David Juncos, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, lecturer, performance coach, author, and music performance researcher based in Philadelphia, PA. He has 20 years of experience in treating a variety of clinical problems, including anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders. He specializes in treating music performance anxiety (MPA) and has presented internationally on his research in using ACT to treat MPA and enhance music performance. He is the primary author of ACT for Musicians: A guide for using Acceptance and Commitment Training to enhance performance, overcome performance anxiety, and improve well-being (2022), published by Universal Publishers. He is also an associate lecturer with the Voice Study Centre, a UK-based provider of postgraduate study in Voice Pedagogy. There he lectures on MPA, ACT, achieving peak performance, and he trains clinical and non-clinical professionals in ACT to help them manage students’ MPA and other performance-related problems. To learn more about David, and for his contact information, please visit: www.actformusicians.com.
Dr David Juncos discusses Music Performance Anxiety.
Featured Posts
Dr David Juncos Book Publication: ACT For Musicians
Voice Study Centre
Tuesday 16th February 2021VSC Associated lecturer, Dr David Juncos, has co-authored a book alongside Elvire de Paiva e Pona.
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Voice Geek Live Webinar Series – so far £2,045 Raised For Help Musicians
Voice Study Centre
Friday 22nd May 2020We are delighted to announce that so far during the Voice Geek Live Webinar series we have raised £2,045 for Help Musicians.
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Director & Team News
Director Of Studies’ Co-Authored Manuscript Is Published
Voice Study Centre
Thursday 9th April 2020"It was a real honour to be asked to co-author this with Teresa Shaw and Dr David Juncos and we’re so chuffed that it has been published."
Read More...Upcoming Short Courses
Monday 12th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 13th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday 14th May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Compassion Focused Training: An Updated Course for Singers, Singing Teachers, and Other Music Professionals
Dr David Juncos
In this updated, three-part course, you will learn about the role shame and self-critical thinking play in maintaining psychological distress, and about the theoretical underpinnings of Gilbert’s CFT model and Neff & Germer’s model of self-compassion.
Tuesday 6th May 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday 7th May 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Friday 9th May 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
(London Time)
Acceptance & Commitment Coaching for Beginners: An Overview and Guide for Using it to Address Common Performance-Related Problems of a Psychological Nature (3-week course)
Dr David Juncos
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or Coaching (ACT) is an empirically-supported psychotherapy & coaching intervention for a variety of common issues facing student and professional musicians from across the world. Some of these include performance anxiety, perfectionism & self-criticism, procrastination, and work-related stress & burnout.
Friday 2nd May 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Perfectionism: A Theoretical & Clinical Overview
Dr David Juncos
What exactly is meant when we label ourselves or someone we know a perfectionist? It is a good to be this way? Or are you setting yourself up for failure? Can a performance psychologist or a other performance-related practitioner help you if you’re a perfectionist? In this short course, you will learn how perfectionism is defined according to popular models in clinical psychology, and whether it is maladaptive or adaptive. You will also learn how perfectionism impacts on music performance anxiety, in addition to other areas of importance for performing musicians, like work-related stress and burnout, and procrastination with one’s practice.
Past Short Courses
Monday 14th April 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 15th April 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Mitigating Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) Within the Teaching Studio: Theories & Practical Strategies
Dr David Juncos
In recent years, an alternative model for treating MPA has shown great promise among practitioners - training music teachers to use interventions from evidence-based coaching models aimed to treat MPA, rather than continually referring students with MPA to receive psychotherapy like CBT.
Monday 20th January 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) for Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) (3-week course)
Dr David Juncos
In this updated three-part course, you will learn how to detect symptoms of music performance anxiety (MPA) among your students/clients and whether those symptoms are problematic or not. You will also learn about Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), an evidence-based psychotherapy and coaching model that aims to promote mindfulness and acceptance of one’s MPA symptoms, while also enhancing performance skills by increasing actions consistent with a musician’s values.
Monday 23rd September 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 24th September 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
An Academic Overview of Music Performance Anxiety (two-part course)
Dr David Juncos
This course aims to provide an academic overview of the research on Music Performance Anxiety. It will trace its evolution and document the seminal studies that have shaped our understanding and training approaches.