Re-discovering voice: Korean immigrant women in group music therapy

•Examination of gender and culture-specific issues is important in music therapy clinical work.•A culture-specific and feminist music therapy approach was effective in work with older Korean immigrant women.•Benefits of this approach include music therapy as difference-maker and acculturative stress manager.

This article discusses group music therapy work with six older Korean immigrant women residing in New York. The women received weekly group music therapy sessions for a 6-month period. With each client belonging to four major subculture groups (Korean, immigrant, older adults, and women), attention was paid to the impact of subculture on group dynamics and the therapeutic process. Particular focus was placed on the influence of clients’ cultural adjustments, their gender role, the types of gender issues which emerged in sessions, and the clients’ use of music as a medium to increase their awareness of and to work through social–political oppression experienced during their cultural adjustment phase. The effective management of acculturative stress using music was also discussed. Music therapists are advised to take into account specific cultural considerations and the gender roles of their clients to better serve them. Clinical recommendations are further discussed in the article.