SarahRose Black
Adjunct Professor
Education
- PhD, University of Toronto
- MMus, Wilfird Laurier University
- MA, University of Toronto
- BMus, University of Toronto
Biography
Dr. SarahRose Black PhD RP MTA is a certified music therapist and registered psychotherapist, specializing in palliative care and psychosocial oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and her private psychotherapy clinic (Whole Note Psychotherapy) in Toronto, Ontario. She is a pianist, vocalist, and music health educator, and has performed, taught, and presented on her clinical work and research across Canada. SarahRose specializes in educating health care providers in the use of music as a tool for optimal wellness. She has presented at conferences, arts-based workshops and medical education events throughout the country.
In 2020, her doctoral research on music therapy and medically assisted dying earned her a collaborative specialization in palliative and end-of-life care through the Institute for Life Course and Aging. In 2019, SarahRose and Dr. Andrew Ascenzo founded Pulse Music, a collaboration which explores the intersections between the performing arts and music therapy through storytelling and performance. Together, they have performed with the Canadian Opera Company, Xenia Concerts, the Gryphon Trio, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Public Library, Google Canada, Pocket Concerts, Concerts in Care, and the Room 217 Foundation.
As founder and coordinator of the inaugural music therapy programs at both the cancer centre and Kensington Hospice, SarahRose has introduced models of music psychotherapy for patients with varying diagnoses and psychosocial needs, across varying ages and stages of treatment. SarahRose has published on music and health care, music therapy, as well as oncology, palliative and end of life care in a number of peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, MacLean's Magazine, and the Cancer Knowledge Network. Her music therapy specializations include improvisation and songwriting, and her clinical work has been featured on Global TV, Wholenote Magazine, and the West End Phoenix. She is an academic graduate supervisor at Wilfrid Laurier University, an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, and the former Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Music Therapy.