Hi! I'm Sam Christie. I'm a board-certified music therapist currently living in Pennsylvania and practicing in Doylestown, PA as well as across USA virtually.

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Here's the important stuff:
Locating Myself:
I'm a white cis male, and carry privilege as a result. I continuously work to acknowledge that privilege in all the work that I do. I work to use that privilege to dismantle oppressive systems/practices in any workplace I've been in.
Through my own mental health journey, I've had experience navigating various systems (insurance, medical, therapy, etc) and working through what a diagnosis means, feels like, and what it can add to or takeaway from to someone's experience.
I've been a musician since adolescence, and in hindsight have been using music as a coping tool since I was a teenager. I also am a father and husband.

Positionality:
In locating myself as a white cis male, I acknowledge the privilege that brings and work to use it to dismantle oppressive systems and practices. 
I am in support of... movements, causes, and organizations that work for the true liberation of marginalized/oppressed groups and communities and work toward equity for them, including but not limited to: the Black/African American Communities (Black Lives Matter movement), Women's Rights movements, LGBTQIA+ communities and related organizations, AAPI communities, neurodivergent communities, autistic communities, and disabled communities (including those with invisible disabilities).
I believe that... all bodies are good bodies and all minds are good minds, and that systems and the world at large need to adapt to the multitude of bodies, minds, genders, and identities that people hold, and that folks should not have to conform or change who they are to meet the needs of systems or society at large.
I work continuously to... make sure I am practicing and living in a way that is as anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-ableist as possible, even if that makes me uncomfortable, even if I mess up sometimes and get called out/called in, and even if that means I need to speak truth to power.
I believe that... power and liberation should be "bottom-up" (people decide what they need, and what's good for those who are marginalized is good for society at large) focused and not "top-down" (people in charge decide what is good for everyone) focused, and believe that diversity and equity create strength and beauty and not division or weakness.
I believe that... therapy is inherently political, because the systems that we live in can affirm or deny our agency based on any number of attributes, and these systems are greatly influenced by politics, and these systems also often dictate what types of care certain folks can receive and for what price etc.
I denounce and condemn any organization, movement, or cause that seeks to oppress or marginalize people, even if that organization, movement, or cause says they aren't actually oppressive, or even if they try to justify their oppressive actions. 

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What does all this mean?
This means... I have equity-based pricing for folks with marginalized identities.

This means...I don't see myself as the "expert" in other folks' lived experience. You are the expert in your own lived experience. 
This means in the future, I hope to... hold community events that represent ideals of music therapy/anti-oppressive practice to marginalized groups/communities.

This means... I am affirming of any marginalized/oppressed group and am neurodivergent- and gender-affirming in the way that I practice.
This means... I won't try to force someone who is neurodivergent to "be more neurotypical", won't force someone gender-expansive into a gender binary. 
This means... I am against and do not use "functioning labels" in my practice.
This means... I bring myself as a human to sessions, and while I have certain boundaries as a therapist, I am a human first. 
This means... I work to create a safe and liberatory space for folks to work through what they need to.

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My Story

I'm a board certified music therapist living in Pennsylvania, and originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia. I came to music therapy as a second career. I also have a B.S. in Information Science from Penn State and worked for about 7 years doing Facebook marketing for startup apps. I have played in bands, written and recorded my own songs/lyrics/etc, and been involved in local music scenes since I was a teenager, and this drives a lot of what I hope to help folks with using music therapy; to be the mental health advocate/partner/therapist/collaborator that I wish I had and that all music communities had when I was younger. 

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Core values of practice:

The core values that underpin the work I do are:

Liberation

Accessibility

Community

Equity

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To learn more about what these mean, visit the Core Values page