Barbara Ashton is the director of music therapy. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in music from the University of Arizona, Tucson, and did her music therapy training at Arizona State University in Tempe.
Ashton’s primary focus in music therapy is mental health, trauma-informed care, and chemical dependency. She has worked extensively with adolescent, adult, forensic, military, and women-identified populations. Ashton has also worked with children with developmental delays, adults with disabilities, and older adults with dementia.
Additionally, Ashton has been a massage therapist since 2003. Prior to her training in music therapy, she worked in human services at a domestic violence shelter and a community welfare program. Ashton has taught at a massage therapy school and has also given several workshops and guest lectures on music therapy. She loves to incorporate drumming, singing, and group songwriting into her sessions, which focus on cognitive-behavioral, resource-oriented, and improvisational perspectives.
She is currently working on a doctorate at Temple University, where her dissertation focuses on clinical improvisation to explore clients’ experiences of weight stigma. Her overall approach to music therapy is transpersonal and community-centered, and she uses a variety of clinical and pedagogical perspectives to help meet clients’ and students’ goals.
Her hobbies include yoga, reading, cooking/baking, meditation, spending time with her husband and dog, and watching Netflix.
