How the Identities and Lived Experiences of LGBTQ+ Music Therapists Impact Their Therapeutic Practices and Relationships with Service Users
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v26i2.4759Keywords:
music therapy, LGBTQ+, therapist identity, authenticity, therapeutic relationships, intersectionality, inclusionAbstract
This qualitative study explores how LGBTQ+ music therapists’ identities and lived experiences impact their therapeutic practices and relationships with service users. Through semi-structured interviews with three LGBTQ+ music therapists, this research investigates authenticity, empathy, identity expression, and intersectionality with neurodivergence. The findings highlight how participants’ personal histories of marginalisation and queerness inform their approach to music therapy, influencing their relational depth, therapeutic flexibility, and ability to foster safe, inclusive environments. Music becomes a medium not only for emotional expression but also for affirming identity and challenging social norms. Therapists’ experiences with internalised oppression, fear of disclosure, and navigating professional boundaries reveal the complex dynamics of being LGBTQ+ in clinical practice. A key insight is the therapists’ use of shared or parallel experiences of exclusion as sources of empathy, enhancing connection and trust with service users—especially queer and neurodivergent youth. The study concludes that LGBTQ+ therapists’ identities are not separate from their professional roles but are essential to their therapeutic ethos. The findings contribute to growing conversations around inclusivity in music therapy and suggest systemic support structures that affirm the identities of LGBTQ+ therapists in practice.
Aknowledgements
I would like to thank all the participants for their contributions to this research and for taking the time to share their experiences openly. Thank you to my supervisor for their guidance and support.
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