Promoting Cultural Responsiveness and Supporting Cross Cultural Transitions as Clinical Music Therapy Supervisors

Cultural humility and responsiveness need to be at the heart of our praxis as music therapists to ensure we are respecting where individuals are from and actively seeking to accommodate our approach to the client’s cultural contexts, needs, and values. By initiating and inviting conversations about cultural diversity and identity into supervision we can further develop our own cultural humility as well as that of our supervisees. This presentation will overview these concepts alongside broader societal issues and health equity. Focus will be given to cross cultural transitions and psychological adaptations which require a therapist to acquire new skills, while navigating tensions between differing worldviews and cultural perspectives. A further nod to positioning music therapy within the continuum of music and health experiences will also assist participants in ensuring ethical practice and self-reflection on advancing our profession internationally.