Dr. Rebecca West (she/her/hers) joined TWU in 2020-21 as a Music Therapy faculty at TWU and has been a board-certified music therapist since 2007. West has worked with a wide range of individuals including autistic children and children with developmental or intellectual disabilities; adolescents from limited resource communities or histories of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation; adults recovering from stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury; and adults with Parkinson’s Disease or Alzheimer’s Disease.
West is the author of: “Critical Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Music Therapy Curriculum: A Grounded Theory Study of Music Therapy Educators” (2023); and the co-author of: “Individualized Education Program Team Members’ Perceptions of Music Therapy: An Interpretivist Investigation” (2021); “Social Skills Instruments for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis” (2020); “A Music Therapy Feasibility Study with Adults on a Hospital Neuroscience Unit: Investigating Service User Technique Choices and Immediate Effects on Mood and Pain” (Arts in Psychotherapy, 2019), “Experiences of Music Therapy Students Working as Camp Counselors for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Thematic Analysis” (Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 2018), and Music Therapy Social Skills Assessment and Documentation Manual: Clinical Guidelines for Group Work with Children and Adolescents (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2014).
West has delivered oral and paper presentations on music therapy and creative arts therapy at international, regional, and national conferences. She currently serves on the Mind Well Committee at TWU, the Public Affairs Committee at TWU, and is the American Music Therapy Association Southwestern Region President-Elect. Dr. West also serves on the editorial board for the journal Music Therapy Perspectives.