2025-26 Students

A Masters student funded by Health Research Council (HRC) is now assisting on the MinDArT project

Welcome Nikita Smith

“I am a registered speech-language therapist currently working at Timaru Public Hospital. I graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Speech Language Pathology, first class honours, and decided to continue my university journey onto post-graduate study. I am currently nearing completion of a Master of Science, specialising in speech-language sciences, alongside the competition of a certificate in advanced clinical practicum, supervision, and administration.

My thesis for my MSc involves a program called ‘MinDArT’, created by Emma Febvre-Richards with Massey University in Wellington. The program was designed as a mindfulness art therapy program for people living with dementia. I have had the incredible opportunity through my MSc to get to be a part of a new adaptive pilot for MinDArT, to look at the adaptations needed to make the program accessible for people living with a stroke, and particularly those who have a communication disorder as a result of their stroke.

It has been an honour to work collaboratively with the University of Canterbury, Burwood Academy Trust, and Massey University to bring this program to life in Christchurch and provide the opportunity to widen the population that can benefit from the program. This has worked alongside my current role as a speech-language therapist in a hospital setting very well, as my primary role is working with people who have had a stroke, provided them therapy and support during the acute and rehabilitation phase, as well as following up with them in the community as well” (05/12/2025)