7×7 Journaling Challenge 

7×7 Journaling Challenge 

Our guest blog this month is by Nicky Torode, a coach, journaling facilitator and writer, who works with BAPAM on healthy practice training.    Second month in.  How have your 2024 intentions bedded in?  Those needs and wants for the year ahead?  One tool to help...
Bridging Mind and Body

Bridging Mind and Body

Published in Therapy Today, BAPAM Counselling Psychologist, Monia Brizzi’s article Bridging Mind and Body describes how a complex systems approach helped a musician identify and understand the emotional roots of his physical symptoms. Thank you to Therapy Today for...
Today is National Stress Awareness Day

Today is National Stress Awareness Day

Anushka Tanna: BAPAM Mental Health Ambassador I think it would be fair to say that stress is something we are all familiar with. Afterall, it is ubiquitous and unavoidable, and something that we will all experience throughout our lifetime. Due to the various demands...
Performance Anxiety Poster

Performance Anxiety Poster

Ideal for displaying backstage, BAPAM’s performance anxiety poster shares tips for managing anxiety in the moments before going onstage. About to go on stage and feeling anxious, sick, or have shaky hands? Right now… focus on your breath. Box Breathing can...
Get this Journal Started!

Get this Journal Started!

Our guest blog is by Nicky Torode, a coach, journaling facilitator and writer, who works with BAPAM on healthy practice training. Heard all the buzz about journaling? Perhaps, you’ve started and stopped? How do you journal and really feel the benefits? Want to know...
Long Covid Q&A

Long Covid Q&A

Collected information following our recent long Covid webinar. If you would like to stay informed about future events please subscribe to our email newsletter. We send approximately one email per month and do not share your email address with anybody else. Useful...

Mike Shipley (1948-2022)

Dr Michael Edward Shipley, Consultant Rheumatologist, UCHL, BAPAM   Mike Shipley, who died on 15 July 2022, had a lifelong interest in music and the performing arts, and as Consultant Rheumatologist at University College Hospital, London, it was natural for him...
Research: Acrobat Participants Wanted

Research: Acrobat Participants Wanted

Bethany Shum is a Physiotherapist, conducting research that explores sources of pain, pain perception and pain self-efficacy among acrobats as part of MSc in Performing Arts Medicine at UCL. Acrobats can contribute by completing an online questionnaire (10-15...
Research: Are You a Musician Playing Through Pain?

Research: Are You a Musician Playing Through Pain?

Researcher, Noudy Eleryan, at Cardiff University is investigating methods that musicians use to manage their playing-related pains, aches and injuries. Proficient instrumental musicians (e.g., an amateur, a hobbyist, or a professional musician) or university-level...
BAPAM Physiotherapists at 2022 Commonwealth Games

BAPAM Physiotherapists at 2022 Commonwealth Games

First ever clinical placement in performing arts medicine: a ‘massively exciting project, with a global reach’ Throughout the 2022 Commonwealth games, BAPAM Physiotherapists worked with Physiotherapy students from the University of Birmingham to look after...
Advice on ASD and ADHD Assessments

Advice on ASD and ADHD Assessments

We advise all patients seeking diagnostic assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to access these via the NHS in the first instance. Follow up treatment, if required, is generally provided by the NHS and...
New BAPAM Performing Arts Medicine Clinic in Belfast

New BAPAM Performing Arts Medicine Clinic in Belfast

We are delighted to announce that thanks to the hard work of BAPAM GP and Ulster Orchestra medical adviser, Dr Christine Hunter-Lavery, we start our face to face performing arts medicine clinic in Belfast this month. The monthly clinic offers specialist performance...
Event Report: Visual Health in the Performing Arts

Visual Health in the Performing Arts

Thursday 7 July, University of York, Department of Music Dr Naomi Norton, Allegro Optical and BAPAM present an event bringing together performing artists, clinicians, medical device manufacturers, and arts health and wellbeing organisations. Performing artists have...
Research: Healthcare for Injured Pianists

Research: Healthcare for Injured Pianists

Healthcare for Injured Pianists – Invitation to a research project David Harvey is researching pianists’ views and experiences of access to healthcare for injuries that limit playing. David is a professional pianist and final year trainee Osteopath at the...
Take Part in the Fit Musician Survey

Take Part in the Fit Musician Survey

Performance Consultant, professional violinist and PhD candidate at the Royal College of Music, Berenice Beverley Zammit is researching instrumental musicians’ health through the Fit Musician Survey. Read on for more information on taking part…...
Hypermobility in Instrumental Musicians

Hypermobility in Instrumental Musicians

Performance specialist physiotherapist Lucie Rayner, looks at hypermobility in the context of the unique physical demands placed on the musculoskeletal system by playing a musical instrument, and introduces strategies for hypermobile musicians to help mitigate the...
The BAPAM Vocal Rehabilitation Coach Project

The BAPAM Vocal Rehabilitation Coach Project

In 2017 Vocal Rehabilitation Coach, Dane Chalfin, highlighted to BAPAM the benefit of singing rehabilitation coaches as part of the multidisciplinary team in specialist Voice Clinics which treat professional singers. At the time, there were a very few singing...
Empowering Transgender Voices Through Singing

Empowering Transgender Voices Through Singing

Countertenor, teacher and LGBTQ+ advocate, Alexander Pullinger, was awarded a bursary by Sound Connections to research a pressing issue within classical singing, one that has profound health implications for the performing arts and society as a whole. Singing is well...
BAPAM CEO Claire Cordeaux on Elevate Music Podcast

BAPAM CEO Claire Cordeaux on Elevate Music Podcast

BAPAM join Elevate Music Podcast to explore how musicians can prepare for a return to live performance after a break In this final episode of the current series of the excellent Elevate Music Podcast, musician Lauren Aquilina talks about her experience of returning to...
10 Tips for a Healthy Spine

10 Tips for a Healthy Spine

BAPAM Flexible Spine – Community Drop In  Sitting for extensive periods of time at our computers and practicing more often now that lockdown restrictions are easing goes hand in hand with putting extra strain on the spine. This may trigger existing problems in...
Perfectionism in Performing Artists

Perfectionism in Performing Artists

PhD candidate, lecturer and trained actor, Julia Grieshofer, researches actors’ mental health at UCL. From June 2021/22, she joins the UCL MSc in Performing Arts Medicine team to lead the Psychology module on this programme. Recently, she was invited as a speaker on...
Managing a return to performance

Managing a return to performance

In part 4 of our article series covering aspects of returning to performance environments, and building up work schedules and routines in the light of the COVID 19 pandemic and lockdowns, Dr Naomi Brecker, Consultant Occupational Physician, considers the vital role of...
Chief Executive’s Message, April 2021

Chief Executive’s Message, April 2021

The first few months of 2021 have been one of the busiest times in BAPAM’s history of clinical services. Rising mental health problems, preparing to return to busier work schedules and environments, plus difficulties accessing NHS services mean more people need...
Long COVID: Patient Experience and Support Groups

Long COVID: Patient Experience and Support Groups

Long COVID is an umbrella term that describes a cluster of symptoms related to an initial COVID infection where symptoms persist after the acute infection phase. It appears that Long COVID can affect the whole body including the respiratory, cardiovascular,...
Recruiting: Clinical Lead Mental Health

Recruiting: Clinical Lead Mental Health

The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) is recruiting a Clinical Lead Mental Health for a project in partnership with Help Musicians which provides counselling/psychotherapy support to musicians. BAPAM is building on our successful long term...
BAPAM Factsheet – Mental Health Support in a Crisis

BAPAM Factsheet – Mental Health Support in a Crisis

As Christmas approaches and many offices including our own close for a few days to end 2020, we are very much aware that the need for mental health support amongst performers won’t change. Indeed at BAPAM during the course of this year we have seen a big...
Self Care Tips for Creatives

Self Care Tips for Creatives

Before becoming a counsellor, Denise Devenish grew up in a family steeped in the music industry and has been surrounded by musicians and people who work in the music industry her whole life. She has sung professionally, worked as a performer, and has a degree in arts...
Recruiting: Health Promotion Training Assistant

Recruiting: Health Promotion Training Assistant

The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) is the largest provider of performing arts medicine in the UK. In the last year we have doubled the amount of health education we provide to support performance professionals to avoid health problems that...
Singers, Musicians and Hearing loss

Singers, Musicians and Hearing loss

Singers, instrumentalists, actors and performance professionals throughout the arts are understandably worried when they experience hearing problems, and often contact BAPAM with concerns about their ability to perform and work. If you read this article and take one...
Creativity and Motivation!

Creativity and Motivation!

Participants at our Community Drop-in have spoken about the difficulty of finding the motivation to create new work during the COVID-19 outbreak and our facilitator Dr Pippa Wheble programmed a session on creative practice as a means of thinking about and developing...
Creative Minds and Mental Health

Creative Minds and Mental Health

Creative Minds and Mental Health or Keeping Mentally Well was the title of my discussion as a Panelist for BAPAM’s Healthy Practice Series in August 2020. Who am I to be asked to be a Panelist discussing such a topic? A fellow creative (Actress, Writer, West End...
Fundraising in Memory of Luke Westlake

Fundraising in Memory of Luke Westlake

We would like to offer our condolences and thanks to the family of actor, Luke Westlake, who are fundraising for BAPAM in Luke’s memory. These donations make a very real difference to our service, helping us to provide clinical consultations to performers with...
Summer 2020 Newsletter

Summer 2020 Newsletter

Our Summer 2020 Newsletter is now available to read online.  This edition features: Free Online Healthy Practice Training Sessions and Community Drop-in Covid-19 Advice Anxiety Management BAPAM 2019 Annual Review Updated Factsheets Articles and Press You can read all...
A new age digital production – Labyrinth Project

A new age digital production – Labyrinth Project

A unique and interactive theatre production which promises to challenge, test and help the audience uncover secrets about themselves starts today. The Labyrinth Project is a 7-day digital experience where viewers navigate through a maze full of twists and turns as...
Free Online Alexander Technique Constructive Rest Sessions

Free Online Alexander Technique Constructive Rest Sessions

Cathie Kidger, who is a BAPAM Registered Alexander Technique teacher, is offering free 30 minute Alexander Technique Zoom sessions to help artists and creative practitioners during the current pandemic. Cathie first had Alexander Technique lessons whilst studying for...
BAPAM Healthy Practice Training Programme – what did the attendees say?

What happens during BAPAM community drop-in sessions?

Our weekly sessions started at the beginning of June and are designed to help performing artists to set goals and stick to healthy practice routines. It includes new techniques and strategies to help maintain mental and physical health now and into the future. Book...
Healthy Practice Community Drop In

Healthy Practice Community Drop In

Healthy Practice Community Drop In – supporting you to develop and sustain your healthy practice as a performing artist  Knowing what you should do to keep healthy is one thing, adopting healthy practice as routine in your life is another. It can be hard to...