Music can be a great tool for exploring and/or expressing our lived experiences through a creative healing process. You might be feeling nervous about using music in therapy spaces, and that makes so much sense. Music can be a vulnerable place, especially if we're worried about "doing it the right way." The good thing about music therapy is: You don't have to have any background in music. You don't have to be a "musician." We're not here to perform. We're here to be present in the music and engage in it as a way to foster health and wellbeing.

Focused on the overarching goal of improving quality of life and wellbeing, music psychotherapy can involve creating, moving to, listening to, and/or talking about music, such as:

• music and relaxation techniques: Music can be a helpful tool for fostering mindfulness and relaxation and also for stepping into reflection on a given theme / topic.

• lyric / song analysis: Bringing songs into sessions can be a helpful way to start a conversation on a difficult topic, connect with others who have gone through similar experiences, and find insights into ways of moving through our own experiences.

• songwriting: Whether writing a parody of a familiar song or writing a song from scratch, songwriting can be a tool for expressing yourself and also a way to examine the way we think about our lived experiences. 

• improvisation and active music-making: Sometimes making music up in the moment and on the spot can help us to get out of our own heads and be more in the present. It can also be a tool for exploring a specific theme / topic through musical symbolism.

• the use of other forms of creative expression (e.g., poetry, art, etc.): Pairing music with other creative outlets can be a powerful experience. For example, mandala making or stream-of-conscious journaling around a specific theme / topic can help us to deepen our experience while remaining in various art forms. 

In the music psychotherapy offered through Becoming Through Sound Music Therapy Services, the Internal Family Systems model is incorporated as one framework for understanding people and our experiences. 

Please note that all services are only offered through Zoom.