Rick Soshensky, M.A. MT-BC, NRMT, CBIS
Rick Soshensky Chosen by Therapy Times as One of the Most Influential Professionals in the Therapy Field
"The 2008 Therapy Times most influential therapists have one thing in common: an unbridled passion for therapy and an unquenched dedication to the highest quality of patient care possible. Therapy Times is proud to present this year’s list of clinicians, researchers, and leaders who have demonstrated the drive, character, and integrity deserving of the title, “Most Influential.”
Rick Soshensky has been a practicing music therapist with children, adolescents and adults with diverse diagnoses since 1992. He received his Masters Degree from New York University and went on to, pioneer guitar techniques and theory at the world-renowned, primarily piano-based Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy.
Rick is the author of numerous professional publications as well as a sought-after lecturer on music therapy topics. His work has been featured nationally in print media, on radio, and on professional websites. He was selected by Therapy Times Magazine for their 2008-09 list of "Most Influential Therapists in the Field" and was awarded the New York State Health Facilities Association Innovative Practice Award in 2007.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my website. I am very lucky to have spent my entire professional life doing what I love best;
making music.
For me, being a Music Therapist is to practice a contemporary art and science based on age-old tradition. For most of human history, music was essential to the communication and sense of connection within a tribe or village. Music was deeply integrated into the rituals, ceremonies, and celebrations that related to the deepest needs of the community. Music Therapy, as I approach it, honors this lineage. I believe that by participating in musical activity restored to a context more worthy of its essence, we are uplifted.
Miraculous experiences transpire
I began my career as a singer-songwriter in New York City, making recordings, playing at area clubs and hitting the road with various groups, including the “World’s Greatest Party Band,” The Lester Lanin Orchestra, with which I had the opportunity to perform at such celebrated events as The Royal Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Ball at Windsor Castle and Malcolm Forbes’ so-called “Party of the Century.”
Always, I felt the calling to bring music to people in life's most difficult situations and would volunteer or sometimes be hired to play in hospitals, institutions, shelters and the like. One couldn't help but notice the striking effects. People who were morose and isolated became joyful and related. People who couldn't communicate at all due to dementia or some other profound condition, could sing! Sometimes staff would come from all over the facility to witness a client do something amazing that no one had ever seen him or her do. I became acutely aware of what I had intuitively known all my life:
Music is a much bigger phenomenon than simply a medium of entertainment.
This ultimately led to me to the field of Music Therapy and I plunged into completing my Master’s Degree at New York University. A few years later, I was offered a scholarship to study at the world-renowned, primarily piano-based, Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy. I was deeply honored to have this opportunity to explore and pioneer guitar techniques in music therapy as only the third person in Nordoff-Robbins history to utilize guitar as the primary instrument in post-master’s certification training.
My orientation within the field would be termed 'music-centered' - that is, therapy contained within, or intrinsic to active musical experiences. As such, a primary focus of my work is in helping clients become comfortable with their own creative and spontaneous expression. In music, people routinely perform beyond themselves. They break out of non-productive habits, limiting self-perceptions and often make progress with long-standing barriers related to medical, neurological, or psychological conditions. There are explanations for this - physical, neurological and spiritual - but the essential point is this:
Within music
People discover not who they are or were
But who they can be
It has been my privilege to witness countless examples of this - Non-verbal children with autism finding ways to communicate and speak - People dealing with mental illness becoming more organized and related - Individuals suffering from depression releasing a lifetime's worth of grief - Victims of profound injury and disability discovering renewed purpose and sense of identity. My case-in-point stories can go on and on but don't get me started...
Music therapy clients need not have, and generally do not have any previous musical experience but together over time, we build up a common musical language, a repertoire, a rapport.
I support community endeavors.
As we've all heard - music is the universal language. It brings people together from all sides of life and helps them communicate, appreciate and understand each other. If desired and appropriate for the client, I utilize recording sessions and public or taped performance.
We put on shows, make CD's, and produce videos. As individuals dealing with challenges project their voices proudly into the world, and along the way, develop confidence, skills, self-acceptance and a sense of community through ongoing opportunities to play, compose and share music -
We are all healed.
