity in clinical studies.
Analysis of her publication history reveals consistent focus on adolescent mental health assessment through music therapy, with increasing specialization in eating disorder interventions since 2022. Her work demonstrates strong methodological rigor in qualitative research while maintaining clinical relevance through partnerships with Queensland Health services.
As an Associate Editor for the Australian Journal of Music Therapy and convener of the 49th National Conference of the Australian Music Therapy Association (2022), she actively shapes her field. Her research has directly influenced clinical practice, including establishing new music therapy positions in Canberra Health Services and developing advocacy toolkits used across Queensland Health for student placements and service education.
Kate completed her PhD through the University of Melbourne in 2024 focusing on adolescents' lived experiences of mental health assessment. Prior to her current role, she held an advanced project coordinator position with Queensland Health where she authored scoping reviews of music therapy evidence and developed implementation resources. She actively supervises research students and collaborates across ULTRA's interdisciplinary network including partnerships with Metro North Hospital and Health Service and Mater Health.
