How Music Heals What Words Can’t with Ann Koplow (293)
Therapist Uncensored Podcast
Sue Marriott LCSW, CGP & Ann Kelley PhD
4.7 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 17 March 2026
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Some feelings can’t be said – but they can be sung
Ann Koplow shares her journey as a therapist and musician, discussing the healing power of music, her experiences with a rare heart condition, and the importance of authenticity in therapy. She emphasizes the role of shamelessness in creative expression and how songwriting serves as a therapeutic tool for both herself and her clients. The conversation explores the impact of music on mental health, the creation of community through shared experiences, and the necessity of letting go of
shame to embrace one’s true self.
“Every day is a gift. Let go of your shame. Be your authentic self.” – Ann Koplow, LCSW, CGP
About our Guest – Ann Koplow, LCSW, CGP
Ann Koplow is a clinical social worker, certified group therapist, and singer-songwriter who uses psychotherapy and music to help people grow and connect. She facilitates six open-access “Coping and Healing” groups a week at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and is a past president of the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy. She has yet to publish any articles or books about her innovative model for group therapy because she’s better at short-form creations like songs, including “Triggers,” “Everybody’s Somebody’s Asshole,” “Catastrophizing,” “Other People’s Anger,” “Don’t Kill Yourself,” and her protest song “You Don’t Scare Me!” When she shares her songs in her groups, the members appreciate her relatable and accepting messages like “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready” and “It’s Hard to Get Sh*t Done When You’re Scared Sh*tless.” Her patients express concern that she will get too famous and leave the groups behind, but that’s just not going to happen. Her album The Singing Therapist — Live at the Lilypad! and her other songs are available on Spotify, Apple Music, and probably wherever music can be found.
Time Stamps for How Music Heals What Words Can’t with Ann Koplow (293)
05:23 How Ann navigates life living with a heart condition
12:30 Shameless appeals for applause
19:26 Using music in group therapy
26:16 The power of authenticity and relatability in creative expression
31:15 Healing through creative outlets
Resources for How Music Heals What Words Can’t with Ann Koplow (293)
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally – Ann’s blog
Ann’s Youtube Channel – Check out her music
Ann’s Linktree – Find her social media, blogs, Youtube channel and original songs
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Everybody's somebody's asshole |
| 0:07.0 | Everybody's somebody's jerk |
| 0:11.0 | Even if you're great, you're bound to irritate |
| 0:15.0 | Someone when you're driving or at work |
| 0:19.0 | Everybody's somebody's asshole. |
| 0:22.6 | Everybody's somebody's creep. |
| 0:25.6 | Even if you're nice, you needn't wonder twice, you've certainly disturbed somebody's sleep. |
| 0:33.6 | Welcome to Therapist Uncensored. |
| 0:38.3 | Building on decades of professional experience, this podcast tackles neurobiology, modern |
| 0:43.1 | attachment, and more in an honest way that's helpful in healing humans. |
| 0:47.4 | Your session begins now with Dr. Anne Kelly and Sue Marriott. |
| 0:57.7 | Hey, you guys. |
| 1:02.3 | While we know relationships are wonderful, they are also really hard. |
| 1:07.0 | Many of us believe that they shouldn't be, that if we have good connection and good communication, things will just go smoothly. |
| 1:09.5 | But it's really that belief that can make us |
| 1:11.3 | feel stubborn and even more hopeless. So relationships take work. It does for Sue and I. We can make it |
| 1:17.7 | look easy. It's not. And one of the ways is because many of us, we differ. We differ in what activates us, |
| 1:23.4 | what makes us feel threat, the expectation. And it's these differences that are held in our body, |
| 1:28.7 | not our thoughts, and they influence how we talk, how we love, how we fight. So holding that belief, |
| 1:34.7 | if he or she or they could just understand me, if they love me, they do something different, |
| 1:39.8 | is not really true. And we're talking about relationships with your partner, your teenager, |
| 1:45.9 | your mother-in-law. So soon I've created an online course that can help you understand yourself |
... |
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