Episode 139: Dr. Amy Wilson, Board Certified Music Therapist

Written By Susie Gurley

Dr. Amy Wilson, a music therapist and clinical researcher, shares how music can support healing across behavioral health, hospice, and rehabilitation. Drawing on her experience with people facing grief, trauma, mental illness, and the challenges of stroke recovery, Amy explains how music can offer a meaningful way to express emotions, reconnect with identity, and find hope when life changes unexpectedly.

Amy discusses the connection between music and hope, including the ideas of agency—believing you can take steps toward a goal—and pathways—finding ways to move forward, even when circumstances change. Amy shares how singing, drumming, and songwriting can help people process difficult experiences, regulate emotions, and take part in rehabilitation. She also discusses the importance of making room for lament alongside hope, the role of families and caregivers in recovery, and how music can create connection and comfort at home. The conversation closes with practical encouragement for parents to listen and make music with their children, building shared memories and nurturing connection through everyday moments.

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

Next

Episode 138: Karina Weinstein, Mom and Mental Health Advocate