Jane Bentley

Jane Bentley, is a drummer and music in healthcare practitioner, consultant, and trainer, based in Glasgow, Scotland. She was awarded her PhD on 2011 - researching musical interaction among non-specialist participants, and is fascinated by the role of music-making and wellbeing.

She has brought music to healthcare settings for 20 years, and has worked in every area of mental health care, and with hospitalised children and adults. Alongside her freelance career, she works part-time for the National Health Service in Scotland as a musician in mental health occupational therapy services, focusing on older adults. In 2007, she established ‘The Buddy Beat’ drumming group, which won the Epic award for the best voluntary arts project in Scotland, and inspired the formation of several other drumming groups for mental and social wellbeing. The group continues to this day, offering long-term membership opportunities - meaning that several members have now been including music as part of their ongoing mental health recovery for over a decade.

As a trainer, she has been delighted to collaborate with two of Scotland’s best known orchestras – the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, to develop and extend their work with children and older adults in hospitals across Scotland. She has been involved in training musicians, music therapists, occupational therapists, nursing staff and activity co-ordinators from Brighton to Chicago. She is an Atlantic Senior Fellow for Equity in Brain Health with the Global Brain Health institute.