On the 27th of May 2023, we held our first face-to-face ‘We are Monster’ meeting. We had been connecting with each other on the ‘We Are Monster’ online platform and sharing information and stories that impact music therapists of colour and it became clear that doing this in person was much-needed.

Making space for ourselves

It was a full and fulfilling day of speaking honestly, being witnesses, and holding space for all of our diverse experiences as music therapists of colour. We were a mixture of long qualified therapists, those still in training, and everything in between. Through all the different stages, the accounts of microaggressions, pain and hurt caused by being subjected to insensitive presumptions or clear cases of racism linked us together, further highlighting the need for change. Having others to share some of those experiences with, without needing to censor ourselves or consider the white gaze was liberating and perhaps a new experience for some in the group. The freedom to be ourselves amongst each other also created space for authenticity and joy. This experience of genuine empathy and compassion, of sharing a lived language that does not need to be translated, is an experience that needs to exist in far more spaces. In this group and in this meeting, we created one for music therapy, a space for us! – the first of its kind. We know this is something to celebrate and cherish.