Sessions in Mumbai & online · Mon–Sat
Rutvikk Trivedi Clinical Music Therapist
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Practising in Mumbai

Music therapy for
the ward and the bedside stress, grief and anxiety non-musical goals

I'm a clinical music therapist trained at the Chennai School of Music Therapy, with six months of full-time hospital work in oncology, ICU, daycare chemotherapy and palliative care. I work with individuals, families, groups and institutions — at the bedside, in the classroom and in the boardroom.

Book a session What is music therapy?
PGDMTChennai School
of Music Therapy
BA (Hons)Music, Middlesex
University London
IAMMTRegistered member,
medical music therapy
6 monthsFull-time hospital
internship, VHS Chennai
20–25 min The length of a bedside session — short, consented, and built around the patient's own music.
Trained & worked with

My practice starts from a simple position: music reaches people where words have stopped working. That is as true of a man on his fourth round of chemotherapy as it is of a room full of people who have not made a sound together in years. The work is slow, consented, and built around the person's own music — never mine.

Rutvikk Trivedi with the instruments used in clinical music therapy training
About

Trained in the ward,
not just the classroom

I hold a postgraduate diploma in music therapy from the Chennai School of Music Therapy and a BA (Hons) in Music from Middlesex University, London. My clinical training was a six-month full-time in-hospital internship with the CanCare Foundation at VHS Hospital, Chennai — working across oncology wards, the ICU, daycare chemotherapy and palliative care, alongside oncologists, nursing staff and palliative specialists.

I'm a registered member of the Indian Association of Medical Music Therapists (IAMMT). Before clinical practice I spent a decade in music itself — performing internationally as a DJ and producing under my own name — which is why my sessions lean on live, responsive musicianship rather than a playlist.

Individuals Families Groups Communities Bedside & in-hospital Clinics & care homes Schools Corporates Online sessions
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How a session works

Consent first, then music

A bedside session is short and deliberately structured. Nothing starts until the patient says yes.

Step 01

Read the file

I review the patient's notes and check with the nurse on duty about condition, mood and anything to avoid that day.

Step 02

Introduce and ask

I introduce myself, ask how they're feeling, explain briefly what music therapy is, and ask whether they'd like a 20–25 minute session.

Step 03

Find their music

If it's a yes, we start with what they listen to. Their music, their language, their memories — not mine.

Step 04

Play, then document

Live singing and instruments at the bedside, adapted in real time, followed by written notes back to the care team.

Sessions run 20–25 minutes because that is what a person in active treatment can comfortably hold. Live music at the bedside is quiet enough that neighbouring patients are rarely disturbed — and often ask to be next.

The basics

What is music therapy?

It is not a performance, and it is not background music. It's the clinical use of musical experiences to reach goals that aren't musical at all.

The World Federation of Music Therapy describes it as the professional use of music and its elements in medical, educational and everyday settings — with people who want to improve their physical, emotional, social, cognitive and spiritual wellbeing.

World Federation of Music Therapy

The American Music Therapy Association frames it as evidence-based musical intervention, delivered inside a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional, working towards goals set individually for each client.

American Music Therapy Association

In short: musical experiences, for non-musical goals — pain, breath, memory, movement, mood, and the ability to feel like yourself again while you're being treated.

My approach

The methods I work with

No two people need the same thing. These are the recognised methods I draw on, chosen against the goal we've set — not against my own taste in music.

Neurologic

Neurologic Music Therapy

Standardised, research-backed techniques that use rhythm and melody to work on movement, speech, attention and memory. Used most in stroke recovery, Parkinson's, dementia and post-surgical rehabilitation.

Receptive

Guided Imagery & Music

Deep listening in a relaxed state, with the images and memories that surface becoming the material we talk through afterwards. Useful for anxiety, grief and long treatment stretches where a person needs somewhere to put what they're carrying.

Active

Live music making & improvisation

Singing and playing together, with me adapting in real time to breath, energy and mood. No musical ability required from you — the point is participation, not performance.

Rhythm

Rhythmic entrainment & drum circles

The body syncs to a steady external pulse. Used one-to-one for breath and pain, and in groups for stress release, energy and getting a room of strangers working as one.

Verbal

Songwriting & lyric analysis

Writing a song, or unpacking one that already matters to someone. A way into feelings that are hard to state directly — particularly with adolescents, and in legacy work at end of life.

Vocal

Toning & sustained vocal work

Long held tones for breath control, vagal calming and grounding. Quiet enough for a bedside, and effective for people too unwell or too guarded to sing.

Services

Where the work happens

Every engagement starts with an assessment, becomes a written plan with goals, and is reviewed with whoever else is caring for the person — doctors, nurses, teachers, family, HR.

Clinical

Hospitals & care settings
  • Bedside sessions in oncology & ICU
  • Palliative and end-of-life care
  • Geriatric and dementia care
  • De-addiction and recovery groups
  • Support & caregiver groups

Educational

Schools & families
  • Special-needs and inclusion support
  • Focus, regulation & exam stress
  • Group sessions for classrooms
  • Individual sessions for children
  • Parent and family sessions

Corporate

Teams & workplaces
  • Drum circles for large groups
  • Sound baths & guided relaxation
  • Workshops, seminars & webinars
  • Monthly wellness retainers
  • Leadership offsites
Who I work with

Benefits and populations

  • Reduces stress, anxiety and low mood
  • Helps manage pain perception
  • Supports steadier breathing
  • Helps regulate pulse and blood pressure
  • Improves sleep quality
  • Supports memory and cognition
  • Preserves speech and language skills
  • Improves focus and attention
  • Increases motivation and confidence
  • Supports movement, gait and coordination
  • Improves tolerance of long treatments
  • Opens up communication when words are hard
  • Helps process grief and loss
  • Restores a sense of agency and control
  • Reconnects people to memory and identity

Everyday wellbeing

  • Chronic stress and burnout
  • Anxiety
  • Low mood
  • Sleep difficulty
  • Self-awareness and regulation

Chronic & serious illness

  • Cancer, during and after treatment
  • Palliative and end-of-life care
  • Pain management
  • Dialysis and long infusions
  • Procedural and pre-surgical support

Neuro & rehabilitation

  • Dementia
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Post-stroke recovery
  • Post-surgical and post-cardiac care
  • Motor coordination and gait

Children & development

  • Autism spectrum
  • Learning differences
  • Attention and focus
  • Speech and communication
  • Exam and academic pressure

Older adults

  • Isolation and loneliness
  • Cognitive decline
  • Reminiscence and identity
  • Group programming in care homes
  • Mobility and engagement

Around the patient

  • Family members and caregivers
  • Grief and bereavement
  • Nursing and hospital staff
  • Support and care groups
  • Corporate teams and leadership
Workshops

Group sessions your team will
actually turn up for

Standalone, experiential workshops for organisations, schools and groups. Clinically grounded, entirely non-musical in their goals, and requiring zero musical ability from anyone in the room. Every one is customised to your group size, space and objective.

25 minutes · The Pulse

Music for wellbeing

  • Mood check-in, before and after
  • Body percussion and shared rhythm
  • Immediate stress relief
  • The neuroscience of why it works
  • Fits inside a normal meeting slot
Who it's forTeams, offsites, conference breakouts, wellness days
60–90 minutes

Drum circle

  • Group rhythm for stress release
  • Non-verbal team cohesion
  • Energy and focus reset
  • 20–200 participants
  • All instruments provided
Who it's forLarge teams, annual days, schools, community groups
60 minutes

Sound bath & guided relaxation

  • Deep reset for burnout
  • Breath and nervous-system regulation
  • Guided imagery with live sound
  • Up to 40 participants
  • Seated or lying down
Who it's forLeadership teams, high-pressure functions, caregivers
120 minutes

Music in the classroom — for educators

  • The science of music and attention
  • Rhythm to settle and focus a room
  • Lyric work for emotional literacy
  • Songwriting for self-expression
  • Practical takeaways, not theory
Who it's forTeachers, school counsellors, parents, shadow teachers
90 minutes

Music therapy for special needs — for caregivers

  • What the evidence supports, and what it doesn't
  • Music to build attention span
  • Melody and speech development
  • Sound for anxiety and hyperactivity
  • Simple routines you can run at home
Who it's forParents, special educators, speech and occupational therapists
Ongoing

Monthly wellness programme

  • Recurring sessions on a retainer
  • Themed around stress, focus, connection
  • Mood tracking across the programme
  • Same facilitator every month
  • Reporting for your HR or CSR team
Who it's forCompanies, hospitals, NGOs, care homes
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It changed my mindset and gave me confidence. The rhythms left my mind peaceful — and honestly, it meant a lot emotionally. 10 out of 10.
— Client, individual sessions, 2026
FAQ

Questions people ask first

Do I need to be musical?
No. You don't need to sing, play, read music or have any training at all. Music therapy uses musical experiences to reach non-musical goals — nothing you do in a session is judged as a performance.
How is this different from seeing a therapist or counsellor?
A psychotherapist or counsellor works primarily through talking. I'm a clinical music therapist — I work through music, and music is often the way in when talking is difficult, exhausting or not possible. I don't diagnose, and I don't provide psychotherapy. Where someone needs that, I'll say so and work alongside their psychologist or psychiatrist rather than replace them.
How long is a session?
Bedside and in-hospital sessions run 20–25 minutes, which is what most people in active treatment can comfortably hold. Individual sessions outside a hospital setting run 45–60 minutes. Group workshops run 25 to 120 minutes depending on the format.
How many sessions will it take?
Music therapy isn't a one-shot fix. Some goals — pain and anxiety during a procedure, for instance — shift inside a single session. Others, like mood, communication or rehabilitation goals, need a consistent course. After an initial assessment I'll tell you what I think is realistic, including if I think it isn't the right fit.
Where do sessions happen?
At the bedside in hospitals and hospices, in care homes, in schools, at your workplace, or online. For individual work in Mumbai I travel to you where the setting allows.
Can you work with someone who is very unwell or non-verbal?
Yes. A great deal of my hospital work has been with people who are exhausted, sedated, in pain or unable to speak. Sessions are adapted to what the person can take part in that day — sometimes that is listening and breathing, nothing more.
How do we start?
Send a message with a few lines about who the session is for. We'll have a short call, then an initial assessment session where we set goals together. Everything after that is built on that plan and reviewed as we go.
Contact

Book an appointment

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