Knut Tore Sælør is a registered nurse with a background from the field of mental health. He holds a PhD from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is currently an associate professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway, where he is head of Centre for mental health and substance (ab)use. From his PhD onwards and throughout his academic life, qualitative methodology and hope has been common threads. Along with his wife and co-author he has published Håpets betydning i helsefaglig og sosialt arbeid. En liten bok om noe av det største i verden. [The Importance of Hope in Health and Social Care. A Small Book About One of the Most Important Things in the World] (Sælør & Bank, 2022 Cappelen Damm Akademisk) and the article Recovery-Oriented Dog Intervention (RODI). How a dog changed our perception of recovery and flattened our ontologies. (Sælør & Bank, 2025. The Qualitative Report. 30(7), 3920-3937)
Tora Söderström Gaden is a music therapist and researcher. She has pioneered music therapy for premature and medically fragile infants and their families in Norway and completed her PhD on music therapy following preterm birth. Her experience spans pediatric and neonatal care, community mental health and substance use services, participatory research, and collaborative knowledge development. Across these contexts, she explores how music can support connection, participation, vitality, and meaning in people’s lives.
Monika Overå (MA-MT, EAMI Accredited GIM Therapist) is a music therapist, educator, and researcher whose work explores the role of music in supporting children, adolescents, and adults facing health and life challenges. She is Assistant Professor and Head of the Master’s Programme in Music Therapy at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway, and also works clinically in a specialised paediatric liaison mental health team at Akershus University Hospital. Her clinical experience includes paediatric healthcare, paediatric palliative care, and interdisciplinary addiction treatment. Across her academic and clinical work, she is particularly interested in how music therapy can contribute to well-being, connection, and person-centred care. She recently submitted her PhD dissertation at the Norwegian Academy of Music.