Natasha Thomas, PhD is a Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) currently serving as Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). She received her undergraduate degree in music therapy from the University of North Dakota (UND), holds a masters degree in special education (also from UND, with an emphasis on visual impairment), and recently completed her PhD in expressive arts therapies from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Natasha has served on the Midwest and Southeastern Regional Boards of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) in various committee positions, including the Diversity & Multiculturalism Committee. She is currently serving on the steering committees of the Black Music Therapists Network and a National Music Therapy Faculty Forum. Natasha is the creator of two online continuing education courses: "Music Therapy with the Blind and Deaf," and "Music Therapy and Human Rights Ethics," both of which are offered through MusicTherapyEd.com, an online resource for music therapists. Her current research focus is on the relationship between social identity and the music making choices of youth from limited resource communities, as well as the experience of marginalised music therapists and creatives in general.

Luke talks to Natasha about training in the US, the musical skills needed for music therapy, her experiences as a BAME music therapist and researcher, and the process of decolonisation.

Additional links:

Article with Susan Hadley: https://academic.oup.com/mtp/article-abstract/36/2/168/5049722

Healing through Creative Arts: http://www.ahf.ca/downloads/healing-through-creative-arts.pdf

The Black Music Therapy Network: https://www.blackmtnetwork.org/