Music is well-known for its impact on human emotion. That’s true whether you listen to a song, symphony, or other musical performances. It’s also true when you make music or engage in related activities. Today, there’s a form of substance and mental health treatment that takes advantage of these emotional effects. You’ll find this treatment in a music therapy program. By participating in such a program, you or your loved one can gain access to several important benefits for your recovery.
Music’s Mental Health Impact
Music is a huge part of the lives of tens of millions of Americans. The music you listen to can help shape your personal identity and sense of self. It can also help shape your interactions with other people and society in general. Importantly, music also has a significant mental health impact.
Research shows that listening to music you like can have a powerful, positive impact on your mood. It can also help you regulate mood changes and keep an even mental keel. The effects of music are situational. Specific factors that can influence your reaction to it include:
- Your reasons for listening to music
- The circumstances in which your exposure to music occurs
- Your mood when you start listening to music
The interactions between your personal motivations, mood, and the situation you’re in are also important.
Music that doesn’t appeal to you may have a negative effect on your mood. However, musical tastes can change, and you may grow to love a song or genre you once disliked.
How Can Music Therapy Help People Affected By Substance or Mental Health Issues?
Music therapy essentially harnesses the positive impact of music-related activities. In a formal program for substance use or mental health issues, these activities may include such things as:
- Active listening, i.e., music appreciation
- Structured or improvised music-making
- The use of music-based games
- Music or song analysis
- The use of music to support yoga, meditation, or other relaxation methods
When you take part under the guidance of a therapist, each of these options can support improved wellness. The specific benefits of music therapy depend, in part, on the activity in use. They also depend on the condition affecting you and the goals of your treatment plan.
The Most Notable Benefits of Music Therapy
Which types of music therapy benefits are you most likely to experience? Well-established advantages of this approach for substance and mental health recovery include:
- Reducing your exposure to negative emotional states
- Increasing your likelihood of willingly participating in your recovery
- Helping you stick to your overall treatment plan
Negative emotional states that music therapy can help relieve include anger, anxiousness, and depression. The therapy can also help limit your stress exposure. Any increase in your desire to participate in the recovery process can potentially improve your treatment outcomes. The same is true when you stick to your treatment plan.
The benefits of music therapy are consistent enough for experts to consider it an evidence-based method. Only the most useful treatments reach this standard for effectiveness.
Contact Northpoint Colorado Today for More on Music Therapy’s Benefits
Music is a potent emotional force in the lives of most people. Music therapy uses this fact as a basis for targeted treatment of substance and mental health issues. How can music therapy help you recover? By providing you with a range of benefits for your mood and mental outlook.
At Northpoint Colorado, music therapy is widely used to help those enrolled in our treatment programs. Want to know if you or your loved one could benefit from taking part in it? Call us today at 888.231.1281 or complete our online form for more information.