Do you work or live with people that struggle with depression and they love music? If so, this blog is for you. Music is a powerful tool. When used in positive ways, music can help bring nations together. Music has been a source of healing and triumph as far back as Biblical times with the Battle of Jericho. Keep reading for an introduction to people struggling with depressed states and the power of music to provide hope. I’ll be sharing what science says, some personal and professional experiences and if you stay to the end, I’ll share about a program I’m really proud about. I do include some fun GIPHYs to keep things light.
Key #1: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🎶 Know what it looks like to be depressed and participate in music therapy. ⠀
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According to a study done by Healthy People 2020, they found that Music 🎶 Therapy when combined with psycho therapy (they call Treatment as Usual or TAU) is more effective than TAU alone. Personally, I believe it to be true for me as insurance allowed for 3 sessions max when I was first open to it at 14yrs. ⠀
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I auditioned and made the top choir in high school as a sophomore and never had any negative psychological incidents. We as a family didn’t put a focus on mental health or talking about our feelings. Music 🎶 in HS & touring around, allowed me to feel confident in and happy about my skills and my contribution to the world. Music and being a part of a group of high performing musicians allowed my emotional bank to be filled where depression had no space available. The group was called Music Company or MC for short.
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MC spent the entire month of August 3 hours a day Mon-Fri rehearsing at 🏫(school started in Sept). We spent an hour every day after school Monday-Friday during the school year (an additional 180 hours) and a week post school ending in June to go down to our summer camp to learn our new sets for the following year (3 hours of dance and 3 hours of music a day for 5 days – an additional 30 hours of intensive immersive training). ⠀
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During the school year we had to keep our grades up because we got paid gigs during the school day and performed on average 40x/year. We missed school and in order to be able to keep missing school, we had to prove that we could be personally responsible for our home work and learn how to balance multiple responsibilities. Looking back I appreciate the skills I learned of time management and cooperative work as a team. Some of my upperclassmen mentored me when I was struggling in my studies outside of MC because they didn’t want me to miss out on any gigs. We were a team, a family and I felt safe and valued. I never missed a day of school because I had this MC group to look forward to being a part of.⠀
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It was a very positive distraction from school life and a safe introduction to the work world as a smooth transition into adult life. It was the only class that I felt really prepared me to be an adult and decreased my anxieties. The music 🎶 I’d rehearse in between practice sessions was fun because we took 1st in all contests and I wanted to continue improving as an individual. I spent 30 minutes every morning before school practicing songs and warming up my voice so when it came time for choir class, my voice was already warmed up.
My junior year I was asked to be a section leader and had to learn Alto 1 and Alto 2 part in case someone called in sick. I learned more skills and continued to prove being consistent and showing up daily. Our director, Mr. Crouse had gotten very sick and he had to have a long term substitute for a few months. While he was healing we continued to sing and perform but it was so different without his leadership present. I learned the value of consistency and I learned how much extra effort Mr. C. had put into his program that others would never be able to live up to his reputation. Our substitute meant well but no one can compete with someone that had 25 years of experience at that point. We took 1st in everything every time. By the end of the school year Mr. C. had healed enough to take us on our trip to Hawaii. He still had his wheelchair for most of the trip, but we were so hopeful that he was back!
By my senior year I had 3 solos and got to sing in Anaheim, California for music judges. I felt nervous but because I had performed an average of 40 gigs every year and rehearsed so much I could sing the music in my sleep, I performed the best I had ever performed. We took first in every category and it felt really fun to be able to say that I helped us win 1st with my solo in front of PhD musicians. On that same trip, we went to Disneyland and had backstage musical training and had the opportunity to perform on stage to patrons walking around the park (like we worked there)! It was SO fun representing our low income school and proving to the world that I can add value even if I have depression. I never once had any negative thoughts of self harm in 3 years because I was around compassionate, high performing professionals that kept me focused on positive outcomes.⠀
Being a member of MC was therapeutic and obsessive in its own way because it allowed me to find a community of like-minded people that I could work with, have fun with, and am lifetime friends with now. The literature continues to demonstrate that a strong social network is one of the strongest predictors of happiness. ⠀
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Who loves music? 🎶?❤️ If you love music and this story brought insight to you in some way, please Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam a screenshot of the blog title and a few thoughts. We’ll retweet positive intentional content that can help move people towards their own happiness and give you writer’s credit.
Key #2: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🎶 Know what are some signs and symptoms of people with depression that could benefit from music therapy.
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According to this article by Everyday Health, many soldiers returning from war in the 1940s were unable to function in society and were institutionalized. Some hospitals recruited musicians to come and provide entertainment. They found music was helping reach patients where traditional ways were not able to. ⠀
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By 1950 the National Association for Music Therapy was founded which created standards for university-level educational and clinical training requirements for music therapists, as well as furthering research in the field. By 1988 it merged into a new name The American Music Therapy Association which is the largest in the world supporting over 5,000 music therapists across 30 countries. ⠀
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Signs to look for where music therapy could be helpful would include: passion for music, passion for creation, diagnosed depression and/or anxiety. ⠀
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Have you created music to help you with depression or anxiety? Do you know someone that has? Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam with the link to your/your friend’s music and we’ll retweet the most positive and hopeful lyrics to our community and give you writer’s credit ❤️⠀
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Key #3: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🎶 Know what is the global prevalence of depression and use of music therapy for providing hope.
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According to the AMTA Member Survey in 2014, over 1.5 million people globally are receiving Music Therapy (MT) as treatment. That is a lot of people globally that are receiving MT as treatment for mental illness. Keep in mind, that is just those that can afford treatment. ⠀
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Imagine low income people or homeless people (many with diagnosis of mental illness as well) that are not able to receive treatment in traditional settings. With the 🌎 moving online, now is the time to start sharing your gifts online and connect with people in their homes. ⠀
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If YOU love 🎶 and use it as YOUR therapy, tag us on your TikTok music video @TheRealMoveHappy and use the flag emoji in your comments to tell us where you’re tuning in from ❤️😊 We’ll duet the songs that bring the most hope and positivity message through their lyrics ❤️
Key #4: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🎶 Know what some possible solutions for depression can look like through the use of Music Therapy 🎶. ⠀
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Personally, when I worked at the psychiatric hospital, I was asked by a colleague to do another group therapy offering. She wanted to teach juggling as a form of performance/skill based therapy and knew I loved to sing. She had found out because I took a day off of work to perform as the musical entertainment for a fundraiser for a political event that Kara got me hired for (see her podcast interview here).⠀
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I was asked if I wanted to teach singing as a performance based offering to help patients feel confident. We had a 3rd co-worker that is a former comedian that toured around the US. He taught the skills of public speaking/comedic therapy as a way to encourage humor and prepare those that would discharge for healthy conversational skills. ⠀
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I went to Mr. C’s house 🏡 and interviewed him on best practices as a music facilitator ❤️. I spent time out of my work day to get the inside scoop from the best leader I knew in musical performing for dope gigs. He got us gigs singing the National Anthem at the Seattle Supersonics after all. He shared key nuggets with me and reminded me that you have to know the audience you’re working with. Customize the instruction based on their knowledge. So I created a questionnaire to find out how much musical knowledge they had prior to any instruction planning (just like I did with my Move Happy Facilitator Program©️). I found out I had 1 musical genius violinist and the rest had some musical training experience but mostly a passion for music listening and no skills in reading music across the board.
The challenge would be to keep engagement high for the patients since most of them did not have a background in musical training except for the 1 person. I knew that patient would be terribly bored if the pace was too slow so I decided to start with some structured vocal warm ups like I had learned in my 6 years of private lessons and 16 years of choir training experience. It was a great opportunity for the 3 of us to facilitate and to my boss Sue’s surprise, I got all 22 patients to sing warm-ups, smile and many volunteered to sing solos and share their songs they wrote or songs they heard on the radio they wanted to play for the group on the keyboard 💜. ⠀
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We got into some solo performances from those that felt comfortable singing and it was fun for all of us. I didn’t get degrees in music 🎶so I didn’t call it music therapy, and the research I’ve done for this week looks like what I offered could be classified as such with the proper licensing and certifications. ⠀
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I’m grateful Sue let us facilitate the group because she said to me, “Erin what can’t you teach?” Sue provided the confidence in her staff to facilitate the best programs for our patients and I LOVED the freedom to create in that environment. ⠀
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Unfortunately, I could not afford to continue working there as I needed to leave my address for my safety, but the year I was there told me I can make a HUGE difference in only 12 months. I don’t have to wait for permission to help others with the gifts I’ve been given. You don’t have to wait for permission either.
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Not only did we help the patients, it helped me with my depression during that painful year of grieving the loss of my father, finalizing my divorce and fleeing a domestically violent relationship. ⠀
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Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam if you’re a music 🎶 therapist or professor or Music Therapists. We’ll retweet your business and/or school to help promote the importance of musical therapy for people with mental illness.
Move Happy®️ Updates:
The Move Happy Movement Podcast© is in full swing! Together we are bringing awareness to mental health, providing practical strategies to empower those with depressed states to move towards their own happiness and inspiring the joy of movement! Next Monday I’ll be releasing episode 54 with Dr. Ken Kaufman. He and I connected on LinkedIn. He is the Founder of Sports Med On Demand, the Team Doctor for the Baltimore Orioles, and Co-Founder and COO of Well Connected. The episode will be released Monday by 6p EST. We had a Zoom glitch and the file got deleted by accident. We’re waiting to hear back from Zoom on file retrieval. Erin was 331 in line for tech support so hoping they return the email request sooner than later! Make sure to give Dr. Kaufman a follow on LinkedIn (link above) and let him know you want to hear his story.
Follow the Move Happy Movement Podcast©️ wherever you listen (iTunes and Spotify) and Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam if you’d like it on a different platform. The last few weeks my computer has not been converting files which Spotify requires (#TechSupportNeeded). With that in mind, listen to current episodes on iTunes or straight from the distribution website here.
Once we have 10,000 listeners we’ll be offering a sweet giveaway! A private concert by me and my cool singer 🎶 friends! (Check my TikTok @TheRealMoveHappy for examples of my genre preference). You must be one of the monthly listeners to qualify and be active in commenting/liking/sharing/tweeting Move Happy®️ content on any and all social media platforms (and leaving iTunes reviews 😉😉😉). The more platforms you follow Move Happy®️, the easier it will be for us to remember your name when deciding on random giveaways 🙌. We’ll keep things updated from the distribution website below ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The World Health Organization estimates that $1 trillion dollars is lost annually due to lack of productivity from employees specifically diagnosed with depression and anxiety and not receiving adequate resources from their workplace. I designed a solution to help decrease this statistic. “Work Happy: The Practical Tools For Effective and Inclusive Workplaces©” is in beta.
Employees will benefit from this because the workshop is designed with you as the main focus in a positive manner. Employers will benefit from this because people that are cared for work harder and take less sick days, thus increasing your bottom line 💰. The workshop includes a follow up refresher (2 days total). It starts at $1,997 for online training for a company of 5 people. Have more employees? We can discuss pricing. Next 2 businesses/EAPs to sign up get prioritized scheduling. Email me “Work Happy Workshop Interest” here to set up your Work Happy Analysis©️.
If you need services from Move Happy®️that can be provided by my team, that will be first priority. If you absolutely need to chat with me personally, I only have time for 1 for VIP client. Specifically, you look like a mental health practitioner/employer wanting specialized training in resilience/positive psychology. If that be the case for you, pay my $7,500/mo retainer rate here and email me your time zone and 3 days/times that work best with your schedule: subject line “MOVE HAPPY VIP CLIENT SCHEDULE REQUEST” to prioritize your email to the top.
Key #5: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🎶 Know how Move Happy®️can help people with depression that could benefit from music therapy.
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Although my program is not based with music therapy principles, I did modify the program by the 3rd round with some of my patients suggestions.
One patient in particular, we’ll call her “Sally,” suggested we do music Mondays.
I said, “that sounds like fun Sally. Tell me more of what you have in mind!” ⠀
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Sally went on, “use your phone and let us pick the music for the workouts.” ⠀
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I was using my old 2005 ipod and speaker that had to be plugged into the wall to keep working prior to her suggestion 😂. The hospital had very strict rules about cell phone use from staff. There were signs everywhere that said no cell phones allowed. I talked with my manager Sue about playing music that the patients wanted in order to motivate them during the second half of my Move Happy group. I confirmed I would not use the camera option (HIPPA rules) and I would not give my phone to any patient for use (against hospital policy). She said it would be very motivating for the patients as she had been working there for 30+ years and knew the patients passion for music and dancing.⠀
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After I got permission, we tried YouTube and song suggestions for the workout. Even though the internet was really slow because of the cement walls and no access to wifi hospital wide (no budget), the patients were grateful I took their suggestions. It was fun to hear what kind of music they enjoyed! Want to know the coolest thing? ⠀
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They worked out HARDER! ⠀
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I knew this was true when I taught fitness in grad school at Oregon State University. It was a neat reminder that music also motivates adults in the most sensitive populations too! Included in my Move Happy Facilitator Program©️ is a playlist suggestion list based on the songs my patients enjoyed as well as what some of my friends and colleagues professionally suggested to keep heartrate up for working out. ⠀
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The next 2 people to order get a shoutout via video on all social media with a tag to your handles. As always, 40% goes back to a mental health charity of YOUR choice and YOUR local chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Email me a screenshot of your proof of purchase and include the link for your preferred donations!⠀
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PS: the price goes up to $997 May 1st so order before and save yourself $848 🎉⠀
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Know a music therapist that might want to incorporate movement into their routine? Share the link with them and we’ll give you the shoutout for sharing. To help us keep organized make sure to let them know to show you proof of purchase and include your name in the referral and we’ll give you both a shoutout for building the brand and supporting our small business.
So there you have it folks. Music brings hope. Music can help people in the most sensitive populations as well as everyday people going through a difficult time. If you work with groups in a therapeutic setting, incorporate musical creativity for those that seem interested. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money nor take a lot of time. Encourage creation for those that seem to enjoy writing and love music. For those that seem more interested in listening to music, encourage them to create playlists that can help empower themselves and their friends going through difficult times. If you need or want curricula that is done for you adding the physical component, feel free to order from our shop.
If this blog added any value to you today, we would be so honored if you would share it with someone you care about.
PS: Don’t forget to tell someone you love them today
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