Educator
Dr. Wheeler became an educator early in her career and helped to shape generations of music therapists for decades at Montclair State University, the University of Louisville, and beyond.
While the essence of music therapy, for me, is always the client and clinical work, my main focus as been educating others who will work with the clients – work with them clinically, help them through research, or in other ways. I can break this portion of my work into three phases, the first two being the universities at which I spent most of my working life, Montclair State University and the University of Louisville; and the final phase, which overlaps with my time at the University of Louisville and continues in my retirement from full-time employment.
Montclair State College/ Montclair State University
Although I became a music therapist because I wanted to use music to help people, I was enticed into higher education very early in my career. I was only a few months into my second full-time clinical position after I had received my music therapy training—working at Connecticut Valley Hospital—when I received a call asking if I would be interested in teaching music therapy at Montclair State College. I told the caller, Dr. Maureen Carr, what I had told someone who had called with a similar question a few weeks earlier—that I was not interested, I had just moved to Connecticut and I was very happy in my current situation.
Dr. Carr pointed out that Montclair State was not too far from where I lived, and perhaps I would be interested in teaching just a single course. I had done this in Milledgeville, Georgia, when I taught one of the first courses at Georgia College, and it had been a good experience—so I said that I would consider that. We scheduled an interview for the next Saturday (I had not been at my job long enough to take a weekday off). As I drove to New Jersey that day, I realized that it was too far for me to commute on a weekly basis to teach a course. I had the idea that, if they could schedule the course every other week and perhaps fly me down, I might do it—ideas that I realized later were not at all realistic to have someone teach a single course.
When I arrived at the interview, the office was full of faculty members—on a Saturday—and it dawned on me that they were really serious about the interview and presumably the position. Their questions did not reflect an interest in someone who would teach a single course. In addition to my teaching, they focused on topics such as how I felt about counseling students, what kind of administrator I was, and my vision of curriculum planning. I kept telling them that I was only interested in possibly teaching a single class.
I also recommended several colleagues who I thought would be good for the full-time faculty member that they were clearly seeking. After the interview, two of those who had been in the interview drove me around Montclair—supposedly giving me a sense of what the town was like. Montclair has some gorgeous houses and beautiful neighborhoods, and these were where they drove me, presenting a view of the town that was not the least bit realistic for where I might live! As I drove home that day (more than a 2-hour drive), I quickly realized that I was not going to accept the position, but I decided to wait until the next day to give the impression that I had thought about it overnight. When I called Dr. Carr the next day to tell her this, she expressed disappointment but accepted my decision.
I assumed the matter was closed until a few days later, when I was called out of a large music therapy session in which I was involved for a telephone call from Dr. Ben Wilkes, the outgoing chair of the Music Department and a man of great strength and persuasiveness. He asked me questions such as if I wanted to have an impact on the field of music therapy and whether I thought I could make the most difference as a clinician working with clients directly or by teaching students who would then reach more and more people.
Dr. Wilkes did know what would motivate me, even this early in my career! He did not let me off of the telephone until I told him that I would think more about the offer and get back to him. Since the first time, when I had made the decision with no advice from others but apparently couldn’t stick to my decision, I decided to consult some friends this time. They all thought it was a great idea—a higher salary, a 9-month contract (which I assumed meant I would have the summers off), the prestige of a college position… I called the next day to accept the position.
I started teaching at Montclair State College when I was only 26 and with a limited background for teaching. There were many other difficulties—only a few books on music therapy were available at this time; I had very little understanding of why music therapy worked, although some good practical knowledge of what worked (at least in the psychiatric setting). I was overwhelmed with both the content of what I should teach and living in New Jersey. Sometimes I wonder how the students that I had in my first years of teaching learned anything—but some of them went on to become very good music therapists!
I am happy to say that, over the next years, I pursued many avenues to learn more about music therapy—and of course, applied that to my teaching. As mentioned on the clinical and publications parts of this website, this included clinical work in a variety of settings; training in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, Paraverbal Therapy, Guided Imagery with Music training (I completed through Level II), and Neurologic Music Therapy training. I also was in my own psychotherapy (for years—for myself, but I also learned a lot that applied to my music therapy work) and was supervised on my music therapy. And I read and attended workshops covering a variety of topics. In short, I did everything I could to learn about music therapy and be the best educator that I could be. My decision to pursue my PhD was part of this journey.
I taught at Montclair State for 25 years and had many great experiences there. I saw the school make many changes, including becoming Montclair State University in 1994, and was part of some of these changes. In addition to teaching music therapy, I had the opportunity to learn about administration and was Music Department Chair as well as Acting Dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts. These were all good experiences, but also reinforced in me that I really wanted to teach music therapy. In 2000, I decided to move to another university. I “retired” from Montclair State University as a full professor and was given Emeritus status.
University of Louisville
I moved to the University of Louisville to launch their new music therapy program in 2000. Although it felt very different from Montclair State, I had a great experience at UofL. The experience of working in a different environment with many different programs provided opportunities for growth. Louisville is a wonderful city, and I made great friends. I am proud of the music therapy program that I developed at UofL,and pleased with the music therapy community that grew around it (partly based on my efforts). When I moved from Louisville in 2011, I was proud of the music therapy program.
Professional Activity Before and During Retirement
When I retired (an actual retirement this time, not just the formal retirement that I took when I left Montclair in 2000), I did not plan to do anything else professionally. I wanted to have time for some of the musical, community, and social activities that I had never had time for due to my professional activities and work. I now live at the Jersey Shore, a long-term dream of mine, and do consider myself to not only be retired but to be having a successful retirement. I am involved with many activities for which I did not have time due to all of my professional work earlier in my career.
I often tell people that retirement means different things to different people. For me, it is a joy to have the freedom to choose what to do with my time and energy. I do not have to follow a particular routine (or prepare for regular classes) unless I choose to make a commitment to do so. This is a joy for me!
For several reasons, I did not give up my professional work as I embarked on this new life. In the first few years after I left UofL, I edited two books (Music Therapy Handbook and the third edition of Music Therapy Research, for which I was editor but worked with an invaluable co-editor) and taught as an adjunct at the State University of New York – New Paltz and Molloy College. I taught Foundations of Music Therapy at New Paltz for a couple of years and did some consulting to their program. I had not taught this course in the past, so developing and teaching it provided growth. I taught a research course at Molloy and also supervised thesis students. All of my teaching was in master’s programs. While, of course, I did not get to know the students as well as I had in my full-time positions, I enjoyed the teaching.
My only other experience of “regular” university teaching was at Temple University. I had taught a graduate research course as an adjunct while I was still at UofL. (I flew to Philadelphia a few times in the semester for “intensive” weekends.) In 2023, I was employed by Temple for a year as a Visiting Professor, filling in for a faculty member who was on sabbatical. I taught several courses (again, as intensives, so we met for a few days a few times in the semester) and supervised students doing their master’s projects.
I have had a number of experiences that are educational but not in regular higher education settings. One has been supervising theses and other projects. Much of my work at Molloy College was with students working on their master’s theses, and the work at Temple that I spoke of included supervision of students’ doing master’s projects. One time that I worked closely with a student at the PhD level was as Supervisor of an Individual Learning Area for the PhD in Leadership and Change program at Antioch University. I helped guide Alpha Woodward through her project exploring what had occurred in her work in Bosnia-Herzegovena. This eventually contributed to Alpha’s dissertation, an auto-ethnographic study of her work in Bosnia-Herzegovena.
On a number of occasions, I have given feedback to students who have prepared theses for their institutions. Sometimes, this is as an external examiner for a thesis or dissertation. I have done this for universities on several continents. It is similar to reviewing an article for a journal. In addition to evaluating the work as to its acceptability and level of achievement, I try to give the student feedback that may help for future writing.
I have had ongoing relationships with several institutions in other countries that have led to me being designated as a faculty member. I was Visiting Professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, for a number of years. This has changed and, for the past years, I teach there on an ad hoc basis but maintain close ties with the Academy and its students and faculty.
And I was a Visiting Instructor at the University of Applied Sciences, Würzburg Schweinfurt, Department of Social Studies, Master of Arts in Developmental Music Therapy and Music Therapy with Dementia Patients for a number of years during which I taught for them every other year (generally in person). I still teach students in the courses at Würzburg on a fairly regular basis.
And, although we never formalized the relationship, I have taught on several occasions at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Two pictures here are from a stimulating session with students at the University of the Arts.
And, although we never formalized the relationship, I have taught on several occasions at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Two pictures here are from a stimulating session with students at the University of the Arts.
I have done many presentations on various aspects of music therapy, largely in other countries, over the years. I counted 23 countries in which I have presented. Some of these were part of courses that I was teaching as a guest lecturer, others were presentations aimed at helping those in attendance learn certain skills. At least three of these were ongoing to the degree that I will include them here. They include a course in Lithuania for the Joint Program of Arts Therapy of Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine and Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Unfortunately, this was during Covid and I had to present on-line rather than in person. The others were to Chinese students and professionals. Although I have visited China quite a few times, they were not part of these teaching experiences. The focus of the first semester was a 9-week course sponsored by Serendipity (Beijing): Music Therapy Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. The second was a three-semester course for students at Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The first semester was International Perspectives on Music Therapy, the second was Quantitative Research, and the final semester was Qualitative Research. These were both on-line courses, although the course at Central Conservatory included interaction with and assignments from the students. My presentations are outlined in a separate section of this website, Presentations.
I am grateful to have had these varied teaching experiences. They have allowed me to share what I know—including my opinions—and I hope they have benefited the students.
I am not sure how to categorize it, but I have been a consultant for the Music and Wellness Program, Beijing Easeland Health and Technology Co., Ltd., in Beijing, China, since 2016. This is a group of health spas that cater to people who desire a high level of care, which the owner of the spas perceives as including music. I have had very interesting experiences with this relationship, consulting on work that is different from traditional music therapy that I usually deal with. I include this under teaching because I have done regular in-services with the staff as well as helping the owner and music therapists to understand appropriate (and evidence-based) uses of music in this setting.