“Dr. Kathleen Howland is, in a single word, brilliant! Not only is she an expert and visionary in her field of music therapy, she brings to a classroom an air of inspiration, excitement, and possibility. She has been teaching An Introduction to Music Therapy and Guided Imagery in our Integrative Healing Arts Academy for nearly seven years and our students always find the class to be helpful in creatively navigating music therapy within healthcare organizations. ”

“It was totally amazing to be in Kathleen’s Music as an Intervention class, to feel the Super High-Energy and to be inspired by her brilliant work. The knowledge she shares is an eye-opener for me and for all other nurse participants of the BirchTree Center for Healthcare Transformation Integrative Healing Arts Academy program. Kathleen has provided a plethora of resources for nurses to deepen their understanding of the evidence based music interventions for pain, sleep, and anxiety. She provides an interactive, personal and memorable experience for all attendees.”

“The program was not what I was expecting, but the outcome was more than I could have ever anticipated. I now have a deeper understanding of music therapy.”

“Kathleen Howland’s presentation on her personal experiences were moving very touching. Thank you!”

“Professor Howland provided an incredible experience despite the fact that the class was remote. This was an extremely memorable course and I will step away from it with an immense amount of knowledge and resources that I can apply throughout my life and career. She was extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the subject and constantly went above and beyond in her teaching and feedback.”

“As much as possible, Dr. Howland made this as wonderful and enjoyable a learning environment as possible given the restriction of the online format. I know she would’ve conducted an even more amazing experience if in person, but nonetheless her efforts and instruction were wonderful!”

“I am incredibly grateful for this class and to have had Dr. Howland as my teacher. It really was a pleasure and an honor. I would love to take more classes with her. Amazing class.”

“This was one of the best classes that I’ve had at Berklee. To be honest, were it not a requirement for my major, I might not have signed up for this class, but I’m glad I did. This course has really had a profound impact on me and the way I think about music. The information that we covered was highly relevant to musical life, personal life, and family life. I also found the work we did involving research and different sources to be an eye opening look at the wealth of information we have with our computers, and not just how to look for the info, but how to look at that info critically. I really appreciated that, while not asking us to do so, Prof. Howland welcomed all of us to make personal connections to the material which, for me both witnessing and experiencing this, really grounded the material and elevated the whole experience. I am also eagerly awaiting Prof. Howland’s book as I feel there was a more “consumer” level data and format in the Powell and Sacks books. (Great books, but are bestsellers and I think meant for broad consumption.) Not that I’m asking for a dense text book but having all the different bits and pieces organized together in one book would be nice and the way and order in which we covered the material in class provided a better foundation for the material than is laid out in either book. This foundation also helped with the resonance of the material as, to the best of a music student’s ability, I had a fuller understanding of the basic principles of the more complex topics we covered later in the semester. Everyone should take this course!”

“I think this was a great class compared all others. I felt connected to my classmates and the professor built a sense of community. The class work was reasonable which enabled us to learn better.”

“I’ve always really enjoyed Dr. Howland’s classes. She was able to successfully transition the class to virtual learning and I learned a lot this semester that is sure to support my work in my internship and professional career.”

“Kathleen is extremely kind and empathetic. Even through Zoom, I could feel that she truly cares about her students and their wellbeing. She has such a big hart and it’s very apparent when she teaches. She was so flexible this semester. The only thing I would say is that the syllabus is a little bit confusing with the dates, but that is easily fixable.”

“Professor Howland is an example of what all professors should strive to be. She is kind, caring, fair, understanding and brilliant! I have thoroughly enjoyed her presence during this difficult semester, and her empathy with students is unmatched. Inspiring and creative with her sharing of knowledge! Always kept us interested in what we were learning next! Highly recommend!”

“This course is amazing! In my opinion, every student at Berklee should be required to take it. The material covered is invaluable to our understanding of music and how integral it is to the human experience. Dr. Howland is a wellspring of knowledge and is 100% committed to helping her students grow as scholars, musicians, and individuals. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and felt as if it adapted well to the remote learning.”

“Kathleen created the best online learning space I have had during quarantine. Her passion for the subject was transmitted to us all and her class always had such a great aura. Kathleen was the only teacher of mine that gave me in-time class to get to know my peers properly (and that made all the difference).”

“One of the highlight classes of my time at Berklee. Kathleen is wonderful, brilliant and kind. She clearly cares about each and every student and values our mental health over unreasonably tough grading. I learned so much and would recommend her to everyone.”

“Always put us (students) as a first priority. I was never worried about workload. The course was really helpful in learning how to explain the aspects of music therapy and how to advocate. When I met a neurologist at work, I was able to talk about music therapy in the language he knew, and able to advocate music therapy as a serious profession thanks to what I learned in this class.”

“ Best professor in the music therapy department at Berklee.”