DrSandra Garrido

Dr Sandra Garrido supervises a wide range of interdisciplinary research projects that explore how creative, psychological, and behavioural interventions can support wellbeing across the lifespan. She has supervised Honours, Masters, and PhD students undertaking innovative applied research, including:

• Songwriting and music programs for juveniles in detention, examining how creative expression can support emotional regulation, identity development, and rehabilitation.
• Music education programs for healthy ageing, including interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive engagement, social connectedness, and wellbeing in older adults.
• Music-based strategies to reduce mental health stigma, investigating how music can influence attitudes, empathy, and understanding of mental illness.
• How mental health shapes our responses to aesthetic features in digital design, exploring how mood, anxiety, and cognitive load affect engagement with digital platforms.
• The mental health benefits of exercise programs, including studies on anxiety, mood regulation, and psychological resilience.

Her current research includes two major programs:

1. Arts and mental health, including evidence-based music interventions for dementia and youth depression, and the development of the MoodyTunes app; and
2. Assessment of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), where she is Project Manager for an MRFF-funded project to develop culturally safe, clinically relevant ACEs tools in partnership with parents, practitioners, and diverse communities.