Reflective Supervision and Practitioner Support

At the Little Musical Caravan, professional supervision is at the heart of sustainable, ethical, and transformative practice. We provide individual and peer supervision for Registered Music Therapists (NZ RMThs), speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and creative arts therapists across Aotearoa New Zealand. Whether you are an established practitioner, an early-career therapist navigating complex practice contexts, or an allied health professional seeking reflexivity, our supervision provides a grounded, supportive space to process relational dynamics, navigate systemic complexities, and foster a flourishing practice.

Music therapy supervision - blue book and coffee

Theoretical Grounding & Practice Philosophy

Our approach to supervision and professional support is explicitly informed by contemporary critical frameworks that honour the agency, culture, and wholeness of every individual:

  • Post-Ableist & Disability-Positive Practice: We actively challenge ableist paradigms that frame neurodivergence or disability as deficits to be cured or corrected. Instead, we support practitioners in fostering environments where authentic ways of being, moving, and communicating are celebrated.

  • Anti-Oppressive Music Therapy: We facilitate critical reflexivity regarding power dynamics, systemic barriers, privilege, and cultural safety within therapeutic and institutional relationships.

  • Resource-Oriented & Community Music Therapy: Drawing on a Resource-Oriented framework and Community Music Therapy principles, we view health and wellbeing as relational, contextual, and embedded within ecological systems. We focus on nurturing existing strengths, musical resources, and social connections rather than expert-led outcomes.

  • Person-Centred: Our belief in child-led, play-based engagement informs how we support therapists. We offer a person-centred supervisory relationship that respects your professional intuition, curiosity, and individual pace of growth.

About Your Supervisor

Emily Langlois Hunt — Director & Registered Music Therapist (NZ RMTh)

MMusTher (Hons) · PhD (Theology) · Certificate in Counselling Skills (CPCAB) · Certificate in Music Teaching (ABRSM)

As Director of the Little Musical Caravan and Co-Editor of the New Zealand Journal of Music Therapy, Emily brings established clinical expertise, scholarly inquiry, and active supervisory experience to her practice. Since completing her Master’s in Music Therapy in 2018, her work has been deeply informed by post-ableist frameworks, resource-oriented music therapy, and advanced cross-disciplinary training in areas like sensory integration (STAR Institute framework) and play therapy principles.

Emily provides 1:1, peer and group supervision for music therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language therapists, and creative arts therapists across Porirua, Wellington & the Kāpiti Coast, as well as online via Zoom or other trusted platforms.

Reflective Professional Supervision

We offer tailored supervision designed to help you integrate these critical frameworks into day-to-day practice, documentation, and wider support environments.

  • Individual Practice Supervision (1:1): Dedicated, regular supervision focused on your specific practice context, theoretical orientation, and personal wellbeing as a practitioner. Available in-person in Porirua, or online via Zoom nationwide.

  • Peer Supervision & Group Reflection: Facilitated small-group spaces where allied health colleagues engage in shared reflection, case consultation, and collective exploration of anti-oppressive practice.

  • Multi-Agency & Systems Supervision: Specialised consultation for practitioners translating neuroaffirming and post-ableist principles into complex, inter-agency funding frameworks.

Enquire about Professional Supervision:

Experiential Groups & Reflective Peer Practice

Extending from our supervisory work, we facilitate experiential and group spaces designed to nourish practitioners, deepen self-awareness, and combat the isolation of solo practice:

  • Practitioner Experiential Groups: Creative, reflective sessions where therapists use musical improvisation, movement, and reflective art-making to explore practice themes, boundary setting, and professional self-care.

  • Practitioner Consultation Networks: Peer support groups focused on specific areas of practice, including work with tamariki and whānau, neuroaffirming care, and community-centred initiatives.

Professional Development & Supervision-Informed Workshops

Our professional development workshops and webinars build directly upon the practice themes, critical frameworks, and systemic challenges explored in supervision:

  • PD Workshops: Tailored training for health, education, and social service teams covering neuroaffirming interaction strategies, trauma-informed musical grounding, sensory-friendly design, and resource-oriented play.

  • Interactive Webinars: Online sessions addressing contemporary practice issues, such as facilitating peer inclusion, supporting neurodivergent tamariki authentically, and translating post-ableist principles into daily progress notes and documentation.

Enquire about PD and peer networking:

Practice Toolkits & Supervisory Resources

To support your supervisory goals and streamline administration, we share practical resources developed and refined in our own practice:

  • Strengths-Based Report Templates: Customisable frameworks designed to help practitioners write neuroaffirming, clear, and strengths-focused assessment reports and progress summaries for whānau, SENCOs, and funding bodies.

  • Neuroaffirming Practice Guidance: Reflective prompts, checklists, and guides for adapting spaces, scaffolding communication, and managing sensory environments.

  • Session Planning Toolkits: Practical ideas for play-based music sessions, small group facilitation, and peer inclusion strategies.

Explore practitioner resources and templates:

Published Research & Scholarly Inquiry

At the Little Musical Caravan, our team actively contributes to published research, scholarly inquiry, and critical dialogue within the music therapy community in Aotearoa and internationally. Our research grounds our supervisory and practice support in real-world evidence, critical reflexivity, and community connection:

  • Navigating Oppression, Power, and Privilege (2024 Article):

    Hernandez, T. (2024). “Where are you from?” Navigating oppression, power and privilege. New Zealand Journal of Music Therapy, 22, 28–51.

    Team leader TJ Hernandez explores intersectional identity, critical auto-ethnography, and the complexities of navigating power dynamics, privilege, and cultural safety within practice.

    Read the article in NZJMT (PDF)

  • Critical Perspectives on Ableism (2022 Trans-Tasman Collaborative Article):

    Shaw, C. et al. (2022). Lived experience perspectives on ableism within and beyond music therapists’ professional identities. Music Therapy Perspectives, 40(2), 143-151. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miac001

    Co-authored by Little Musical Caravan Director Emily Langlois Hunt, this trans-Tasman collaboration explores how ableist attitudes impact practitioners and demonstrates how lived experiences of disability and neurodivergence enrich and inform authentic, post-ableist practice.

    Explore the article in Music Therapy Perspectives

  • Telehealth, Resource-Oriented Practice & Pandemic Innovation (2020 Collaborative Article):

    Hunt, E. L., Landreani, C. R., Hoskyns, S., & Hunt, B. (2020). Ben and his animals: Creating a playful space for music-making and learning during lockdown. In A. Talmage et al., Music therapy in a time of pandemic: Experiences of musicking, telehealth, and resource-oriented practice during COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Music Therapy, 18, 9–34.

    Director Emily Langlois Hunt and her youngest son, Ben, co-authored a section titled “Ben and his animals: Creating a playful space for music-making and learning during lockdown.” Written alongside student music therapist Carlos Riegelhaupt Landreani and Associate Professor Sarah Hoskyns (NZSM), their contribution reflects on a collaborative telehealth project exploring resource-oriented online music-making, parent-child participation, and playful engagement in home environments during the COVID-19 lockdown.

    Read the collaborative piece in the NZJMT

  • Selective Mutism & Peer Inclusion (2020 Case Study):

    Langlois Hunt, E. (2020). Developing a sense of belonging: A case study on the use of peer inclusion to support a child with Selective Mutism. New Zealand Journal of Music Therapy, 18, 35–58. (Awarded 2nd place, Morva Croxson Prize for Emergent Writers, 2019).

    Director Emily Langlois Hunt explores how peer inclusion in individual music therapy fosters belonging, reduces anxiety, and bridges session goals to everyday classroom participation.

    Read the article in NZJMT (PDF)

    Musical Play in a Play-Based Learning Environment (2018 Exegesis):

    Langlois Hunt, E. (2018). Musical play in inclusive education [Master’s exegesis, Victoria University of Wellington]. Victoria University of Wellington Research Archive.

    Forming Director Emily Langlois Hunt’s Master’s research at Victoria University of Wellington, this exegesis investigates strategies for child-led cooperative play, social participation, and creating inclusive learning environments across preschool and primary settings.

    Read the Exegesis on the Victoria University of Wellington Research Archive

Interested in research collaboration?

Connect for Supervision & Professional Support

Whether you are seeking regular 1:1 supervision, joining a peer reflection group, or accessing strengths-based report templates, we welcome the opportunity to walk alongside you in your professional journey.

To discuss supervision availability or register interest in upcoming reflection groups, get in touch via our Contact Page. To explore downloadable templates and practice guides, browse our Practitioner Resources Page [coming soon].