Healing Through Harmony: How Music Therapy and Nourishing Minds Tutoring Transform Learning and Life
When Tracey Puckhaber first saw a feature about music therapy as a teenager, she was instantly captivated. “I was sixteen, sitting at a bar with my parents, and this special came on about music therapy,” she recalled. “There was this woman leading children around with tambourines, and I said to my parents, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
Decades later, Tracey is now a Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) with a Masters of Science from Molloy University. She brings that same spark of inspiration to her work with Nourishing Minds Tutoring, an organization dedicated to supporting children and young adults through personalized academic and emotional support.
From Tutoring to Therapy: The Nourishing Minds Approach
Founded with a mission to serve students from preschool through college, Nourishing Minds Tutoring provides both in-person and virtual educational support. The team partners with local school districts to help students who may be unable to attend school due to medical, behavioral, or emotional challenges.
For Tracey, who joined the organization in early 2024, the work is deeply meaningful. As Nourishing Minds’ resident music therapist and business development representative, she wears many hats — helping with student onboarding and outreach while using music to reach children in ways traditional instruction often can’t.
“What I love about Nourishing Minds is that it’s flexible,” she said. “We work with students wherever they are — at home, in libraries, even virtually when needed. It’s about meeting the child where they are, literally and emotionally.”
What Is Music Therapy?
Despite its growing recognition, music therapy remains somewhat misunderstood. Tracey is quick to clarify:
“Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional,” she explained. “If you don’t have that MT-BC after your name, it’s not true music therapy.”
The science behind it is solid. Music activates multiple regions of the brain, connecting language, movement, emotion, and memory in ways few other modalities can. Through rhythm, melody, and guided participation, music therapists help clients develop communication, coordination, focus, and emotional regulation.
Tracey’s sessions are never one-size-fits-all. “With little ones, I might sing books or use familiar songs like The Wheels on the Bus to encourage speech, coordination, and identification of body parts,” she said. “With teens, we might use lyric analysis — taking apart songs they love to help them explore their emotions and experiences.”
Why It Works: The Brain on Music
When asked why music is so effective, Tracey smiles knowingly.
“Can you name anyone who doesn’t like music?” she said. “There’s just something about it that sparks a connection in the brain. It changes how we think and feel.”
In practice, that connection can have profound results. From helping toddlers find their voice to assisting teens in processing complex emotions, music therapy builds bridges between the emotional and cognitive parts of the brain.
For children with speech delays, music therapy offers a unique path forward — one that feels less clinical and more joyful. “We might use movement songs to assess their gait or fine motor skills, or leave pauses in familiar tunes to encourage them to fill in the missing word or sound,” Tracey said. “Over time, it builds language, confidence, and trust.”
The Many Faces of Music Therapy
Tracey’s work spans generations and needs — from children with developmental delays to adults with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
“I’ve done music therapy in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools,” she said. “It helps with everything from emotional regulation to breathing patterns in NICUs. I even made playlists for different stages of labor when I was pregnant — that’s music therapy, too.”
Her passion is rooted in presence and empathy. “We have to be ‘on’ all the time,” she noted. “Kids pick up on everything — your energy, your attention. You can’t fake being present.”
Finding Her Voice — and Helping Others Find Theirs
Tracey’s relationship with music began young. Her grandmother played piano, and those early melodies became the foundation for a lifelong love of the art. After studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and later earning her master’s degree, she built a career that marries creativity with compassion.
When she and her husband relocated from Long Island to upstate New York, Tracey discovered Nourishing Minds and instantly found her home. “We moved up here to do something completely different,” she said. “Then I met Chris and Lauren, and found this opportunity. I’m so thankful for everything.”
Music Therapy: A Universal Language
In a world where education and healthcare often focus on standardized methods, Tracey’s work reminds us of something simple yet profound: music is a universal language.
“I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t respond to music in some way,” she said. “It connects us, it heals us, and it gives people — especially children — another way to be heard.”
At Nourishing Minds Tutoring, that belief resonates in every note. Through the therapeutic power of song, rhythm, and connection, Tracey Puckhaber helps her clients not only learn but thrive.
To learn more about Nourishing Minds Tutoring and its music therapy programs, visit nourishingmindstutoring.com.