Music therapy in mental health
During my practicum at Arizona State University in Tempe, I worked at a rehabilitation (for drugs and alcohol) site where I prepared music therapy interventions for people who were transitioning from prisons or rehabilitation back into the world. This is a population or setting where music therapy is not as common. I found it to be a fun and rewarding experience. One of the unique things I found rewarding about this setting was that I could tell the difference in the client’s responses from the start of the session and the end of the session. Music was a success oriented and nonverbal way for the clients to express themselves in a way that they might normally have not responded without music.
In my internship, we went to work at a site with teens who were going through rehabilitation as well. I have learned from my practicum experience to be present with everyone in the room and address their thoughts and feelings as we provide them with knowledge, music, and skills to help them along in their journey. This applies to all realms of music therapy, but treatment is a collaborative process that involves therapists across different practices, friends and family, and caretakers. It’s important for everyone to be on the same page or at least open to the idea of helping their client improve and get better.
In my experience working with groups of many ages, there may be people who will be engaged with the group and the interventions/activities presented, people who will be adamantly opposed to doing the activity, and people who are somewhere in between who respond but don’t want to delve deeper. It may seem like we’re always looking for the first type of people in groups, however, all clients are valid in their actions and responses. Healing is not a linear process, and it is important to meet the client where they’re at. They may not feel comfortable or ready to express their feelings on certain topics and it is important that we honor those feelings and show our appreciation for them to even be in a group.
In the chapter of The New Music Therapist’s Handbook (2nd edition) about the different types of music therapy, psychoanalytic music therapy caught my eye. I spent a good deal of time asking other music therapy students, teachers, and other music therapists about it. I asked how often they would use it in a session. I got sparse answers. I think it was mainly due to the fact that although we may address psychosocial factors such as MPC (music psychosocial counseling) in NMT (neurologic music therapy) techniques, psychoanalytic music therapy is not our main focus in most interventions. However, in the mental health setting, music therapists delve into different types of psychotherapy such as DBT (dialectical behavior therapy)
DBT is a form of psychotherapy that can be used to treat disorders ranging from substance abuse to mood disorders. More info can be found here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/dialectical-behavior-therapy
DBT can be used to help manage thoughts and emotions, learn coping skills, and build skill sets for handling future interactions.
In a typical hour session we might do a song share or build a playlist to help clients find ways to cope. We might engage in drum circles to work on our self expression and non-verbal communication. We might do some mindfulness exercises to work on grounding and staying present. There are so many options and opportunities to engage with groups that the only thing limiting a session is your own thoughts and creativity. The essential thing to remember is to set an intention for your group. What are we learning about today? What is the outcome we are striving for? Is it to learn coping skills? Is it expressing ourselves creatively? The theme or subject is important so that the rest of your session can be structured effectively and one activity can flow into the other. It’s also important so the clients understand what they are learning and how it can be applied to their daily lives.
Mental health can be a difficult topic or subject especially within the context of music therapy. However music therapy has the ability to meet the needs of many different populations. One study noted by Rebecchini in 2021 showed the benefits of music therapy not only on the physiological aspects of the participants but also allowed the creation of non-invasive techniques through music therapy that would help treat various disorders (Rebecchini 2021). From my experience so far with mental health in music therapy, there is much opportunity for growth and help as we continue to serve this population.
With a deep breath and an exhale,
Eric Amparo, Music Therapy intern
Sources:
Hanser, S. B., & Hanser, S. B. (1999). The new music therapist’s handbook (2nd ed., completely updated and rev.). Berklee Press.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy. (n.d.). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/dialectical-behavior-therapy
Rebecchini L. (2021). Music, mental health, and immunity. Brain, behavior, & immunity – health, 18, 100374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100374
