Caitlin Bell

Assistant Professor

Affiliated Departments

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Caitlin Bell is a songwriter, performer, educator, board-certified music therapist (MT-BC), and licensed creative arts therapist (LCAT) based in New York City and originally from Atlanta, Georgia. As a musician, she has toured nationally and internationally, performing at venues including the Ryman Auditorium and Hammerstein Ballroom. She is also a writer and collaborator on new music and theatre projects, with work supported by grants from the Cell Theatre and New York Theatre Barn and showcased through the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s New Works Series.

A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and New York University, Bell practices music psychotherapy in New York City. She holds a post-master’s level II certificate in arts and trauma treatment from the Kint Institute and is pursuing postgraduate training in analytical music therapy. Her clinical work integrates creative and trauma-informed approaches, with particular experience supporting individuals impacted by substance use, sexual violence, and PTSD, as well as LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent individuals and young people exploring identity and self-expression.

Bell also serves as New York program director for the Angel Band Project, a nonprofit providing free music therapy services to survivors of sexual violence. She is an assistant professor of music therapy at Berklee College of Music and has guest lectured at institutions including the Juilliard School and the Berklee Music and Health Institute.

In Their Own Words

"I want students to leave my classes with greater confidence in who they are becoming as clinicians and people, while remaining curious, reflective, and open to continued growth. I hope they develop the ability to think critically and creatively, trust their instincts, and recognize that there is rarely one “right” way to be a music therapist or creative individual. Most importantly, I want students to understand how their own identities, experiences, and ways of making music can become meaningful resources in building authentic and responsive therapeutic relationships."

"My professional life has existed at the intersection of music, psychotherapy, and education. I continue to work as both a practicing music psychotherapist and a professional musician, and those experiences deeply inform how I teach. My clinical work allows me to bring current, real-world questions about trauma-informed care, therapeutic relationships, ethics, identity, and clinical decision-making into the classroom. At the same time, my background as a songwriter, performer, and collaborator shapes how I think about creativity, musicianship, vulnerability, and presence. I want students to see that developing as a music therapist is not separate from developing as a musician and a person; each continually informs the others."