Scoring the Journey Part Four: The Facilitator’s Ear — Embodied Listening and Ethical Presence

Facilitating with music involves more than pressing play. It begins with listening: first to oneself, then to the music itself, then to the client's nervous system, and finally to the space between. In psychedelic healing, music becomes an integral part of the therapeutic alliance, shaping how energy moves, emotions are released, and safety is maintained. For neurodivergent participants, whose sensory systems often register the world with greater intensity, this kind of listening is essential. Many also arrive with nervous systems shaped by trauma or chronic stress, where sound and emotion can trigger dysregulation. Awareness of this history enables the facilitator to listen for subtle cues of overwhelm and tailor the sound environment to promote safety.

Across this five-part series, we follow how music moves from philosophy to practice, from the ethics of listening to the sensory and technical craft of sound. The articles explore how playlists can mirror the phases of a journey, how texture and tone support regulation, and how facilitators develop the sensitivity to listen with the whole body. They also walk you through the practical steps of building a playlist from scratch—selecting tracks, organizing your library, and using music apps. Together, the series provides a grounded framework for creating music experiences that cater to neurodivergent nervous systems with clarity, responsiveness, and care.

Developing the Facilitator’s Ear

Attunement begins before the session. Facilitators can practice deep listening by spending time with each playlist track, with eyes closed, and sensing how it lands in their body. Notice breath, posture, and subtle emotional shifts. Some pieces may open the chest or slow the pulse. Others may agitate or fragment attention. This awareness enables facilitators to choose music from an embodied perspective rather than from preference or habit.

Before each session, take a few minutes to regulate your own nervous system through steady breathing or quiet grounding. The facilitator’s body serves as an anchor when intensity rises. During the session, the ear must stay responsive. If the participant’s breathing quickens or their body curls inward, the music may be too activating. The energy may have dropped too low if they appear flat or distant. Adjustments can be minor, such as lowering the volume, fading a track out early, or gradually cueing the next one. The work is one of attunement.

Facilitators can engage in embodied sound practices outside of clinical work to deepen this awareness. Attending sound baths, gong meditations, or sonic ceremonies provides an opportunity to experience how vibration moves through the body in altered or subtle states of consciousness. Listening in these contexts trains sensitivity to the nervous system’s responses—how certain frequencies calm, expand, or tighten the body. Such experiences cultivate the capacity to recognize these shifts in others and to guide music selection from a place of felt experience.

Co-Regulation Through Sound

Every session involves a duet between sound and the nervous system. Music helps guide that dance, while the facilitator’s state sets the rhythm. A calm, attuned presence can steady even the most turbulent moments. When the music intensifies, softening breath and posture models groundedness. This quiet synchrony communicates safety more effectively than any instruction.

For neurodivergent participants who need predictability, consistent cues can be beneficial. Look for rhythms in music that use an even tempo or gradual, smooth changes in timing, and rely on repetition or recognizable melodic or harmonic structures. These qualities can create a sense of orientation and safety for listeners, particularly those who are sensitive to sudden intensity or surprise. Furthermore, brief verbal orientation can help sustain trust. If helpful to the client, softly naming transitions, such as “a shift is coming,” or “the sound may grow stronger,” or using agreed-upon hand signals, allows for informed consent and collaboration without breaking the flow.

Ethical Listening

Ethical listening also applies in facilitation. Facilitators can preview music with clients or discuss the cultural or contextual meaning of tracks before a session, helping to build trust and ensuring that selections feel appropriate and supportive for each individual.

Music carries cultural, historical, and emotional weight. Each composition may hold the imprint of its creator. Ethical listening requires facilitators to consider the origin of a piece, its meaning, and whether its use respects the lineage behind it. Context matters when incorporating indigenous or spiritual music, particularly when it originates from a sacred ceremony, communal chant, or traditional healing practice. Facilitators can approach such material with care, seeking permission where necessary, understanding its intended purpose, and respecting its role in the community from which it originates. 

Silence

Silence can hold as much meaning as sound. Facilitators who are comfortable in quiet invite participants to meet what arises without rushing to fill the space. For neurodivergent listeners, silence may bring rest or, at times, a sense of disconnection. For others, a lack of music may introduce a cacophony of ambient sounds. Discussing what is supportive beforehand allows silence to become a bridge for integration rather than a rupture in care.

Reflective Practice

After the session, reflect on how the music met the person. Which tracks deepened emotion? Which brought contraction or stillness? Over time, these notes help develop an intuition of how sound interacts with different nervous systems.

Inviting feedback from participants adds another layer of learning. Their reflections can reveal sensory and emotional details that may not be visible during the session. Peer reflection and supervision further refine discernment. Sharing experiences with other facilitators exposes unexamined areas and expands musical vocabulary. The more precisely we understand our own responses to sound, the more skillfully we can guide others.

The Living Relationship

Music invites a living relationship between presence, body, and sound. Each session becomes an experiment in listening: through the self, the client’s nervous system, and the music that holds them both. Over time, facilitators learn to trust what the body tells them: when to lean in, soften, and when silence carries the most weight.

Embodied listening is a lifelong practice. The more we apprentice ourselves to sound, whether in ceremony, clinical work, or daily life, the more precisely we can sense its effect on safety and connection. In this way, music ceases to be a backdrop and becomes a shared language of regulation, empathy, and care.

Next: Part Five: Quick Modality Notes — Soundscapes Across Medicines will explore how different psychedelics interact with music and what adaptations support neurodivergent comfort and safety.