Music Therapy, Xicanx Ethno-Psychotherapy, and Curanderismo

A Culture Centered Lens in the Borderlands

Abstract

Through a decolonial lens, this article explores the intersection of music therapy and longstanding, indigenous healing traditions of xicanx ethno-psychotherapy and curanderismo. As a reflection on practice, this paper will apply clinical experience and theoretical discourse surrounding music therapy in conjunction with existing health spaces to situate historically silenced perspectives of health/illness in the borderlands. This shift towards a culturally centered framework of practice centers reclamation and weaves together holistic practices, practitioner roles, pláticas as verbal processing, conceptualizations of susto, perspectives of wellness, symbols in transformative healing experiences, and the sociohistorical role of storytelling to reframe music therapy paradigms along the Texas-Mexico border.

 

Editorial Comment

What does it mean to understand our own cultural location—and to allow it to expand and give shape to our practice as therapists? How can someone from a marginalized community reclaim their own healing practices, thereby healing and freeing themselves while also supporting the healing and liberation of their patients? This article offers an excellent example of what a nuanced and comprehensive positioning might look like. It underscores the importance of naming and articulating the subtleties of the therapist’s identity. It is ultimately a call to listen with humility, without claiming generalizable or absolute truths.