This deeply reflective volume is a timely, thoughtful, and holistic snapshot of contemporary music therapy practice from the perspective of a new generation of practitioners and is essential reading for aspiring music therapists and experienced practitioners alike. The editors' transparency and compassion exemplify their commitment to humanistic, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive discourse, and centering the voices of students and early-career practitioners and their internal processes spotlights new perspectives that significantly enrich the knowledge base. The accessible yet profound narratives provide intimate and poignant insight into everyday practices, and nurture and facilitate reader engagement with often challenging ideas.
Dr. Beth Pickard, Senior Lecturer, Researcher and Music Therapist, University of South Wales, UK
Much of my music therapy training was filled with extraordinary stories of clients' transformation through the power of music and the therapeutic relationships that developed through it. This book offers different narratives that are grossly missing in music therapy literature that are no less important - the everyday practice of music therapy. Drs. Potvin and Myers-Coffman have purposefully curated narratives from authors who have carefully considered their sociocultural identities, theoretical orientations, and current socio-political-cultural goings-on in the world, and how these elements have informed their everyday practice. These case studies beautifully detail examinations of clinical interactions and decisions, honor the music and lives of the everyday music therapy client(s), and invite the readers to do the same.
Ming Yuan Low, PhD, MT-BC, Assistant Professor, Music Therapy, Berklee College of Music, USA
