Dealing with mental health symptoms and the stressors of life can be scary and hard. Sometimes it can be difficult to express how we’re feeling in words. Identifying what were even feeling can be unfamiliar. It can be challenging to differentiate feelings from thoughts and what we may need in the moment. Imagine a creative therapeutic way to help identify symptoms, express emotions, and build a sense of self. And all of this within a safe and contained space. This is where music therapy in Niantic, CT comes in.
Music Therapy Within the Therapeutic Space in Niantic, CT
Music therapy is a specialty that incorporates using music to meet non-musical goals. This type of creative, expressive arts approach can make therapy feel more comfortable and fun. Struggling with mental health symptoms at a young age can hard to navigate. It can impact our ability to be able to function in school, feel good about ourselves and build meaningful relationships. Also, your teen may be exploring their sexuality and trying to discover who they are. Music therapy can help explore the struggles kids and teens experience, such as depression and anxiety. The space is provided to express feelings within the music. Along with building a sense of self and improving communication skills.
Kids and Teens Self Expression in the Music Therapy Setting
Music therapy can look a variety of different ways depending on your child’s needs and struggles. Sometimes it can be hard for kids and teens to know what they are feeling or name it. When this happens, it can be helpful to feel as though they are not alone and relate to others. This is where music therapy comes in. Using their everyday music to dig in on a deeper level is used often in music therapy. This can help identify feelings and experiences that they are not alone in. In music therapy this is called lyric analysis.
Lyric analysis is defined by exploring the lyrics of a song.
This is done within the context of how your child relates to the lyrics or what they feel drawn to. Exploring the meaning of lyrics at a deeper level can help your child relate to something tangible. This may be feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, anger, or not fitting in. Lyric analysis also helps explore feelings and experiences from the past on a deeper level to provide healing and growth.
To begin, click the button below to schedule a phone consult and get matched with a expressive arts and music therapist!
Music Therapy Can Help Kids and Teens Discover Who they are and Work Through Past Struggles
Another great way to use music therapy is also exploration of ones likes, dislikes, wants, needs, and desires. A great tool to use with kids and teens going through the developmental motions in life is songwriting. Songwriting is using one’s own experiences, feelings, and ideas to create musical lyrics and eventually produce a full song.
Sometimes it can be a struggle to get words on paper. A helpful way to create lyrics is taking the themes from previous lyric analysis to help create their own lyrics. From there, your child can record their unique song with their voice and instrumentation preferences.
When musical instruments are available in child therapy, self-confidence grows.
Creating their own song can help build self-confidence by knowing they made their own awesome piece of music. This also provides opportunities to share their music with others, continuing to build self-esteem and connect in a meaningful way. There are many other great benefits to songwriting. Such as expressing and working through past traumatic experiences that may contributed to mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety.
Music Therapy as a Coping Skill for Anxiety and Depression with Kids and Teens near Niantic, CT
Music is not only a great way to express emotions and build a sense of self. It also is an effective coping skill when your kid or teen is experiencing heightened emotions or struggling with concentration. Creating playlists within the therapeutic space to outside at home and in school can be very helpful with grounding and regulating. Playlists can be made for a variety of different emotions and using their preferred music can be even more successful.
Also, music therapy in counseling helps release anger, anxiety, worry, and loss in healthy ways.
Music has the power to alter and change our internal experience, regulate the nervous system while having something to relate to. There are many emotions and experiences to use music as a coping skill for. Some may be anger, depression, restlessness, feeling upset, having high energy and even being happy. Music can match mood and provide space to feel what your child is experiencing internally, while relating to something with strong emotions. Music can also alter one’s mood in the opposite way. To be more uplifting and regulate from the maybe harmful feeling they are having. This can also provide a very grounding experience for your kid or teen.
Mindfulness and a Holistic Energetic Approach with Music in New London County, Connecticut
Mindfulness is a great tool to use for relaxation and grounding to provide a mind-body connection. Kid and teens who struggle with anxiety can have a difficult time getting out of their head and into their bodies. A great way to use music in this context is using music-based meditation to heighten mindfulness practices. There are many different frequencies that music creates to aid in regulating the body.
Music therapy for teenagers can provide relaxation and stress relief, as well as helping with falling asleep.
Another way music and sound can help with relaxation is using singing bowls. Singing bowls also provide different frequencies to connect with certain parts of the body. This is done through different vibrations to create a body connection. Using singing bowls can also help your kid or teen feel more connected to themselves when playing on their own. A final mind-body connection technique is vocalizing and chanting on certain vowels, also providing different frequencies and activate various areas of the body. This provides your kid or teen with using their own power to provide grounding and relaxation within themselves.
Provide a Space for your Child to Grow and Heal from Mental Health Struggles with Music Therapy in Niantic, CT
Kids and teens can experience a spectrum of emotions as well as tough experiences that influence their mental health. Expressive, holistic therapies is a great way to process emotions and experiences, as well as improve meaningful relationships and self-confidence.
Peyton utilizes music therapy to help create successful coping tools and a positive future for your child.
At Wisdom Within Counseling, Our Specialized Therapists and Music Therapist Love Working with Kids and Teens Struggling with Mental Health
Our team at Wisdom Within Counseling is LGBTQIA+ affirming. Our therapists work with individuals of all ages, along with couples and families. The author of this article is Peyton Mayzel, board certified music therapist and adolescent therapist.
