JB Music Therapy

06/18/2026

🎉 A little milestone we'd love to share with you.

After 35 years of music therapy practice, countless conversations, research projects, and a lot of hard work behind the scenes, we're preparing to launch Wellplayed this September as part of JB Music Therapy's 35th anniversary year.

Wellplayed is a music therapy-informed digital platform designed to help people use music more intentionally for reflection, resilience, and wellbeing.

Today we're opening our first 1,000 Founding Subscriber spots.

Many of you have been following, encouraging, testing, and cheering us on throughout this journey. Thank you. We truly wouldn't be here without you.

If you'd like to be part of this next chapter, Founding Subscribers can pre-order today for $29.95/year (regularly $49.95/year) using the promo code WELLPLAYEDFOUNDER.

https://buy.stripe.com/fZu28r1C39bx4ke28dgrS01

🎧 We'd love to have you join us.

06/11/2026

We are so fortunate to work with the future...our children. As we head into the latter half of June, here's a good reminder from one of the schools we serve: be the "I" in "KIND!"

Music therapy offers students an excellent opportunity to put their interpersonal skills into practice. Playing music in a group requires collaboration, turn-taking, problem-solving, and listening to one another. When all of these things come together, we find cooperation and connection - skills that serve us well both inside and beyond the classroom.

In the photo: Aaron and Emma 🎶❤️

05/29/2026

In a world that often rewards speed, filling space, and having the answer, therapy can feel surprisingly different.

Sometimes the most important thing we offer is a pause.

Perhaps this is something music has been teaching us all along.

Music is not made of sound alone. It is made of sound and silence, movement and pause. The spaces between the notes shape meaning, create anticipation, allow for expression, and give music its flow.

Without the pause, music becomes a wall of sound instead of something that breathes.

The same can be true in therapy.

A pause allows time for processing.
A pause creates space for emotion.
A pause invites choice, initiative, and self-expression.
A pause can be the moment when a person discovers their own voice rather than responding to ours.

In music therapy, silence is not the absence of therapy.

The pause is part of the therapy.

05/25/2026

We are honoured to be nominated for a 2026 Calgary Award 🇨🇦

In 1994, the Calgary Awards were established to recognize the outstanding contributions Calgarians make to the life and future of our city. To be nominated among so many thoughtful, innovative, and community-minded organizations is deeply meaningful to us.

Congratulations to the other nominees, including Innerlogue Therapy & Psychology, Microserve, Resilient Hearts, Sandstone Asset Management, The Arrowhead Live Music & Events Center and Hitman’s Bar, and XhAle Brew Co. It is encouraging to stand alongside organizations helping shape Calgary’s future through innovation, care, creativity, leadership, and community.

The 2026 Calgary Awards recipients will be announced online on June 17, 2026.

Thank you, Calgary, for supporting our work for more than three decades.

04/27/2026

After a serious accident or trauma, people don’t simply “return to normal.”

Instead, they adapt to a new normal—one that can shift from day to day, or even moment to moment. Recovery becomes a process of continuous learning, where adaptability isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

In the midst of that uncertainty, the right supports can make a meaningful difference. Music therapy offers both stability and flexibility, providing grounding when life feels unpredictable while creating space to process emotions, build resilience, and support change.

This story shares how one individual used music therapy to navigate recovery following a spinal cord injury:

A Story of Resilience: Mark’s Journey with Music Therapy:
https://zurl.co/qzJKB

Discover how JB Music Therapy supports ICU patients and families in Calgary with psychosocial support through music therapy, offering comfort, resilience, and evidence-based benefits in critical care settings.

04/23/2026

Just as spring invites fresh starts, our brains and bodies thrive on newness too. Exploring new music—whether it’s a different genre, instrument, or even a new playlist—can boost mood, spark curiosity, and support overall wellbeing. “The brain changes in response to experience—new learning literally helps it rewire.” — Neuroplasticity research

This season, try something new:
🎶 Listen outside your usual favourites
🎶 Learn an instrument or even a new song
🎶 Let music surprise you

Growth doesn’t have to be big to be meaningful. Sometimes, it starts with pressing play on something new.

04/20/2026

No one grows up aspiring to live with addiction.

Yet today, 21% of Canadians (about 6 million people) will meet the criteria for addiction in their lifetime, and nearly 49 million Americans are living with a substance use disorder.

Addiction changes the brain—often leading to cycles of craving, disconnection, and loss of self.

Recovery requires more than medical stabilization. It requires meaningful opportunities to heal, retrain the brain, reset the nervous system, and rebuild connection.

That’s why Berklee College of Music has partnered with Boston Public Health Commission to integrate music therapy across detox, residential, outpatient, and peer-support settings.

This initiative highlights what’s possible when music and health work hand in hand.

Read the full story here: https://zurl.co/0mszW

Berklee College of Music berkleemusictherapy Boston Public Health Commission

04/20/2026

No one grows up aspiring to live with addiction.

Yet today, 21% of Canadians (about 6 million people) will meet the criteria for addiction in their lifetime, and nearly 49 million Americans are living with a substance use disorder.

Addiction changes the brain—often leading to cycles of craving, disconnection, and loss of self.

Recovery requires more than medical stabilization. It requires meaningful opportunities to heal, retrain the brain, and rebuild connection.

That’s why Berklee College of Music has partnered with Boston Public Health Commission to integrate music therapy across detox, residential, outpatient, and peer-support settings.

This initiative highlights what’s possible when music and health work hand in hand.

Read the full story here: https://zurl.co/QNYUw

Berklee College of Music berkleemusictherapy Boston Public Health Commission

04/15/2026

04/15/2026

Here are 4 ways Music Therapy benefits patients in Acute Care ⬇️

1️⃣ MOTIVATION: Music Therapists use the brain's reward response to music to enhance motivation in recovery. Music Therapists may even facilitate co-treatments with other Allied Health disciplines to enhance patient outcomes.

2️⃣ MOOD: Music is linked deeply to our emotions and can provide emotional support during a patient's hospital stay.

3️⃣ MOVEMENT: The body and brain naturally entrain to a consistent beat. Music Therapists can optimize this natural response to increase patient movement and coordination with music.

4️⃣ MEMORY: Music can evoke memories and reminiscence, promoting positivity and relaxation, and improving working memory function during patient recovery.

In November 2025 we were honoured to receive the Health Quality Alberta Patient Experience Award for the important work our team of Music Therapists does every day.