vanessa hale, mt-bc, ryt-200  

(She/They)

Board-Certified Music Therapist

Ages I Work With:  Teens and Adults

I’m Passionate About Working With:

  • Groups in community and clinical settings such as inpatient and outpatient mental health programs, peer support centers, and recovery centers

  • Individuals who have experienced trauma, are going through life transitions, or are navigating being with challenging times

  • Folks in the LGBTQIA2+ community

  • People who are curious about how they can better care for themselves and their mental health

  • People who are interested in learning how to express themselves and better understand themselves through reconnecting with their innate creativity

Specialized Training and Expertise

  • 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher

i believe…

  • Music can carry us through difficult times and help us build healthy and vulnerable connections with others

  • We are all born with creativity and it is in our most ancient human nature to navigate life through music, art, and movement

  • That it is my role to trust and honor the innate wisdom of every human, following the lead of whomever I am working with, and acting as a witness and creative collaborator to explore their values and personal wellness aspirations

  • In reducing the stigma against mental health struggles by being open about my personal experience living with mental health challenges and neurodivergence

  • In building resilient and interdependent communities

  • There are no wrong answers, and no good or bad art, in music therapy. All parts of us are welcome, including our unique expressions

  • We all have within us a profound capacity for change, growth, and healing

  • We are all born free, and we are all worthy of safety, care, and autonomy regardless of dis/ability

IN MY SESSIONs I LIKE TO:

  • Find ways to make music and art as accessible and engaging as possible for folks of all ages, abilities, identities, and stages of life

  • Honor and make space for a client’s full, authentic self, including the intersecting and fluctuating identities we all bring to the session

  • Provide trauma, racial, and disability justice informed care to the best of my ability, while actively learning how to do better, because we cannot fully open ourselves to healing when we are being subjected to discrimination and re-traumatization

  • Incorporate yoga and movement to ground into the present moment and support building a stronger and healthier mind-body connection

  • Emphasize autonomy by offering choices and opportunities for improvisation, going with the flow of the client or group’s changing needs

Vanessa, a white person with brown hair in a buzzcut, is pictured in a green long-sleeve shirt while smiling at the camera. Their hands are folded in front of them.

  • Hello! My name is Vanessa and I am a board-certified music therapist at The Sonatina Center. I am white, I use she/they pronouns, and I identify as non-binary and a woman. I am able-bodied and neurodivergent, and I live in New Hampshire on unceded Penacook and Wabanaki land.

    I graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2020 with a degree in Music Therapy and a minor in Psychology. I obtained my 200-hour yoga teacher training certification in July 2021, and completed my music therapy internship here at The Sonatina Center in June 2022. I was hired to stay on the team as a music therapist, and have been developing my practice here since then!

    In sessions I bring a client-centered and community music therapy based approach, and I work collaboratively with participants to integrate elements of music, art, creative writing, mindfulness, and movement to the process. Throughout my life I have used music intuitively to express myself, process emotions and events, and find safety in my body and in the present moment. Humans have connected with music through sharing stories, expressing emotions, and bringing together stronger communities for thousands of years, and I feel it is a part of our nature to connect with music in these ways. I aim to reduce mental health stigmas by being open about my own experiences and facilitating spaces where anyone can come and create together, regardless of mental health status.

    Outside of my work as a therapist, I enjoy practicing yoga, hiking, writing songs, dancing, and being with my friends and community. I love being with nature and learning about people, and I am always singing.

  • MT-BC: Board-Certified Music Therapist

    RYT-200: Registered Yoga Teacher (200-Hours)

  • Music has a way into our hearts that can barely be described, only experienced. Supporting folks through their own internal processes and bringing people together through music, movement, vulnerable expression, and creative arts is one of my greatest joys in life. I gravitate towards a client-centered approach to therapy, where participants can lead the way towards their own healing. I bring a mixture of music, art, movement, and creative writing to music therapy sessions, and I love guiding community drum circles. I am continuously amazed and inspired by the power of music to shift emotional states, to connect people of a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and identities, and to help us find meaning in our life experiences. I enjoy allowing the music to guide the session, staying curious, and improvising our way through whatever arises.