ABSTRACT
Reflections on data from the narrative account of a classroom based training establish links between music based therapeutic teaching practices and articles within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The discussions outline young people's entitlements to protection and recovery support, including with respect to their insecure attachments and experience of complex developmental trauma. These conditions are explored further in relation to findings from neuroscience. A new metaphor, The Bridge of Protection for Participation, is used to exemplify protective steps required to support such social and emotional inclusion. As a reflexive product for sharing with other professionals, it provides a framework for documenting classroom interventions that strengthen young people's resilience. It is argued that the professional competence statements for music/arts based therapeutic teaching practice are instrumental in prompting such rights respecting actions contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3. Teachers are encouraged to invoke these United Nations strategies in order to strengthen their educational and therapeutic rationales that justify the introduction of music/arts based classroom interventions to support young people with social, emotional and mental health concerns.
