Sangeeta Swamy

Sangeeta Swamy is an Associate Professor and Academic Co-Chair of the Integral Counseling Psychology Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). A queer Indian American educator and board-certified music therapist, she specializes in culturally responsive pedagogy, transpersonal psychology, and the intersection of music therapy with Indigenous and spiritual frameworks.

• Education: B.M. in Violin Performance (Oberlin College), M.M. in Violin Performance (Cleveland Institute of Music), M.A. in Transpersonal Psychology with Music Therapy concentration (Naropa University), Ph.D. in Expressive Arts Therapies (Lesley University)

Her research focuses on acculturative stress, intersectional identities, and the cultural unconscious in therapy. She developed the first Culturally Centered Music and Imagery (CCMI) framework for minoritized clients and is a Level III trainee in Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), a method rooted in psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Key Contributions: Queering spiritual pedagogy, integrating shamanism and Vipassana meditation (since 1999) into therapeutic practices, and advocating for Indigenous research methodologies. She has received grants like the National Endowment for the Arts-funded Arts Corps Grant and the Tanglewood Music Center Fellowship.

• Keynote Engagements: 'Music Therapy in the Global Age,' 'Cultivating Mind-Body-Spirit,' and 'Power of Lived Experience' lectures
• Leadership: Co-Chair of Integral Counseling Program; private practice in music therapy and integrative psychotherapy