Natalie Wlodarczyk

Natalie Wlodarczyk, Ph.D., MT-BC is Professor and Director of Music Therapy at Drury University where she has taught since 2010. She is a board-certified music therapist and active clinician with expertise in the areas of hospice, grief and loss, intergenerational programming, and mental health settings. Dr. Wlodarczyk is certified in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) music therapy for premature infants, provides music therapy services in the NICU at Cox Medical Center South in Springfield, MO, and lends her background in end-of-life care to the National Institute for Infant & Child Medical Music Therapy to train music therapists in techniques and interventions to support families whose premature infants are not expected to survive. She is the founder and director of the Drury Intergenerational Rock Band, pairing college students with older adult members of the community to rehearse and perform a program of popular music while improving cross-age attitudes and promoting positive views of aging. Additionally, she has provided weekly music therapy sessions at Synergy Recover Center for women in addiction recovery since 2015. Dr. Wlodarczyk is a regular presenter at both national and regional conferences on a variety of topics, has published research articles in the Journal of Music Therapy, Music Therapy Perspectives, and Progress in Palliative Care, has authored several book chapters on hospice music therapy, and is co-author of the text Music Therapy and Geriatric Populations: A Handbook for Practicing Music Therapists and Healthcare Professionals. Dr. Wlodarczyk has served as Chair of the Exam Committee of the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT), Chair of the CBMT Board of Directors, and currently serves on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal Music Therapy Perspectives.

Drury University faculty member since 2010
Professor since 2022