Music provides a non-verbal way to process emotions and explore our reactions to ourself and the world around us. Music can support and validate our emotions and provide an appropriate outlet for feelings of joy, sadness, anger, and grief.

At Infinity, we have experience working with children and adults diagnosed with a variety of mental health issues in individual, group, and family settings. We have experience working with teenagers in in-patient drug and alcohol rehab, children in foster care, adults in post-correctional settings, children and adults identified as sex-offenders, individuals who are survivors of trauma and domestic abuse, individuals with high anxiety and depression, and the list goes on. We utilize a customized approach to provide each of our clients with tailored music therapy interventions according to their musical preferences and learning style. Services are available in our clinics as well as in homes,  school programs, treatment facilities, correctional institutions, and many other settings.

A 10-week study was conducted with individuals with mental health disorders in their community. Ten, 60-minute music therapy sesions were implemented using singing interventions, song-writing, improvisation, and group song recordings. The individuals receiving services stated that music therapy gave them joy, pleasure, and they believed that working together was beneficial. They stated they were pleasantly surprised by their own creativity and they took pride in the song they wrote. Data revealed an improvement in the quality of life and social anxiety. Song-writing was observed to unify group members. (Grocke et. al., 2009)

Another study compared music therapy psychoeducation and traditional psychoeducation in the group setting. Participants in the music therapy group had slightly higher mean scores compared with the control group in the areas of helpfulness, enjoyment, satisfaction with life, and psychoeducational knowledge. The participants were observed to engage verbally in the music therapy sessions more than the psychoeducation sessions. In addition, statements made during music therapy treatment were observed to be more self-reflective when compared to the traditional psychotherapy session. Attendance was overall higher in the music therapy session which may be due to higher client satisfaction and enjoyment in their participation. (Silverman, 2009)

Children ages 8-12 with anxiety disorders particpated in a combination of music therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. A control group received “treatment as usual”. The children who received music therapy had higher rates of remission that persisted for the four months until the final follow-up session of the study. (Goldbeck and Ellerkamp, 2012)

Individuals living with schizophrenia participated in a study to examine the effects of music on relaxation and insomnia. The individuals who received music intervention improved in their sleep latency and sleep efficiency. In addition, the individuals who received music at bedtime also improved in their total psychopathology score and level of depression. (Bloch et. al., 2010)

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of music therapy intervention on parent-child relationships in families identified as being “at risk” with emotionally neglected children 5-12 years old. The dyads who received music therapy interventions significantly improved in their nonverbal communication and mutual attunement. Parents who participated in music therapy reported being significantly less stressed by the mood of their child and reported feeling more equipped to talk to and understand their child compared to the parents who did not receive music therapy. (Jacobsen, et.al. 2014)

Participants in a music therapy program specifically for mental health needs were interviewed regarding their experience in music therapy treatment. The participants said they felt “acknowledged as a unique and individual person” and they were “not judging yourself [in music therapy]”. They reported that music therapy offered flexibility by being able to better “yourself on an instrument”  and that “when I’m playing music, my mind goes blank [negative thoughts removed]”. They reported that “you can be yourself through an instrument” and that “music is a great way of expressing yourself and probably more than actual words you know”. One participant stated that “music therapy helped me get back to doing”. (McCaffrey and Edwards, 2016)

A pilot study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of interactive rhythm based strategies with students diagnosed with emotional/ behavioral disorders. Data yielded positive results in the increase of a student’s ability to demonstrate appropriate self-expression and skill generalization during and following music therapy interventions. (Ross, 2016)