Terra Merrill

Music Therapy with Adults; Music Therapy in Mental Health

B.M.T., M.M.T., British Columbia Open University;
PhD in progress, Michigan State University
Fellow in the Association for Music and Imagery (Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music)

News and Projects

Terra is the founder and director of The Sound Living Center for Music Therapy and Wellness in Portland, Oregon.

Terra is a board certified music therapist with 18 years of clinical experience in elder care, end of life care, treatment of Parkinson's disease, music psychotherapy and community music therapy.

Completing Ph.D. dissertation: Wise Guides: A portrait of successful mentoring relationships in music therapy (Music Education/Therapy, Michigan State University)

Recent (2006) publication (see below)

Music Therapy Supervision Trainer

Professional Activities

International speaker, presenter and educator (Berlin, Germany; Sandane, Norway; Aalborg, Denmark; Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Canada; Logan Utah)

Chair of Ethics for the Association for Music and Imagery

CMTEs at AMTA conferences in Pasadena and Atlanta

Presenter: World Congress of Music Therapy (Washington DC, 1999)

Publications

Power and Voice in the Institutional Setting: A Journey toward activating a Feminist Music Therapy Approach. In Hadley, S. (2006). Feminist Perspectives in Music Therapy. Barcelona Publishers.

Staying Alive in our Work: A group’s experience in peer supervision. In The Canadian Journal of Music Therapy (1999). Vol. VI, No. 2.

A Beginner’s Mind: Reflections on the Fourth International Symposium on Qualitative Music Therapy Research. In The Nordic Journal of Music Therapy (2002) Vol 11(1).

Publications in review:
Music Therapy, Quality of Life and The Eden Alternative: The resident’s perspective. Qualitative research project submitted to The Nordic Journal of Music Therapy.
Primary Care, Journal of Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association
MMT Thesis: Rise up Singing: A model of consciousness through the therapist's reflections on the improvised music of persons with end stage dementia. Directed by Dr. Carolyn Bereznak Kenny and Dr. Anna Marie Hughes.

Book in progress:
Preliminary Title: Music Therapy Supervision: A Practitioner’s Guide and Workbook. Now in Review.

Professional Associations

American Music Therapy Association

Association for Music and Imagery

Canadian Association for Music Therapy

Former Editor in Chief, Canadian Journal of Music Therapy- 2001-2006