Reflecting on Two Years of Song & Story

Hi there, and happy new year! I hope that 2025 brings beautiful and meaningful things to us all.

It has been a while since I have updated the site blog, and I don't post on social media much. I'm really good at being a music therapist and not so motivated to be a business marketing person. But I wanted to write a post to reflect on how Song & Story has grown since opening in September 2022. We started off driving all over the Triangle area to sites and client homes while working from my home office in Clayton, NC. I was also finishing up my thesis research, which involved facilitating music therapy groups for LGBTQIA+ folks experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety. I have since graduated with my master of music therapy, counseling endorsement from Slippery Rock University. I also completed a yearlong business mentorship program at Launch Johnston County, which taught me invaluable lessons about growing and managing a small business.

Graduate School Commencement, May 2023

Since then, I have moved to South Durham to be closer to my other music therapy job at UNC medical center, where I work in child, adolescent, and perinatal inpatient psychiatry. I have been seeing clients in person in my shared office space in Chapel Hill. I have also been delighted to provide weekly music therapy at Jubilee Integrated Wellness for their farm-based intensive outpatient program in Hillsborough. This has provided rich meaning to my week and is deeply fulfilling work.

In the new year, I will be collaborating with C4CC, Center for Community Connection, providing community mental health services focusing on occupational wellness to provide groups for youth and young adults in Chatham County. I expect to be collaborating with more community-based initiatives in Durham and beyond in the coming year. I hope to see more clients in Chapel Hill, particularly LGBTQIA+ folks navigating an increasingly anti-LGBTQIA+ political landscape in the US. We need each other more than ever. We need music more than ever. We need to make music more than ever.

Maybe I will write more in the coming year - hey, maybe I will even post on to social media more in the coming year. Maybe not though haha! What is certain is that I will be providing wholehearted music therapy sessions to my community, clients, and making music that with all that I am. Maybe this is the time that you reach out to try a therapy modality that might support your mental health. Maybe music therapy is a good fit for you to find your way back to yourself or your community. And maybe I'm the music therapist for you! I hope to hear from you, and I hope you will meet me in the music.