About Music Therapy Services, LLC

Mission

The mission of Music Therapy Services, LLC – Cincinnati is to provide exceptional music therapy services to assist clients in accessing their potential through music.

Music Therapy Services, LLC uses person-centered, collaborative, and strength-based approaches to address the needs of the whole individual, and strives to promote the field of music therapy through advocacy, research, and education.

Philosophy

Music Therapy Services, LLC – Cincinnati upholds the inherent dignity of every person.

Our music therapists focus on the strengths of the individual and take a collaborative approach in our treatment to help clients access their potential within a musical relationship. Music therapy involves collaborative music experiences to facilitate changes which are non-musical or musical in nature.

Music therapy sessions are based on individual assessment, treatment planning, and ongoing evaluation. The music therapist functions as part of the interdisciplinary team to support and foster a continuum of care. You can learn more about music therapy here.

Meet the Team at Music Therapy Services, LLC - Cincinnati
Meet the Team at Music Therapy Services, LLC - Cincinnati

Meet the Director

Megan Shelley, MT-BC, Owner of Music Therapy Services Cincinnati

Megan Shelley

she/her

DIRECTOR & MUSIC THERAPIST

I believe in the inherent power of music to support, connect, and foster transformative growth in an individual. While disconnection, isolation, and trauma leave us feeling drained or diminished in our ability to care and support ourselves, music therapy can provide a dynamic opportunity to cultivate creativity and connect with ourselves and others on a deeper level. My approach to music therapy is from a person-centered, trauma-informed orientation and includes aspects of psychodynamic and transpersonal perspectives; meaning I take a collaborative approach to treatment, support the individual, and provide space for expressive and receptive symbolic uses of music that may create connections to experiences greater than ourselves.

I first arrived at my training in music therapy after playing the piano for a group of residents in a skilled nursing facility. I noticed a complete change in the energy and engagement of the residents and had to learn more. I went on to receive a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from the University of Dayton and a Master of Arts in Music Therapy from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Because of my interest in the symbolic use of music and music psychotherapy approaches, I completed advanced training in Analytical Music Therapy (AMT) in 2023 and am continuing training in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). I have supervised music therapy students and interns as a practicum site and university-affiliated internship, and have served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton teaching functional piano skills for music therapy students.

I have several years of experience in addiction recovery, adolescent and adult mental health, hospice and bereavement, and cancer and infusion. In addition to seeing clients in our clinic, I have had the privilege of providing services for organizations which include The Ridge Ohio; St. Elizabeth Hospice and Bereavement, Integrative Oncology, and Cancer Center; The Pink Ribbon Girls; HOPE for Children and Families, The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Lighthouse Youth Services, Queen City Hospice, REM Seeds of Change, Cincinnati Public Schools, the Autism Scholarship Program, the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program, and Clermont County Public Library. I am an active member of the American Music Therapy Association, the Association of Ohio Music Therapists, and have served as Secretary for the Great Lakes Region of the American Music Therapy Association. In my free time I enjoy singing and playing keys in a classic rock cover band, biking, hiking, diving, spending time in nature, and taking some quiet time to meditate and practice reiki. I would love to foster a creative space for you on your journey to deepen your relationship with yourself and those around you in body, mind, and spirit.

Publications

  • Shelley, M., Kowski, J., Goldberg, F. S. (2021). Three roads diverged: Transformative self-experience in AMT and GIM. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 30(3), 289-308. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2021.1903976.
  • Brewer, M. (2017). Development of professional identity in music therapy: Interviews with influential voices. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Saint Mary of the Woods College, Saint Mary of the Woods, IN.
  • McHugh, L., Gardstrom, S., Hiller, J., Brewer, M., Diestelkamp, W. (2012). The effect of pre-meal, recreative music therapy on the nutritional intake of residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias: A pilot study. Music Therapy Perspectives, 30, 32-42.

Presentations

  • Everybody Hurts: Using Music Therapy for De-escalating Patients in In-Patient Mental Health. Co-presenter at National Conference of the American Music Therapy Association, Minneapolis, MN. November 2019.
  • Music Therapy in Private Practice. University of Dayton Music Therapy Professional Development Seminar, Dayton, OH. November 2017.
  • Music Therapy Services for Your Community. Clermont County Public Library 2017 Staff Development Day, Batavia, OH. October 2017.
  • Music Therapy in Adolescent Mental Health. HOPE for Children and Families and Family Access to Integrated Recovery: A Program of Central Clinic, Cincinnati, OH. September 2017.
  • Perinatal Music Therapy. St. Elizabeth Hospital Maternal Health Management Team, Edgewood, KY. August 2017.
  • Music Therapy in Private Practice. University of Dayton Music Therapy Professional Development Seminar, Dayton, OH. October 2014.
  • Music Therapy and Parkinson’s Disease. Co-presenter, Tri-State Chapter Parkinson’s Wellness Meeting, Edgewood, KY. September 2013.
  • The Effect of Pre-Meal, Vocal Recreative Music Therapy on the Nutritional Intake of Residents with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: A pilot study. Co-presenter at Annual Conference of the Association of Ohio Music Therapists, Akron, OH. October 2011.
  • Clinically Relevant Research: Music Therapy and Nutritional Intake of Individuals with Dementia. Co-presenter at World Congress of Music Therapy, Seoul, Korea, July 2011.

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