Founder/CEO
 

Ian Wilkerson is a Board Certified Music Therapist and 3rd Generation Reichian Breathwork Coach, originating from a family of healers in the Bay Area of California. He has a Bachelor’s of Music with dual majors in Music Therapy and Songwriting from Berklee College of Music, and has refined his musical skills through 25+ years of extensive study, practice and performance as well as over 16 years of Private Practice as a Music Therapist. As a person-centered therapy provider, he encourages creativity, self-expression and self-empowerment with his clients.

Ian is the son of a Reichian therapist, which has heavily influenced his holistic perspective and allowed him to seamlessly integrate breathwork into his music therapy sessions when appropriate. He also enjoys helping people find their own unique and empowered voices through improvisation and therapeutic songwriting. His principle instruments are guitar and voice, though he also incorporates bass guitar, piano, drums and other instruments into much of the work he does in both 1:1 and group sessions. He provides music therapy and instruction to individuals of all ages, and tailors every session based on client abilities, preferences, and needs.

He has a broad spectrum of experiences within his professional life, including work in: Breathwork, Life Coaching, Wellness, Music Education, Neuro-Rehabilitation/Brain Injuries, Psychiatric, Pediatric, Geriatric, Children & Adults with Special Needs, PTSD in Veterans, Skilled Nursing/Hospice, Teen Treatment, and Team Building.

 

Ian has a special talent in working with teens and adults in Breathwork and holding space for their emotional release, as well as in music therapy with kids who have Autism & those with special needs, and has seen great success within these particular populations. To date, he has helped serve over 1,000 clients and has completed over 14,000 clinical hours.

Along with being a skilled breathwork practitioner & music therapist, Ian is a passionate singer/songwriter and guitar player, and has been recording and performing original compositions for years. He has released 6 commercial albums as a recording artist, performed over 800 live concerts as a guitarist and singer, and founded the bands Infinite Frequency and most recently, FLOW. To this day he still actively pursues his love for art, songwriting, producing, and creating meaningful original music, which can heard at www.ianfranklinmusic.com.

 

Ian also enjoys being in nature, homesteading, building community, and spending time with his wife, 2 children and 2 dogs.

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Education & Experience:

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• Expanded the Center for Healing and Expression in 2016, and founded Bay Area Music Therapy in 2011

• Bachelors of Music with dual majors in Music Therapy and Songwriting from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA

• Current member of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)

• Sat as President of the Board for the New England Region Music Therapy Association for Students

• Worked as a therapist while completing a series of five practicum and an extensive internship at the Community Music Center of Boston

• Faculty Music Therapist at the Community Music Center in San Francisco from 2012-2016, and the Music Therapy Coordinator from 2016-2017

• Trained REMO HealthRHYTHMS Facilitator, which involves training in team building, group drum facilitation, and teen treatment

• Received training in Neurologic Music Therapy from The Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University