Contact Information

Biography

Noah Potvin, PhD, LPC, MT-BC is Associate Professor of Music Therapy and Director of the Master of Music Therapy program at Duquesne University. Dr. Potvin has been a board-certified music therapist and licensed professional counselor working in hospice and palliative care for over a decade. Dr. Potvin practices from a resource-oriented approach that is responsive to individuals’ social identities and cultural locations to ensure that patient and caregiver values remain centered in all therapeutic processes. Dr. Potvin's scholarship focuses on positioning music therapy as a core service in integrative hospice and palliative care to ensure patients the greatest degree of access to music therapy services. 

Dr. Potvin routinely publishes and presents nationally and internationally on culturally responsive religious and spiritual practices in end-of-life care; pedagogical approaches for cultivating clinical reflexivity; and clinical decision-making when facilitating healthy death and dying experiences for patients and caregivers. In 2023, Dr. Potvin is publishing through Routledge a co-edited volume of case studies entitled Portraits of Everyday Practice in Music Therapy that focuses on anti-oppressive and justice-oriented music therapy practices. Future scholarship is focusing on liberatory praxes in music therapy in end-of-life care.

Noah currently serves as Associate Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Music Therapy Perspectives, on the Board of Directors for the Certification Board for Music Therapists, and on the editorial board for Arts & Health. 

Education

  • Ph.D., Drexel University
  • M.M., Temple University
  • B.M., Temple University

 

School

Associated Programs

Potvin, N., Bradt, J., & Ghetti, C. (2018). A Theoretical Model of Resource-Oriented Music Therapy with Informal Hospice Caregivers during Pre-Bereavement. Journal of music therapy, 55(1), 27-61.

Potvin, N., Bradt, J., & Kesslick, A. (2015). Expanding perspective on music therapy for symptom management in cancer care. Journal of Music Therapy, 52(1), 135-167.

Potvin, N. (2015). The role of music therapy and ritual drama in transformation during imminent death. Music Therapy Perspectives, 33(1), 53-62.

Bradt, J., Potvin, N., Kesslick, A., Shim, M., Radl, D., Schriver, E., ... & Komarnicky-Kocher, L. T. (2014). The impact of music therapy versus music medicine on psychological outcomes and pain in cancer patients: a mixed methods study. Supportive Care in Cancer, 1-11.

Potvin, N., & Argue, J. (2014). Theoretical considerations of spirit and spirituality in music therapy. Music Therapy Perspectives, 32(2), 118-128

Bradt, J., Dileo, C., & Potvin, N. (2013). Music for stress and anxiety reduction in coronary heart disease patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013(1), 1- 104. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006577.pub3.

Potvin, N. (2013). Spiritual belief as a predictor of theoretical orientation in music therapists. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 22(1), 25-45.

Radford University's Annual Music Therapy Symposium

  • Music Therapy as a Core and Integral Service in Hospice (2016)

World Congress of Music Therapy

  • A Music Therapy Model for Pre-Bereavement Resiliency Development in Informa Hospice Caregivers: A Grounded Theory Study (2017)

American Music Therapy Association - National Conference

  • Survive and Thrive: An Autoethnographic Exploration of New Music Therapy Faculty (2018)
  • A Clinicians' Guide for Interpreting and Applying Research in Evidence-Based Practice (2017)
  • Music, Death, and Mystery: Perspectives on Clinical Practice During Imminent Death (2017)
  • Music Therapy Through the Pre-Bereavement/Bereavement Continuum with Adults, Youths, and Professionals (2015)
  • Music Therapy Goals Can Be Understood Musically, Too (2015)

American Music Therapy Association - Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference

  • Critical Pedagogy: Educational Approaches for Co-Investigating the Dominant Narratives in Music Therapy (2018)
  • Staking a Claim: Positioning Music Therapy as a Primary Service in End-of-Life Care (2018)

Mixed Methods International Research

  • The Impact of Music Therapy Versus Music Medicine on Psychological Outcomes and Pain in Cancer Patients: A Mixed Methods Study (2014)