Music Therapy TED Talks

For more information on music therapy, click the YouTube links below to watch acclaimed TED Talks by board-certified music therapists, accredited music therapists, and other health professionals. With their first-hand experience, they provide stories and examples of music therapy research, case studies, and real music therapy techniques and interventions. (Info provided courtesy of Assoc. of MT of BC)

Joel Kroeker, DAPsych, MA, MMT, RCC
Victoria, BC, Canada
Reinventing perception as a creative act
11:36
“A talk from Joel Kroeker, an accomplished MTABC member based in Victoria. “Most of us assume we simply experience the world as it is, but perception is not always as it seems. Behind this seemingly innocent assumption lives a dynamic creative force of perceptual awareness that is actively and unceasingly interpreting everything we come in contact with, which transforms our experience of the world into (mostly habitual) stories that we tell ourselves. Through realizing that perception is a creative act (not merely a receptive one) it becomes possible to see into the inner workings of our mind’s perceptual mechanism, like the wizard behind the curtain. By directly seeing through our perceptual assumptions and consciously tracking our experience of our world, we can revolutionize how we relate to ourselves and others, which can have a profound impact on all of our interactions and swiftly lead us toward a more enlightened society.”

Dr. Deforia Lane, PhD, MT-BC
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Music Therapy & Medicine: A Dynamic Partnership
18:34
“Music therapist, Dr. Deforia Lane takes you inside University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center to experience first hand the response of patients to music therapy: hear of music’s effects on an unborn child; watch the reaction of a laryngectomy patient; see how therapeutic singing helps a man with stroke to speak again. Dr. Lane shares her personal challenge with cancer and how music benefited her healing. She ends with a probing question for each all who will hear.”

Erin Seibert, MA, MT-BC
St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Why I want to change the world with music therapy
16:23
“Erin Seibert describes the profession of music therapy in detail and how it deserves to be a household name within the world of healthcare. Erin highlights the reasons why music therapy is already changing the world one patient at a time and how increased inclusion of the profession will help healthcare progress.”

Kathleen M. Howland, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
How Music Can Heal Our Brain and Heart
13:31
“Music therapy is an ancient and yet very modern practice that has the power to heal and transform our brains and bodies in significant ways. Kathleen Howland, speech language and music therapist explains how music really does have the power to heal our brain and heart.”

Tim Ringgold, MT-BC, NICU-MT
Orange County, California, USA
When Meds Fail: A Case for Music Therapy
7:33
“Can there truly be an intersection in life where one can fulfill a lifelong passion and contribute to others’ happiness? Tim Ringgold proves that you can indeed. In his riveting talk, viewers are invited to witness how our old, common friend called Music can truly be a transformational bridge to many divides.”

Jodi Winnwalker, LCSW, MT-BC
Portland, Oregon, USA
Healing connects through music therapy
19:02
“Music therapist Jodi Winnwalker shares the connective and healing power of music.”

Carly Flaagan, MA, MTA
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Symphony of Science – Music Therapy in Healthcare
10:44
“After witnessing firsthand how beneficial a music therapy and speech language pathology collaboration could be for the shared client, music therapy student Carly Flaagan realized, like many others before her, interprofessional health care with the inclusion of music therapy was something to explore. Now as there is a push towards healthcare becoming interdisciplinary, the health care system benefits most from taking a holistic approach. Because music is a part of everyone, a holistic approach that addresses, the “whole” person, should include music. Flaagan explains how music therapy is an integral part of tomorrow’s interprofessional health care.”

Robert Vijay Gupta, BS, MM
Los Angeles, California, USA
Between Music and Medicine
16:28
“When Robert Gupta was caught between a career as a doctor and as a violinist, he realized his place was in the middle, with a bow in his hand and a sense of social justice in his heart. He tells a moving story of society’s marginalized and the power of music therapy, which can succeed where conventional medicine fails.”

Emily Wangen, MT-BC/L, NMT, NICU-MT
Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
Breaking Barriers with Music Therapy
15:12
This talk shares how music therapy was pioneered in a rural state and how music therapy has impacted the local communities. Emily discusses how music therapy is used with various populations, discuss numerous techniques used to elicit non-musical responses and is joined by a guest speaker, Kyle Johnson, who shares his story of how music therapy has impacted the recovery of his traumatic brain injury.

Daniel Goldschmidt, MT-BC
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Music – The Beautiful Lie
6:32
“Daniel Goldschmidt, a winner at TEDxRVA’s Open Mic Night, understands the healing power of music. Originally from Minneapolis, Minn., he attended the University of Kansas, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music therapy. During his final year in college, he discovered music cognition—the study of how the brain interprets music—and he became highly fascinated with the interconnections between music cognition and therapy. He applies this interest in his position as a music therapist at Poplar Springs Hospital in Petersburg, where he works with adolescents, adults, and members of the military”

Judith Pinkerton
Music powers potential– building mental fitness
14:57
Music 4 Life® Founder and President/CEO, Judith Pinkerton is dedicated to spreading the benefits of both music therapy and wellness accredited programs and products. She teaches young and old how they can convert their music assets into a powerful, portable command center for stress reduction.