Research interests: Arts and health, particularly the potential value of group singing for health and wellbeing.
Accepting mentees: Yes (3)
Biography
Stephen Clift is Professor Emeritus, Canterbury Christ Church University, and former Director of the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health. He is a Visiting Professor in the International Centre for Community Music, York St John University where he is working on an Arts and Humanities funded project to promote networking in the field of singing for health research. He also contributes as a Visiting Professor to the MA programme on music and wellbeing in the School of Music, University of Leeds. Currently, he is associated with the Salzburg Institute for Arts in Medicine, and is working with colleagues internationally to promote critical appraisal of research and evidence reviews in the field of arts and health. Over an academic career spanning forty years, Stephen has made contributions to research, practice and training on HIV/AIDS prevention and sex education, international travel and health, and the health promoting school in Europe. From 2000-2022 he pursued research in arts and heath and particularly the potential value of group singing for health and wellbeing. Stephen was one of the founding editors of Arts & Health: An international journal for research, policy and practice. He is joint editor with Professor Paul Camic of the Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health and Wellbeing. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5442-267X
Qualifications
Publications
Clift, S. (2022) Editorial. Special issue COVID-19 and Community Music. International Journal of Community Music. 14, 2-3, 125-8. https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-community-music
Clift. S., Grebosz-Haring. K., Thun-Hohenstein. L., Schuchter-Wiegand. A. K., and Bathke. A. (2022) The need for robust critique of arts and health research: An examination of the Goldbeck and Ellerkamp (2012) RCT of music therapy for anxiety in children, and its treatment in four systematic reviews. Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy. https://approaches.gr/clift-a20220811/
Clift, S., Manship, S. and Stephens, L. (2017) Further evidence that singing fosters mental health and wellbeing: Findings from the West Kent and Medway project, Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 21, 1, 53-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-11-2016-0034
Clift, S., Phillips, K. and Pritchard, S. (2021) The need for a robust critique of research on social and health impacts of the arts. Cultural Trends, Published online 9 June 2021 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09548963.2021.1910492
Clift, S., Skingley, A., Dickinson, J. and Meadows, S. (2022) Singing and COPD: a pilot randomized controlled trial of wellbeing and respiratory outcomes. Music, Health and Wellbeing. (Published online Spring 2022) https://www.musichealthandwellbeing.co.uk/
Dingle, G. A., Clift, S., Finn, S., Gilbert, R., et al. (2019) An agenda for best practice research on group singing, health, and well-being. Music & Science, 2, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204319861719
Dingle, G.A., Ellem, R.J, Davidson, R., Haslam, C., Clift, S., et al., (2020) Pilot randomized controlled trial of the Live Wires music program for older adults living in a retirement village. Music, Health and Wellbeing. Published online Summer 2020. https://www.musichealthandwellbeing.co.uk/
Grebosz-Haring, K., Thun-Hohenstein, L., Schuchter-Wiegand, A. K., Irons, Y., Bathke, A. and Clift, S. (2022). The need for robust critique of arts and health research: young people, art therapy and mental health. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 821093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.821093
Clift, S., Grebosz-Haring, K., Thun-Hohenstein, L., Schuchter-Wiegand, A. K. & Bathke, A. (2022). The need for robust critique of arts and health research: An examination of the Goldbeck and Ellerkamp. The need for robust critique of arts and health research: An examination of the Goldbeck and Ellerkamp. Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, published 11 August, https://approaches.gr/clift-a20220811/
Clift S, Grebosz-Haring K, Thun-Hohenstein L, Schuchter-Wiegand AK, Bathke A, Kaasgaard M. (2024) The need for robust critique of arts and health research: the treatment of the Gene Cohen et al. (2006) paper on singing, wellbeing and health in subsequent evidence reviews. Arts & Health,1–19. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17533015.2023.2290075
Kaasgaard, M., Grebosz-Haring, K., Davies, C., Musgrave, G., Shriraam, J., McCrary, M. and Clift, S. (2024) Is it premature to formulate recommendations for policy and practice, based on culture and health research? A robust critique of the CultureForHealth (2022) report. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1414070
Kwan, C. K. and Clift, S. (2018) Exploring the processes of change facilitated by musical activities on mental wellness. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 27, 2, 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2017.1363808
Price, S., Phillips, J., Tallent, J. and Clift, S. (2021) Singing group leaders’ experiences of online singing sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid survey. Music, Health and Wellbeing. Published online Summer 2021. https://www.musichealthandwellbeing.co.uk/
Poulos, C., Poulos, R., Clift, S., Opher, S. et al. (2018) Arts on prescription for community dwelling older people with a range of health and wellness needs, Health and Social Care in the Community, 27, 2, 483-492. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12669
Skingley, A., Clift, S., Hurley, S., Price, S., et al. (2018) Community singing groups for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Participant perspectives. Perspectives in Public Health, 138, 1, 66-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913917740930
Skingley, A., Martin, A. and Clift, S. (2016) The contribution of community singing groups to the well-being of older people: Participant perspectives from the United Kingdom, Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35, 12, 1302-1324. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464815577141
Chapters
Birch, C., Currie, R., Dawson, W. and Clift, S. (2024) Songs of Diversity: Three case studies of community singing, identity, and well-being. In Norton, K. and Morgan-Ellis, E. (Eds) Oxford Handbook of Community Singing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clift, S. and Gilbert, R. (2017) Can singing have a beneficial effect on lung function and breathing for people with respiratory illness? In G. Welch, D. M. Howard, and J. Nix (Eds) The Oxford Handbook of Singing, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clift, S., Gilbert, R. and Vella-Burrows, T. (2017) Health and wellbeing benefits of singing for older people. In N. Sunderland, D. Bendrups, N. Lewandowski and B. Bartleet (Eds) Music, Health and Wellbeing: Exploring music for health equity and social justice. London: Palgrave.
Ponsillo, N., Clift, S. and Chemi, T. (2023) Creativity and health: artistic experiences as wellbeing. In Chemi, T., Brattico, E., Fjorback, L. O. and Harmat, L. (Eds.) Arts and Mindfulness Education for Human Flourishing. London: Routledge.
Wood, S. and Clift, S. (2022) Musical care in older adulthood: A score for healthy ageing. In Spiro, N. and Sanfilippo, K. R. M. (Eds) Collaborative Insights: Interdisciplinary perspectives on musical care throughout the life course. Oxford, Oxford University Press.