March 6, 2026
In recognition of March as Music Therapy Month, Marcel Fisette, Manager of Communications at St.Amant, sat down with Courtney Kuhl-Schlegel and Jessica LaRonde, both Music Therapists at St.Amant, to discuss how the organization’s music therapy program enriches the lives of the people we support and why music can be such a powerful therapeutic tool.
Marcel Fisette:
To start, can you each introduce yourselves, your role at St.Amant, and how long you’ve been part of the music therapy team? Courtney, we’ll start with you.
Courtney Kuhl-Schlegel:
I’m Courtney Kuhl-Schlegel, and I’m a Music Therapist here at St.Amant. I’ve been working here for about two and a half years. During that time, I’ve supported most of the areas where music therapy is involved at St.Amant, and currently I work primarily within Health and Transition Services.
Marcel Fisette:
Thank you. Jessica?
Jessica LaRonde:
I’m Jessica LaRonde, and I’ve been a Music Therapist at St.Amant since 2023. I had a short break in between because I recently had a baby.
Marcel Fisette:
Oh wow! Congratulations!
Jessica LaRonde:
Thank you. I primarily provide services in the St.Amant Community School, as well as Health and Transition Services and the Stabilization Unit.
MF: For people who may not be familiar with music therapy, how would you describe what it is and how it supports the people we serve at St.Amant? Jessica, we’ll start with you.
JL: Music therapy is an evidence-based practice that uses music and its elements to address non-musical goals. These goals can span a wide range of areas, including cognitive health, communication, self-regulation, and social-emotional development.
It is also an evidence-based practice in which certified music therapists (MTAs) use music and its elements to address non-musical goals.
In the Community School, a lot of our focus is on communication and self-regulation. All goals are individualized based on the person or group we’re working with.
MF: Courtney, would you like to add to that?
CKS: That’s a great overview. Another important part of music therapy at St.Amant is collaboration. We work closely with interdisciplinary team members such as speech-language pathologists, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists.
Music therapy can be a very motivating way for people to work toward goals they may also be addressing in other programs. For example, someone learning to use a new communication device might be motivated to use it to choose songs, which helps them explore the device in a meaningful way.
It’s also important to know that music therapy is about both the music and the therapeutic relationship. We’re not music educators and we don’t provide music lessons. What we do is build meaningful relationships with the people we support.
For some adults in Health and Transition Services, music therapy may be one of the few recreational or relational opportunities that feels accessible to them. In those cases, music therapy offers connection, individualized attention, and joy.
MF: Can you share a moment or example where music therapy has made a noticeable difference in someone’s communication, emotional well-being, or daily life?
CKS: This is a challenging question, not because these moments are rare, but because they happen so often. Music therapy is very process-based, and sometimes the most meaningful outcomes happen outside of our sessions.
Our goal is for skills practiced in music therapy to transfer into daily life. When we see someone using a communication strategy or a regulation tool we worked on during a session in their classroom or during a difficult moment, that’s when we get really excited. That’s when we see transformation taking place.
JL: I agree. For me, it’s seeing those skills show up in everyday life. Watching someone apply what we’ve practiced in a real-world context is really powerful. Those are the magic moments.
MF: How do you tailor music therapy sessions to meet the unique needs, abilities, and preferences of each person you support?
JL: That’s really the foundation of music therapy. Our training focuses on finding unique ways to connect with each individual. We use a wide range of therapeutic techniques, and we also have access to many instruments, props, books, and adapted instruments.
For example, some instruments can be adapted to work with switches. If someone has mobility challenges but wants to play an instrument, we might collaborate with occupational therapy to make that possible. We also use instruments that respond to movement, such as rocking instruments that create sound through motion.
CKS: Another key difference between music therapists and performers or music educators is how attuned we are to the people we support. In the first few sessions, we spend a lot of time observing how someone responds to different sounds and activities, and learning their preferences.
Some people respond best to a gentle approach, while others love intensity and strong rhythms. Even when two people have very similar goals on paper, the way we work toward those goals can look completely different.
We’re also a clinical service, so we spend a lot of time assessing, observing, and creating treatment plans, often in collaboration with other clinicians and, whenever possible, family members and support people.
MF: During Music Therapy Month, what do you hope staff, families, and the community better understand about the power of music therapy and its impact?
CKS: One thing I’d really like to emphasize is the collaborative and holistic nature of music therapy. There’s so much flexibility and potential in what we can do, and we’re always looking for new ways to support people.
Many people recognize music’s role in emotional well-being and connection, which is a huge part of our work. But music therapy can also support physical rehabilitation, communication, spiritual health, and social interaction. We want families and clinicians to know that we’re here as part of their team.
JL: I’d add that music therapy is very much about the process. It’s about being present in the moment, fostering connection, and creating meaningful experiences. While we do work toward goals, it’s not about producing something, it’s about the experience itself.
Music therapy is for everyone, and we want as many people as possible to feel invited into that experience.
MF: It’s clear how passionate you both are about this work and how impactful the program is. Thank you so much for sharing your time and insights.
CKS: Thank you.
JL: Thanks very much.
