09/25/2025
What does a day in the life of a private practice music therapist look like? The life of a music therapist can vary widely based on what populations they work with and the setting, so come along with us to learn about what a day in the life of one of our music therapists, Micaela Garcia, MT-BC, can look like!
Mica likes to start her day in our resource closet, finding tools to use during her sessions. She knows her clients well, which helps her pick out her clients’ favourite books, items, and activities to use within sessions.
Most of Mica’s day is spent actively in session, using all kinds of instruments! Since most of Mica’s clients have a mental health focus, Mica facilitates emotional processing, autonomy/self-advocacy, and other goals through songwriting, lyric analysis, and active music making.
Some clients prefer digital music to live instruments, so Mica often uses Garage Band or Logic, programs where clients can work towards non-musical goals that are important to them using music creation as the medium.
At Resonate, we believe that sensory needs always come first. This can look like engaging actively with clients in sensory-focused play, often facilitated musically. Mica often finds herself exploring these activities with her clients and finding new items and ways to meet their individual sensory needs, whether that’s meeting vestibular needs with a swing, playing with toys with various textures for tactile input, or climbing through this padded sensory tunnel for proprioceptive and vestibular input!
There are a LOT of behind-the-scenes tasks for a music therapist, including paperwork (assessments, daily notes, progress reports), earning new client preferred songs, coordination of care, and all the daily tasks that come with being an employee. Taking a moment for a cup of tea and a breath while knocking out admin tasks is helpful!
