Music Till Proven Therapy: Recent Episodes
Dannielle Remek
We are SO excited to welcome Sally Hatfield — music therapy intern, soon-to-be MT-BC, and our incredible Music Therapy Now media intern! Sally is a true ray of sunshine whose creativity, warmth, and dedication shine through everything she does.
In this episode, Sally shares her journey into music therapy, her passion for supporting others through music, and what it’s been like stepping into the field with enthusiasm, curiosity, and heart. You’ll love hearing her story, her insights, and her bright energy!
In this episode, we sit down with Elizabeth VanSant, MTL, MT-BC, owner of Eastside Music Therapy in Bellevue, WA. We discuss starting a private practice, advocating for a livable wage, and the supportive community within music therapy. Elizabeth shares her neurodiversity-affirming, client-led approach to working with Autistic and other neurodivergent individuals, as well as her experiences mentoring future music therapists and building a sustainable career.
In this episode, Morgan and Dannielle are thrilled to welcome a few of the incredible music therapists working in pediatric hospitals across the U.S. through Sophie’s Place.
Founded in loving memory of singer-songwriter Sophie Barton, Sophie’s Place creates dedicated music therapy rooms within children’s hospitals—safe, creative spaces designed to support young patients facing pain, chronic illness, and serious injury. These rooms are more than just spaces for music—they represent an evidence-based, integrative medical approach that enhances healing through movement, reduces pain, and supports brain function and emotional wellbeing.
Tune in for this powerful conversation with Matthew, Eliana, Lainey, and Mackenzie as they share the heart behind their work, the impact of Sophie’s Place, and the incredible power of music therapy.
Join Dannielle Caldwell of Music Therapy Now and Allyson Rodgers of Music and Miracles as they give you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming Music Therapy Miracles NOW Retreat, happening Saturday, July 19th!
This one-day virtual retreat is designed for music therapists who are ready to start or scale their private practice with confidence. You’ll walk away with:
✔️ 10 CMTEs
✔️ A step-by-step workbook
✔️ Business templates
✔️ One year of access to our exclusive community group
✔️ And a renewed sense of clarity, purpose, and momentum!
Tune in to hear what you can expect, how this retreat came to life, and why this event could be a game changer for your music therapy career.
DISCOUNT CODE IN THIS EPISODE!!!
🎧 Register now at www.musictherapynow.net – space is limited!
Welcome back to Music Till Proven Therapy! We’re kicking off Season 3 with a deeply personal and inspiring episode. Join your host, Dannielle Caldwell, MT-BC, as she reflects on the last 6 months of building and transitioning into full-time private practice ownership. From walking away from traditional roles to launching multiple new programs, Dannielle shares the highs, lows, and lessons learned along the way.
You’ll hear:
- Why she made the leap to full-time entrepreneurship
- How she navigated financial planning, client acquisition, and self-doubt
- The power of community, clarity, and creative risk-taking
- Honest answers to listener-submitted questions about business, burnout, and bold moves
Whether you're dreaming of starting your own practice or just need a reminder that big shifts are possible, this episode is packed with encouragement, insight, and real talk from someone who's living it.
🎧 Hit play, and let’s dive in.
Nikki Belshe Lanza is the owner of Heart and Harmony in Fort Worth, TX and founder of the fantastic non-profit, the Music Therapy Access Fund.
Dannielle is thrilled to be joined by the lovely Nikki who is an unstoppable force in the music therapy field. Hear their conversation about Nikki's experience, private practice, non-profit, and balancing career and family.
https://www.heartandharmony.com/
https://mtaf.org/
Today, the lovely Marissa Marmolejo, MMT, MT-BC joins us to discuss her Masters Equivalency in Music Therapy, her first job, and transitioning as a new professional.
Dannielle here, and yet again this year I find myself making a huge life and career related decision that comes back to the importance of choosing you - aka prioritizing yourself and your health and your life. Here all about this career decision and what in my life and health has led me here.
Choose you guys. Every time.
@danniellemtbc
@mtptpod
@musictherapynow_
www.musictherapynow.net
Another week, another fantastic podcast guest! Jess and Dannielle are good friends from Belmont University and really got to know each other during their study abroad in Paris! Jess is a pediatric medical music therapist and new professional with fantastic insight, experience and heart. In this episode, Jess and Dannielle dive into Jess's first job, music therapy job red flags, and finding passion and work/life balance.
Jess Knoble, MT-BC (she/her) is a Board-Certified Music Therapist with certifications in Neurologic Music Therapy and NICU Music Therapy. Jess serves as a Pediatric Music Therapist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, specializing in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Hematology/Oncology, Cardiology, and Neuro/Trauma/Rehab, and conducts research at the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab. Born and raised in Nashville, Jess attended Belmont University for her undergraduate studies in Music Therapy, and completed her internship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Jess is currently pursuing her Master’s of Music Therapy through Colorado State University, and serves as the Treasurer for the Tennessee Association for Music Therapy, and as Communications Coordinator for the TN Music Therapy Task Force as they advocate for state licensure for Music Therapists.
This week's intervention is brought to you by pediatric music therapist, Sara Jane Klaus, MT-BC! Here her go to rapport building intervention working as a music therapist in a children's hospital.
In this episode, Morgan shares about her job transition and ALL the change. Listen in to hear more about leaving the hospital, trying new things, and trusting yourself to accept a job outside of the music therapy field.
Join Dannielle for Storytime with Olivia! Olivia is the founder of Motive Music Therapy and a brand new music therapist in Tampa, Florida! Hear all about how she pursued her music therapy equivalency masters degree, started her own business, her take on music therapy businesses and pizza shops, and how she has reached amazing success as a new professional and business owner (she’s already hiring!!!)
Follow her on instagram @motive.musictherapy
Dannielle is thrilled to speak with Kim Best, MT-BC about surviving as a new music therapy professional as they gear up for Music Therapy Now's New Professional Retreat on Saturday, September 28th! Kim, the keynote speaker, is a music therapist in Rochester, NY working in private practice with hospice care, eldercare and memory care, people with mental health challenges, and caregivers. Kim is passionate about lifting up music therapists and providing coaching and supervision to support a more sustainable profession. Kim is known for her authenticity which is the foundation of her connections with others. She loves having honest conversations, and Not Your Average Music Therapist, a podcast with a fallen-over guitar logo, is just for that! On any given day, you may find Kim trying to garden, posting the most random thoughts on Instagram, waiting for a cup of tea to cool down just enough so that it’s still hot but not burn-your-tongue hot, finding new trails to walk with her husband, snuggling her stuffed-animal-come-to-life kitten, and sending handmade cards in the mail. Find resources, “music can help” tees, and more: kimbest.com
Register for the retreat today at www.musictherapynow.net/newprofessionals
Sara Jane is back for part 2! Sara Jane tells us all about her journey landing a job in the pediatric medical field as a new professional. From navigating the hospital setting, protecting your peace to end of life, hear about Sara Jane's experience as a pediatric music therapist.
Dannielle is thrilled to announce the release of Music Therapy Now!!! A space dedicated to decreasing burnout and increasing the retention of new music therapists through retreats, resources and community. Find more at our website! Registration, the workbook and community are LIVE! www.musictherapynow.net
Hailey Davis and Kaelyn McCallum join us to tell us about the music therapy assessment tool that they are dropping on August 10th, 2024! This is an excellent assessment tool for music therapists.
Find the assessment tool here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/hailey-music-therapy
Follow Hailey: @haileymusictherapy
Follow Kaelyn: @kaelyn_mc_mta
This week, we have part 1 of a very special guest and board certified music therapist, Sara Jane! Sara Jane is Morgan's "little" and Dannielle's "big" from their college music fraternity. Sara Jane talks all about her life as a new professional including overcoming a negative first job experience and how she chose herself and landed a medical music therapy job.
Dannielle left her "dream" job at the children's hospital and it's finally time to talk about it. Hear all about Dannielle's experience, what she's learned and how she's facing the future as a music therapist. At the end of the day, her message clear. Choose you.
Dannielle and Morgan are BACK with an all new season and all new episode! Dannielle quit her job, Morgan finished her Masters in Music Therapy, and there is SO much to catch up on as they recap all of the changes over the last 7 months. Hear about how they have chosen themselves over the last few months and hear their message to choose you.
Follow the podcast on instagram @mtptpod
Follow Dannielle on instagram @danniellemtbc
Follow Music Therapy Ed Now @musictherapyednow
www.musictherapynow.net
Reese is a lovely MT-BC working in geriatric psych in California, pursuing her Masters in MFT! Hear her share her wisdom and journey through music therapy to now.
In this week's storytime, Morgan shares about her work with a patient in the PICU following a car accident.
Another week, another wheel! In this wheel episode, Morgan shares a song she uses for assessments! Let us know your thoughts.
Visit our website and join our Facebook group!
Storytime is all about stories from music therapy sessions! This week, Dannielle shares about the behavioral health where she gets laughed at... and how she persevered!
It has been one whole year since the MTPT Pod first hit your ears!!! And we are so, SO grateful for the journey that this has been.
Hear Dannielle and Morgan reflect on one year of this podcast, as well as the plans moving forward!
Make sure to enter our 1 year celebration giveaway. Details @mtptpod on Instagram.
And visit our website! www.mtptpod.com
In this wheel episode, Dannielle breaks down an intervention she facilitated based on Billie Eilish's song in the Barbie movie, What Was I Made For? This is an excellent song for lyric analysis and is relatable for patients of all ages. Hear the intervention here and check out mtptpod.com/thewheel to purchase the intervention!
The Fall semester is here and we are back! At first, we titled this episode time management, but honestly it's really about life management and how to balance all of the things - both music therapy and life wise. Listen along to hear how we juggle it all!
In this week's wheel episode, Dannielle walks us through a songwriting intervention that she created, using a structured worksheet, allowing music therapists to confidently songwrite in groups or with individuals! You can find the printable worksheet to purchase at www.mtptpod.com
Emily Hammer is a board-certified music therapist in Nashville, TN. Emily is a contracting music therapist, working with individuals of all ages, from small children to adults. Emily shares with us her music therapy journey, how she found contracting work in Nashville, and how she feels a year into being a professional.
This week's wheel episode is all about heartbeat recordings! From the how-to to making heartsongs, we discuss the process when working on legacy building and end of life projects.
We are back from our mini break! And boy do we have updates for you. Morgan is ENGAGED and Dannielle hit her one year at her job! Listen to all of our updates and the mini life crisis we're having now!
It is World Music Therapy Week!! We got to host a LIVE podcast recording with our podcast community and had the absolute best time. Join us as we talk all about music therapy, our most impactful moments with clients and patients, and answer questions by students and interns.
In this weeks wheel episode, Morgan shares about what her typical sessions look like with babies 8 months to 2 years.
It is Child Life Month! To celebrate, Dannielle and Morgan interview a wonderful certified child life specialist, Christine, who tells us all about child life, the required training, and parts of the job. Child Life Specialists are specialists in child life development, and specialize in helping the hospitalized child cope with the hospital environment.
In this episode of the wheel, Dannielle shares about how typical sessions with patients 3-6 years old go. From what instruments to choose to what she does in a session, hear about her interventions for her hematology/oncology patients.
So.. you're in internship. Now what? Morgan and Dannielle talk about the post-internship journey. When to start looking for music therapy jobs, pay, interviewing, the CBMT exam, and more!
This wheel is all about identifying and breaking cycles! Hear how Dannielle used 2 popular songs in behavioral health to identify cycles and how to break them with her patients.
In this weeks DoMo, we talk all about grace & space and how to have it with yourself as a music therapist. Do music therapists love their lives? Is it possible to have a personal life outside of work? Find out in this episode.
Happy love day to the MTPTPOD family! In todays episode, we are celebrating all of the things we LOVE about music therapy.
In this episode, Morgan shares a music therapy intervention that she has used with parents of babies in the ICU. This affirmation song intervention can be widely used. You can find the handout at www.mtptpod.com/thewheel
In this storytime episode, we talk to a fabulous young music therapist, Devan Elliott!
Devan Elliott is the director of music therapy for Moorings Park Communities in Naples Florida- she works with and supports older adults throughout the full spectrum of the aging process. In her spare time, she reads anything, crafts A LOT, plays with her cats and binges RuPauls drag race reruns.
Welcome to our very first No More Capos episode!! In this episode, Morgan teaches us how to "fancify" the I, IV and V. If you're tired of your simple chords, Morgan shares very easy ways to add dissonance and interest to simple chord progressions for music therapy sessions.
Let us know what you think!
Welcome to our first wheel episode of 2023!
In this episode, we dive into music therapy interventions that we have used in the hospital to assist with dressing changes. Procedural support is a huge aspect of what we as music therapists do day to day. Here are a few of our success stories with dressing changes specifically.
Like, subscribe and leave a positive review!
Hello everyone! Dannielle here dropping in to let you know about something absolutely incredible that Morgan achieved. Give her all of your love @morganthemt on instagram!
Happy New Year! In our first episode of 2023 and our third DoMo, we talk about our New Years goals - both personally and professionally. We also answer some questions regarding big moments music therapy students will face in 2023 - including internship and the boards. Let us know your 2023 goals and what you would like to hear from us in 2023!
Things we chatted about
Ami Kunimura The Self Care Institute https://www.selfcareinstitute.com/
Amy Love Pediatric MT Student Kickstarter https://www.pediatricmusictherapy.com/students
In this episode, we discuss "levels of advocacy" when advocating for music therapy during the holidays.
Advocating can be exhausting. Especially around the holidays when you're around old family, friends and loved ones who may know nothing about music therapy. So how can we effectively advocate without burning ourselves our in the process?
Dannielle has come up with three levels of advocacy that will help you decide how far to go when advocating to different groups of people.
We hope you have the most fabulous holiday season! Thank you for hanging with us in 2022! We'll see you in 2023.
mtptpod.com
Welcome to our second DoMo episode!
In this episode, Dannielle and Morgan discuss some "craps" and "grats" of life lately.
It's another wheel episode! In this episode of the wheel, Morgan shares about a go to intervention and resource that she uses with her patient's in the PICU. This is a go-to intervention for us, especially with patient's with communication barriers, and we hope it is useful for you!
We are SO excited for this weeks story time with Pediatric Music Therapy's very own, Amy Love.
In this episode, we talk with Amy about balancing music therapy life with mom life, transitions, death and dying, and so much more that you do not want to miss.
In our tenth episode, Morgan shares about an intervention that she used based on a concept she learned in grad school! The Circle of Influence. Hear all about it and find the visual at mtptpod.com
Today we're introducing a brand new podcast type! So, How Do We Grow? Dannielle and Morgan talk all about growing through transitions as a music therapist (and also a human). From transitioning between student to intern, intern to professional, or even between seasons, transitions can be extremely tough. Hear all about Dannielle and Morgan's experiences and how they have navigated it professionally and personally.
In this episode of "The Wheel," Dannielle shares about her tik tok trend inspired music therapy intervention. Find the session plan, handouts and more at mtptpod.com
In the very first "Death and Dying" episode, Dannielle and Morgan discuss what end of life and grief look like in music therapy. From heartbeat recordings, to stories and how to cope, this episode dives deep into the reality behind death and dying as a music therapist. For "An Intern's Guide to Grief" 30 page resource, visit mtptpod.com
In this episode of "The Wheel," we go over rules to set in music therapy sessions. Whether it's in a group or in an individual session, we walk through how we create a safe space for our patients within therapy so they are able to benefit as much as possible. Find our FREE rules handout, go to www.mtptpod.com/shop
Hear our very first storytime with senior music therapy student, Amanda Bower! Our first storytime is the perfect example of the MT-BC to student connection we're looking to make with the Music Till Proven Therapy Podcast. In this episode, we touch on the student to professional transition, getting a job, pay, self-care, connectivity and so much more.
Welcome to our first The Wheel episode! The Wheel is our way of helping you with something important - not reinventing the wheel. We will talk all about interventions that we have used in our clinical work, and you can buy the handouts on mtptpod.com Today, we are talking about a songwriting intervention that Dannielle has recently used in her psych group! Welcome to the "Summertime Song" intervention.
Welcome to the second episode of the MTPTPOD! This episode is all about our hosts - Dannielle Caldwell and Morgan Maxwell. Hear about how they got to where they are in the music therapy field.
In the third episode of MTPTPOD, we dive into the biggest question we get as music therapists: What is music therapy? Hear how we describe music therapy to different people in our lives, when it clicked for us, and our advise to you as you advocate and educate about music therapy. Are you here trying to learn about music therapy? Stick around - we think you'll have a great grasp once you listen.
The Music 'Til Proven Therapy podcast is a podcast made by new professionals, for new professionals. Nobody tells you how hard post grad life is as a music therapist. We are here to walk you through our own experiences, validate yours, and learn how to navigate it. This episode is our hi and why.