Mental health

Female students playing percussion instruments

Mental health covers a large field that includes young people and adults with emotional challenges, diagnosed mental health problems, or those within public health services who have, for example, addictions, personality disorders and other functional mental health disorders.

Breakthrough research in mental health

Where psychoanalysts would normally use talking and thinking, music therapists use music to interact and reflect verbally and musically with clients. This helps clients to:

  • express their emotion for better self-awareness, insight and identification of feelings
  • develop connection through synchronicity, shared language or non-symbolic linking
  • bond, build relationships and experience a sense of community
  • have structure and order when feeling agitated, manic or psychotic
  • explore free improvisation to help facilitate their growth, confidence and reflection.
At CIMTR, our research seeks to investigate the practice and specific impact of music therapy in uniquely addressing unmet needs of young people and adults experiencing mental health problems.
 
 


Our recent research and publications

If you are interested in collaborating with CIMTR to help advance research and practice in this area, email us at [email protected]