Asst. Prof. Elsa CAMPBELL
Phone: +43/1/71155-3953
Email: campbell@mdw.ac.at
Main research fields:
- Music therapy for dementia
- receptive / vibroacoustic therapy
- psychodynamic music therapy
- psychosomatics
- interdisciplinary research
Elsa Campbell studied Music Performance (clarinet) and German at Maynooth University, Ireland, and Music Therapy (Master, 2014; PhD, 2019, with distinction) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her MA thesis and PhD dissertation explored the use of music therapy in managing chronic pain, with a focus on receptive i.e., vibroacoustic therapy methods with working-aged adults in a rehabilitation context.
She has been coordinator of the Vibrac Skille-Lehikoinen Centre for Vibroacoustic Therapy and Research in Finland since 2015. She organises national and international training events (vibroacoustic therapist, trainer’s training) and scientific events (symposia, conferences) and supports (inter-)national researchers and practitioners in applying this method.
She was a research assistant at the Technical University for Applied Social Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) from November 2019 until January 2020. During this time, she supported the development and submission of an EU-Horizon 2020 funding application. She has also been a lecturer at THWS since 2020 with a focus on receptive music therapy methods for older adults. In 2021 she was awarded a grant from the State Conference of Women's and Equal Opportunities Officers at Bavarian Universities (Landeskonferenz der Frauen- und Gleichstellungsbeauftragten an bayerischen Hochschulen; LAKoF) for lecturing at THWS.
Between March 2020 and February 2023 she was employed as a music therapist at Caritas Ettlingen, Germany, where she was project lead on a study financed by the German Lottery. The study was conducted in two residential care homes and investigated the effect of active and receptive music therapy on the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.
She co-founded the Research Network for Music Therapy in Geriatrics and Dementia Care (Forschungsnetzwerk für Musiktherapie in der Geriatrie und Demenzversorgung) and is a collaborator with the Centre for Evidence-based Education and Arts Therapies: A JBI Affiliated Group, in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
In addition to her research activities and clinical work in the residential care homes, she was active in senior and psychiatric day centres.
She is a Scientific Committee member of the International Society of Music in Medicine e.V. and reviewer for several international journals (e.g., Frontiers, Music and Medicine, Nordic Journal of Music therapy).
In May 2023 she was appointed as postdoctoral researcher (tenure track) at the Departmen of Music Therapy, mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Selected publications:
Campbell, E.A., & Wosch, T. (2022). Music moves–Ettlingen dementia study: Protocol of a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 1-16.
Campbell, E.A., Kantor, J., Kantorová, L., Svobodová, Z. & Wosch, T. (2022). Tactile low frequency vibration in dementia management: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.854794
Campbell E.A., Kantor J., Kantorova L., Svobodova Z., & Wosch T. (2021). Tactile low frequency vibration in dementia management: A scoping review protocol. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041904
Kantor, J., Campbell, E.A., Kantorová, L., Marečková, J., Regec, V., Karasová, K., ... & Klugar, M. (2022). Exploring vibroacoustic therapy in adults experiencing pain: a scoping review. BMJ open, 12(4), e046591.
Campbell, E.A., Hynynen, J., Burger, B., & Ala-Ruona, E. (2019). Exploring the use of Vibroacoustic treatment for managing chronic pain and comorbid mood disorders: A mixed methods study. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 28(4), 291–314.
Campbell, E., Burger, B., & Ala-Ruona, E. (2019). A single-case, mixed methods study exploring the role of music listening in vibroacoustic treatment. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 19(2), 27–27.
Campbell, E.A., Hynynen, J., Burger, B., Vainionpää, A., & Ala-Ruona, E. (2019). Vibroacoustic treatment to improve functioning and ability to work: A multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain rehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–16.
Campbell, E.A., Hynynen, J., & Ala-Ruona, E. (2017). Vibroacoustic treatment for chronic pain and mood disorders in a specialized healthcare setting. Music and Medicine, 9(3), 187–197