Seeking Stories from Music Therapists and Their Communities

How does music help people heal, remember, and connect with others? What does care sound like in the daily work of music therapists, and how does it echo through the lives of clients, families, and communities?

Resonant Care is a new oral history project exploring the experiences of board-certified music therapists—and those in their orbit of care—across Cache Valley and surrounding regions. We’re inviting participants to share their stories in recorded, one-time interviews that will help document how music therapy supports wellbeing, identity, and belonging. With participant consent, interviews may be preserved in the Fife Folklore Archives at Utah State University and used in educational or public-facing materials.

This is more than a research study. It’s a community-driven effort to recognize the power of relational care and deepen our understanding of the role of music in everyday life. That’s why we’re calling it resonant care, because the impact reverberates outward, touching not just those in treatment but the wider web of families, colleagues, and communities.

Cache Valley's Unique Music Therapy Legacy

Music therapy is not new to Cache Valley. Utah State University offers the only music therapy degree program in the state and one of just five in the western United States. For decades, students and faculty have worked alongside hospitals, clinics, care homes, and schools to provide music and wider expressive-based services to hundreds of residents each year. The program is nationally recognized for its excellence, with high board exam pass rates and 100% job placement among graduates.

In short, music therapy is part of this region’s story, and Resonant Care seeks to help tell it.

Who Can Participate?

We are looking to interview:

• Board-certified music therapists
• Clients or former clients of music therapy
• Caregivers and family members
• Colleagues or collaborators who have witnessed music therapy in practice

Participation involves a single audio-recorded interview (60-90 minutes). With permission, we may also take a portrait photo or document your work setting.

Interested in Sharing Your Story?

Contact us:

• Corinne Pickett, MA, MT-BC
  | c.pickett@usu.edu
• Joe Kinzer, PhD
  | joe.kinzer@usu.edu

This project is part of a research study approved by the USU Institutional Review Board (IRB #15344).