Shelly R. Zeiser, MA, MT-BC

Shelly R. Zeiser, MA, MT-BC is an assistant professor of music therapy and the clinical coordinator at Pacific University. She received her MA from the University of Iowa and BM from University of the Pacific and is pursuing a PhD in Education and Leadership from Pacific University. Prior to working at Pacific, she served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Iowa.

Zeiser’s clinical background includes music therapy with diverse populations in hospitals, schools, residential facilities, and community settings. Zeiser worked at Melodic Connections, a music therapy non-profit in the greater Cincinnati area, where she provided music therapy services to children and adults with disabilities, youth with emotional-behavioral disorders and trauma histories, and older adults. She developed and oversaw the Service Learning Program, creating volunteer and paid opportunities in the music industry for adults with development disabilities. While receiving her masters, Zeiser simultaneously provided music therapy services at The University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics in child psychiatry and the neonatal intensive care unit and developed a new program with the Iowa City Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, providing clinical services and conducting research in person and via telehealth with veterans in palliative care. She currently provides music therapy services on an as-needed basis at Cedar Hills Psychiatric Hospital.

Zeiser has provided clinical supervision for undergraduate, master’s, and equivalency students from beginning practicum through internship level and places a strong focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in her supervising and teaching. She consulted for West Music - Music Therapy Services regarding inclusion for religious minorities in digital content, supervised music therapy students in cross-cultural contexts through the Jamaica Field Service Project, and served as a community emissary through Partnership2Gether in Netanya, Israel. Zeiser also regularly volunteered as a member of the Oakdale Community Choir (half of its members are incarcerated individuals), engaging in music and social justice advocacy around mass incarceration. 

Zeiser maintains active scholarship through publications, presentations, and guest lectures. Her research interests include equity within the music therapy profession, reciprocity of community partnerships for student practica placements, the use of research designs that support clinical music therapy research and the inclusion of undergraduate students in research activities.

Publications:

Zeiser, S. R. (2022). Quality improvement evaluation of a veterans’ palliative care telehealth music therapy program. Music Therapy Perspectives. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miac017

Zeiser, S. R. (2021). Book reviews: “Creative DBT activities using music: Interventions for enhancing engagement and effectiveness in therapy,” by Deborah Spiegel with Suzanne Makary and Lauren Bonavitacola. Music Therapy Perspectives, 39(2). 216-217.

Hsiao, F., Zeiser, S. R., Nuss, D., & Hatschek, K. (2017). Developing effective academic accommodations in higher education: A collaborative decision-making process. International Journal of Music Education, 35(4). 1-15. 10.1177/0255761417729545

Weick, C. W., Costigan, S. J., Cunningham, L. J., & Zeiser, S. R. (2015). Setting the standard for challenge: Teaching English in Dimen, China. Honors in Practice, 11, 113-131.