Sociocultural identities in music therapy

Abstract

In 2016, I attended a roundtable at the AMTA National Conference called “Courageous Conversations: Race and Music Therapy.” Though I greatly acknowledge and relish my Filipinx-American identity, up until that point, I had never sought out discussions on race, ethnicity, or any sort of identity in relation to music therapy. I assumed that my identity was separate from my job. As a young professional and a graduate student, I was more focused on attaining and retaining work, and thought that attending sessions on techniques or approaches would be of more relevance. But as I sat in that room and listened to the panel recount their experiences, a realization stirred within me that I was not just a music therapist who happened to be Filipinx-American. Rather, I was a Filipinx-American in music therapy, and my identities are relevant to my work. Ever since that realization, I have been journeying to understand what that means, how it has impacted my past experiences, and how it continues to influence my work and interactions in the field.