Suzanne Hanser: Music Therapy Insights
As described by our colleague Suzanne Hanser, our music therapy careers allow us to “share our time, creativity, imagination, and compassion with others” while at the same time learning from all we meet. Suzanne has a long and illustrious career as a student, clinician, professor, author, speaker, researcher, and volunteer leader in professional associations. In this AMTA-Pro podcast she shares insights gained during music therapy sessions from several individuals facing challenges in their lives, and she talks about the fulfilling time spent with music therapy colleagues and students she has met over the years.
Suzanne Hanser: Music Therapy Insights
AMTA-Pro Podcast ~ May 2021
Dr. Suzanne B. Hanser is President of the International Association for Music & Medicine and Past President of both the National Association for Music Therapy and the World Federation for Music Therapy. She received her bachelor’s degree in music therapy from the Florida State University, after completing her clinical internship at Milwaukee County Mental Health Center. She continued studies in music therapy at The Florida State University where she received a Master of Music degree, then the Doctor of Education degree from Columbia University, and post-doctoral fellowship in gero-psychiatry at Stanford Medical School, thanks to a National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Hanser founded the Music Therapy Department at Berklee College of Music where she currently serves as Chair Emerita and Professor. Her books include: Integrative Health through Music Therapy: Accompanying the Journey from illness to Wellness; Manage Your Stress and Pain through Music (Book + CD with Susan Mandel); and The New Music Therapist’s Handbook, now in its third edition. She is the recipient of a Sage Publications Prize, Model of Healing Award from the Children’s Music Fund, and the American Music Therapy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Her research is published in professional journals of multiple disciplines, her online courses are on Edx, Coursera, and Berklee Online, and her blog, “Music Strategies for Wellness,” appears on www.suzannehanser.com.