KALAMAZOO — An arm draped over the guitar on her lap, music therapist Hannah Joseph ponders how to begin an impromptu therapy session in her simply decorated Kalamazoo office.
“Ever hear of the 12-bar blues?” she asks, flashing an impish grin.
The rolling chord progression is a staple of music therapy, a field that’s quietly combating a nationwide youth mental health crisis.
With its nonthreatening familiarity and connection to the human brain, music gives therapists a door into teens’ emotions. Therapists use recorded music, hands-on instruments, lyrics analysis, and rhythmic movement to address and ease their patients’ mental health challenges.
Music therapy helps teens identify, verbalize, and study their emotions, empowering them to change the way they act and feel, says Joseph, a clinical social worker and music therapist specializing in therapeutic support for children and adolescents at Kalamazoo Child and Family Counseling.
Read more in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave.
This article is part of a solutions-focused reporting series of Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative. The collaborative, a group of 12 regional organizations, is dedicated to strengthening local journalism and reporting on successful responses to social problems in southwest Michigan. This story is funded by the Solutions Journalism Network.
