Emerging Voices

Abstract

Nsamu Moonga, a music therapist whose doctoral research employs Indigenous research methodologies centring participants’ experiences, provides a critique of the University of Johannesburg Art Therapy Conference held in July 2023, focusing on the intersection of race, coloniality, and professionalisation within arts therapies. His reflections advocate for urgent structural reform and cultural sensitivity, promoting Indigenisation practices to dismantle exclusionary frameworks in the profession. Moonga’s paper carefully positions the challenges of the sector and critically highlights the systemic barriers faced by minoritised practitioners and communities whose valuable contributions and needs remain marginalised in professional discourse.