Music Therapy Faculty: Alan Turry
| Alan Turry Managing Director, Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy BA - New York University MA - New York University DA - New York University MT-BC NRMT LCAT |
Alan Turry has earned his Bachelor's, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Music Therapy from New York University. He is the Managing Director of the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy as well as researcher, senior clinician, level III trainer/educator and supervisor for advanced trainees and therapists. As Managing Director, Dr. Turry oversees the day to day functioning of the Center, which includes a wide range of administrative, research, clinical and educational responsibilities. He is the Clinical Director and directs the training and research components of the Center.
Dr. Turry has a wide range of experiences as a music therapist, working since 1981 at facilities such as Metropolitan Hospital and Bellevue Hospital, both in New York City. Formerly the Supervising Music Therapist and Coordinator of Student Training, Activity Therapies Department at Bellevue, his practice there included improvisational music therapy groups on several in-patient units including the adolescent unit and the prison unit, groups for higher functioning outpatients, emotionally disturbed adolescents, and adults in psychiatric care.
In 1990, he participated in the first training course at the Nordoff-Robbins Center, joining the clinical staff at that time, working with a range of clients including children on the autistic spectrum and children and adults with physical disabilities. Dr. Turry is the first certified instructor of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. In addition to his work overseeing the training at the Center, he develops course work and teaches clinical improvisation in the NYU Graduate Music Therapy Program.
Dr. Turry has taught and presented his work internationally. He is an annual visiting lecturer at the Nordoff-Robbins Centre in London, and a visiting professor at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana, the University of Lisbon in Portugal and Senzoku College, Japan. He has helped to develop the Nordoff-Robbins supervision program in Japan, the Nordoff-Robbins clinical program in Korea, and has led workshops on clinical improvisation in Denmark, Greece, Poland, Ireland and Italy. He was also a keynote speaker at the 8th World Congress of Music Therapy in Hamburg in 1996. Dr. Turry is recognized for his innovative contributions to the Nordoff-Robbins approach. These include the utilization of contemporary idioms, his use of improvisation and improvised songs in group music therapy, as well as pioneering work with self-referred adults integrating music psychotherapy and community music therapy practice. His expertise utilizing guitar has allowed the Nordoff-Robbins training to include therapists whose primary instrument is guitar. He has been a guest lecturer at many university training programs, including Anna Maria College, Berklee College of Music, and Lesley University. Aspects of his approach are detailed in a number of publications including Transference and Countertransference in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy from The Dynamics of Music Psychotherapy (Kenneth E. Bruscia, Ed.) and The Use of Improvised Song for Children and Adults with Cancer in the text Music Therapy and Medicine (Cheryl Dileo, Ed.).
Dr Turry was the driving force behind the successful Steinhardt Challenge Art & Culture Grant awarded to the Center. Titled “Understanding How Music Can Change Lives, Developing Outcomes Research Competency at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy,” the award supports a pilot study to determine the effectiveness of instruments and develop protocols at the Center that will lead to more substantial research projects down the line. This is a historic achievement in the history of the Center as it is the first time the Center has received funds specifically for a research project.
Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions - 35 W. 4th Street, Suite 777 - New York, NY 10012 - (212) 998-5424
NYU Steinhardt - Music and Performing Arts Professions - 35 W. 4th Street, Suite 777, New York, NY 10012