Celebrate Joy as Therapy this June!

Each June, Pride Month and Juneteenth are celebrated throughout America. Both LGBTQ+ and black communities (and of course those with these intersecting identities) remember major milestones during June. Music Therapy can be a powerful medium to celebrate joy as a disruption of oppression and celebrate joy as an act of resilience.

Pride month for the LGBTQ+ community is in June to remember the major uprising against the harassment and violence of LGBT people that occurred at New York's The Stonewall Inn in June 1969. This was a major catalyst for the civil rights of gay, lesbian, and trans people. They would protest every day, and then by night they would dance - actively transforming their experiences into liberation.

On June 19th, Juneteenth is celebrated in Black communities to commemorate the end of legal slavery. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on September 22, 1862, it took two and a half years for the information to spread to all of the states. Slave owners would intentionally neglect to abide by the law and continued abusing their power to force people into labor. June 19th, 1865 marks the day that the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally learned of their freedom. Music is an important element for many when celebrating this National Holiday.

Expressing joy and celebration of community and identity through music, dance, art, and culture are significant in Pride Month and Juneteenth. There is a certain freedom and joy that can only be expressed through active expression of art. I believe this expression is vital for the liberation of all people everywhere. I can't single-handedly, as one music therapist, change everything wrong with the world, but I can provide an opportunity to disrupt hate and negativity in my community and the communities I serve through joy in Music Therapy sessions.

As music therapists, we know firsthand the power of music. Everybody can benefit from learning how to celebrate and be proud as a way to disrupt and resist oppressive systems. This is a mindset used within Feminist Philosophy of Music Therapy.

Here are some ways you can intentionally bring in music to promote joy and liberation as therapy even beyond June:

Music Listening

• Check out this Juneteenth Playlist on YouTube

  • Dance and sing to these songs in sessions!

  • Discuss the lyrics and significant themes in the music

  • Share information about Juneteenth

  • Facilitate a lyric analysis for one of the songs or do a lyric rewrite to explore current themes affecting clients' lives

LGBTQ Alphabet from Power Dynamics

• Check out our Power Dynamics album in the Dynamic Lynks shop

• Use the song and worksheets for the "LGBTQ+ Alphabet" to explore identity with clients who are expressing a desire to learn about this topic or to express themselves.

Songwriting Prompts

Use these songwriting prompts to explore these themes of joy and liberation. (These were created in collaboration with my Music Therapy colleague April Hickey for a recent conference presentation.)

• What am I proud of?

• What would you change about our world?

• What do you wish people around you could understand better?

• What do you want people in power to hear?

• What do you love about yourself or being different?

• What does speaking up for yourself sound like?

• What does speaking up for others sound like?

• “I want ….”  “I need…..” “We need…” “We can….”

And the most important tool is to remember to have fun and make music. Happy Pride and Liberation to all, all year long!

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