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Dr. Hiller's years of experiences as a clinician, educator and supervisor, and decades as a performing musician, are elements that enriched his teaching, scholarship, workshop facilitation and conference presentations. Dr. Hiller's clinical experience included work with children, adolescents, adults and older adults with mental health and substance use challenges, individuals with intellectual, developmental and neurological challenges and persons diagnosed with forms of dementia and complications of aging. Dr. Hiller’s clinical work tended toward "active" music therapy methods with particular expertise in clinical music improvisation-based methods.

Dr. Hiller’s scholarship included publications in textbooks and professional journals, and he was a regular presenter and workshop facilitator at international, national, regional and state music therapy conferences. Publications and presentations included such topics as clinical music improvisation assessment and treatment approaches, theoretical foundations of music therapy, intersections and implications of music and emotions in therapy, designing and facilitating song-based music therapy methods, phenomenological song listening and interpretation and music therapy education and training.

Research interests

• Clinical music improvisation
• Song-based music therapy methods
• Theories supporting music therapy practice
• Music therapy education and training pedagogy
• The intersections and implications of music and human emotions
• Music-based supervision approaches

Selected publications

Gardstrom, S. C., & Hiller, J. (2022). Improvisational methods of music therapy. Barcelona Publishers.

Gardstrom, S. C., Hiller, J., Heiderscheit, A., & Jackson, N. A. (2021). Music therapy education and training: Support for a Methods-based approach. Music Therapy Perspectives, miab026. https://doi-org.libproxy.udayton.edu/10.1093/mtp/miab026 

Hiller, J., Belt, C., Gardstrom, S. C., & Willenbrink-Conte, J. (2021). Safeguarding curricular self-experiences in undergraduate music therapy education and training. Music Therapy Perspectives 39(1), 86–94. 

Hiller, J. (2020) The impact of singing engagement on food intake of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias: A multi-site, repeated measures study. VOICES: World Forum for Music Therapy, 20(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v20i2.2869

Hiller, J. (2019). Music therapist's preparation for song discussion: Meaning-making with the music. Music Therapy Perspectives, 37(2), 205–212.  https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miz005 

Hiller, J. (2019). Supervision in the field. In M. Forinash, (Ed.), Supervision in Music Therapy, (2nd ed.), (pp. 141–156). Barcelona Publishers.

Hiller, J. M., Gardstrom, S. C. (2019). Warning: Music therapy comes with risks. Oxford University Press Blog Site, Oxford University Press. https://blog.oup.com/2019/03/warning-music-therapy-risks/    

Hiller, J. & Gardstrom, S. (2018). The selection of music experiences in music therapy. Music Therapy Perspectives, 36(1), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miy001  

Hiller, J. (2018). James Hiller: Autobiographical account of my evolution as a music therapist. In J. Mahoney (Ed.), Lives of prominent music therapists, Volume II. Barcelona Publishers.

Gardstrom, S. & Hiller, J. (2017) Resistances in group music therapy with women and men with substance use disorders. Voices: A world forum for music therapy.

Hiller, J. (2016). Epistemological foundations of objectivist and interpretivist research. In B. Wheeler & K. Murphy (Eds.), Introduction to music therapy research. Dallas, TX: Barcelona Publishers. [A 20-chapter introductory eBook.]

Hiller, J. (2016). Epistemological foundations of objectivist and interpretivist research. In B. Wheeler & K. Murphy (Eds.), Music therapy research, 3^rd edition (pp. 99–117). Dallas, TX: Barcelona Publishers. [A 68-chapter compendium on music therapy research.]

Hiller, J. (2014). Aesthetic foundations of music therapy: Emotion and music. In B. Wheeler (Ed.), Music therapy handbook (pp. 29–39). NY: Guilford Press.

Hiller, J. (2012). Implications of embodied cognition and schema theory for discerning potential meanings of improvised rhythm (pp. 580-616). In K. Bruscia (Ed.), Readings on music therapy theory (Reading #22, eBook). Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.

McHugh, L., Gardstrom, S., Hiller, J., Brewer, M., & Diestelkamp, W. (2012). The effects of pre-meal, vocal re-creative music therapy on nutritional intake of residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Music Therapy Perspectives, 30(1), 32-42.

Gardstrom, S., Hiller, J. (2010). Song discussion as music psychotherapy. Music Therapy Perspectives, 28(2), 147–156.

Hiller, J. (2009). Use of and instruction in clinical improvisation. Music Therapy Perspectives, 27(1), 25-32.