Yael Shapiro (Gavronsky) is a registered music therapist with over 20 years of experience, offering music therapy, experiential music workshops and music-based organisational wellness, in person in South Africa and online worldwide.
HPCSA registered · MMus (Music Therapy) · B.A Psych (Honours)
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Depending on the service and setting, I work with children, adolescents, adults and older adults, as well as organisations and groups.
Music therapy uses music within a therapeutic relationship to support emotional expression, communication, connection and wellbeing. Sessions are tailored to each person’s needs and may involve singing, playing instruments, listening to music, songwriting or exploring music together.
Experiential music workshops use the power of music to encourage creativity, self-expression, connection and shared experiences. Through activities such as group drumming, songwriting, music listening and lyric exploration, participants can engage with music in meaningful and accessible ways.
Workshops can be tailored for children, teenagers, young adults, older adults and diverse groups, with content shaped around the needs and goals of the participants. They can be offered in a range of settings, including schools, community groups, care facilities and other organisations.
Online music-based team building, virtual corporate wellness workshops and music-based workplace wellbeing, in South Africa and internationally.
I offer interactive, music-based wellness experiences for organisations and teams, both online and in person. Through activities such as group drumming, songwriting, lyric exploration and music listening, participants can explore teamwork, communication, connection and wellbeing in creative and engaging ways.
Workshops can focus on finding balance, recognising our own pace and the pace of others, navigating the demands of busy work environments, and discovering how we can work better together. Each experience is tailored to the needs and goals of the organisation.
Yael Shapiro (Gavronsky) is a registered Music Therapist with over 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents and adults. She serves on the executive board of the South African National Arts Therapies Association (SANATA) and previously worked as Director of Teen and Tween Programming at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, a well-established nonprofit organisation on New York City’s Upper West Side.
With a background in music therapy and psychology, Yael brings extensive clinical and community experience to her work, using music to support expression, connection and wellbeing across a range of settings.
Her clinical experience includes mental health, rehabilitation, paediatric settings, special needs and work with older adults. She holds a Master’s in Music Therapy from the University of Pretoria and a psychology honours degree from the University at Albany in New York, and is registered with the HPCSA.
Music Therapy is an established health care profession in which clinically informed music and musical interventions are used by a qualified music therapist within a therapeutic relationship that develops through shared musical experiences, to optimize quality of life.
Music Therapy is used in medical, educational, rehabilitative and everyday environments to address physical, emotional, cognitive, communicative, spiritual and social needs of individuals, groups and communities.
To practise legally in South Africa, a music therapist needs at least a 2-year Master's Degree including a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised clinical work, and has to be registered with the HPCSA as an Arts Therapist.
Send me a message and I will respond as soon as I can, or email me at yaelmusictherapy@gmail.com.
Yael Gavronsky, Music Therapist · Practice no. 0678163 · HPCSA AT0001279