Barbara L. Wheeler, PhD, is a Board-Certified Music Therapist and a Neurologic Music Therapy Fellow. She is a Professor and Director at the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, where she established the music therapy program in 2000 (http://louisville.edu/music/therapy). She is also a University of Louisville Scholar. She was previously on the faculty of Montclair State University, NJ, from where she is now Professor Emerita.
Dr. Wheeler has been active in music therapy since 1969, and her clinical work has been with children and adults with a variety of problems. Her clinical work in Louisville has been in several hospitals and with people with cancer and neurological problems. She most recently directed the Susan G. Komen Music Therapy Initiative at the Brown Cancer Center (funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure).
Dr. Wheeler edited Music Therapy Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives (1995) and Music Therapy Research, 2nd Edition (2005), both of which have been recognized internationally for their ground-breaking contributions to music therapy research. She also coauthored, with Carol Shultis and Donna Polen, Clinical Training Guide for the Student Music Therapist (2005). She has written a number of articles and chapters on music therapy and done research using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Recent research topics include the effects of music therapy on people with brain injuries, the music therapist’s experience of pleasure in working with children, aspects of music therapy practicum experiences, effects of music on emotion, and the influence of culture on music therapists’ practice and teaching.
Dr. Wheeler is active in national and international music therapy organizations and is President of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA; www.musictherapy.org). She was previously Chair of the Commission on Education and Training of the World Federation for Music Therapy. She received the AMTA 1999 Publication and Research Award and the 2005 Southeastern Region–AMTA Service Award.
Dr. Wheeler serves on several journal editorial and advisory boards including, in addition to the International Journal of Integrative Oncology, the Journal of Music Therapy (American Music Therapy Association), and Music and Medicine: An Interdisciplinary Journal (International Association for Music and Medicine). She is Interview Co-Editor and editorial board member for Voices: An International Forum for Music Therapy (www.voices.no). She has been a keynote speaker at conferences in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America. She has been external examiner for music therapy programs in Ireland and Australia and is on the PhD Board for the program at Aalborg University in Denmark.