During my senior year as a music therapy undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to live and volunteer at a Hospice home for those who had a prognosis of 3 months or less to live and did not have a stable living situation. While I was not yet a practicing music therapist, the experiences I had there shaped my understanding of the particular power of music and prevalence of spiritual care in this population.         Hospice/End-of-life care is palliative in a physical sen

Bad Bunny’s historic halftime show celebrated many aspects of Puerto Rican culture. As music therapists, it is important to understand cultural values and their impact on our clinical approaches to best support the therapeutic alliance with both the client and the client’s family.             In Melisa de León’s article “Mexican American Values and Therapeutic Alliance in Music Therapy: Composite Vignettes from the Rio Grande Valley”, she accounts her personal experience as

With Thanksgiving in our rearview mirror, now is the time we look ahead to the rest of the holiday season. December is a busy month full of opportunities to celebrate. In this post, we will dive a bit deeper into three of the major holidays that will be observed this month, along with some songs you can incorporate into music therapy sessions to honor each of them!  Hanukkah: Evening of December 14-December 22, 2025 Origins Coming up first this month is Hanukkah, a Jewish ho

You have heard the phrase, “The eyes are the window of the soul.”  I am sure this is a phrase that we can all relate to.  You may also have been told, “you are the apple of my eye!” At this time of holidays, it is helpful to focus on what may seem small, but what in reality makes our world go around in communion with each other.  The answer and need of all people is to be acknowledged, validated, seen, and heard.  We all do this, perhaps without much thought.  A gift at this

Music therapists often incorporate music-based interventions that reflect the current seasons. As the calendar turns to November, I often find myself struggling to integrate the concept of gratitude into sessions. On one hand, practicing gratitude has been shown to positively impact health and wellbeing by improving sleep, mood, and immunity; and has also been shown to decrease depression, anxiety and chronic pain (American Heart Association, 2023). On the other hand, clients