How Does Therapeutic Music Fit Into Addiction Treatment?

A person holding onto some music notes


The care team at Newport Beach Recovery Center uses music in many ways to enhance the effectiveness of treatment. Our clients can experience significant mental health benefits from listening to, writing, and playing music. The self-expression practiced in music therapy can increase self-awareness and build self-confidence.

According to the Journal of Addictions Nursing, in music therapy, “Patients go beyond simply listening to music to engage emotions, motivations, and barriers to recovery through lyrics and melody.†We offer music therapy alongside more traditional psychotherapy.

How Does Music Affect Mental Health?

For thousands of years, healers around the world have used music to treat various mental and physical disorders. Modern research has proven that music can affect the brain in ways that decrease stress, anxiety, and depression. According to Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health, “Scientific research has shown that [music] can influence physiological processes that enhance physical and mental wellbeing.†At Newport Beach Recovery Center, we use music to complement traditional therapies.

Alternative holistic treatments like art and music therapy offer clients an opportunity to explore various aspects of social support by interacting with peers and the care team in a creative environment. Music can have the following effect on mental health:

  • Improve concentration
  • Improve self-esteem
  • Decrease insomnia and other sleep disturbances
  • Create deeper connections with peers and the care team
  • Encourage self-reflection and self-confidence

Music can change how the brain perceives the world, and it can lower stress, deepen breathing, increase muscle relaxation, and help manage body aches and pain. In addition, many people find it easier to focus their thoughts after spending time relaxing while listening to music. Clients can improve their treatment outcomes by breaking up intensive therapy sessions with musical activities.

Why Does Newport Beach Recovery Center Offer Music Therapy?

Music is often a social experience, allowing people to share emotions, thoughts, and abstract ideas. We believe that people are better able to heal from substance use disorder (SUD) when they have positive relationships and social support. Music listeners worldwide can connect and provide inspiration, motivation, and encouragement to one another.

Music therapy can improve social connections by doing the following:

  • Increasing verbal and nonverbal communication
  • Creating an environment that fosters teamwork and group cooperation
  • Lyrics, sheet music, musical instruments, singing, and recording increase self-expression

Music is helpful as a recovery tool regardless of the level of engagement. Listening to music can be just as impactful as creating music for individuals in recovery. We offer music therapy to give clients an opportunity to explore different aspects of the medium.

What Can You Expect During Music Therapy?

Not everyone is familiar with music therapy. We make it easy to start music therapy by tailoring each session to our client’s personal preferences and interests. A few ways they can participate in individual or group music therapy include:

  • Writing down lyrics or poetry to express abstract or concrete ideas
  • Listening to others play music or making a playlist of meaningful full songs
  • Playing a musical instrument and using the sounds to express feelings and ideas
  • Learning the technical aspects of music creation and developing marketable skills
  • Collaborating with others to create music

Anyone can benefit from the effectiveness of music therapy regardless of their skill level. Music therapy can be used in individual or group therapy to help clients organize their thoughts and express their emotions. Not everyone feels comfortable singing or playing an instrument. However, there are many other ways clients can participate in group therapy.

Is Everyone Required to Attend Music Therapy?

We tailor our therapy sessions at Newport Beach Recovery Center to ensure the best possible outcome. We do not require clients to attend music therapy if it will not benefit their recovery. Some people dislike music for personal reasons. For example, clients may have music-related triggers they want to avoid during early recovery.

We encourage clients to be open and honest with our care team if they feel uncomfortable about the idea of attending any of our therapy sessions. We are always willing to work around personal preferences and accommodate client needs, even if that means using alternative therapies. Our facility offers various options, including art therapy and other experiential therapies that provide similar opportunities for self-expression.

How Can Music Lower the Risk of Relapse?

Music is a therapeutic tool that continues to benefit people in treatment during aftercare and the transition between structured and independent recovery. Music can help clients avoid relapse after they complete rehabilitation by limiting the effects of symptoms like anxiety, depression, and stress. In addition, many inclusive music communities exist where people can share their interests with others and build healthy social relationships. Music can also be a positive activity they can focus on during challenging moments.

Music is a universal language that has been used for thousands of years to improve mental and physical health. Current research indicates that it can be highly effective in decreasing stress and stabilizing mood when paired with other treatments like psychotherapy and behavior modification. Music therapy is a form of experiential therapy that uses body movement and mindfulness to strengthen the mind-body connection. The care team at Newport Beach Recovery Center uses music therapy to improve outcomes for clients who struggle with anxiety, chronic stress, and depression symptoms. We use songwriting, singing, instruments, and other musical tools to help our clients practice self-expression and improve self-confidence. The care team works with outside experts in the musical field to ensure clients have access to the best possible tools and resources during treatment. To learn more, call Newport Beach Recovery Center today at (888) 850-0363.

The power of Music in Recovery


Music is a cross-cultural experience. You don’t have to understand the words or be familiar with the genre to feel the effects of a superior composition. Music’s ability to change our moods, minds, and behavior is well documented in popular culture. However, the power of music during recovery from addiction is still a newer concept.

Music therapy is a comprehensive treatment system that combines listening, theory, and performance. Adding this therapy to an addiction treatment plan helps patients find relief through some of the most difficult points of their journey while also strengthening them for what lies beyond. How does musical therapy help those fighting through addiction treatment feel better, stay stronger, and recover more quickly?

The Physical Effects of Music

The effects of music aren’t just mental. The mental effects of music cascade throughout the body, producing physical results that can aid the addiction treatment process. These include:

  • Improve communication. Listening to and performing certain genres of music have been proven to increase vital mental skills. A study from the Institute of Music and Mind at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada found that those who use their musical skills frequently show increased activity in the auditory cortex of the brain. This area translates sounds into understandable words and phrases and is vitally connected with our communication skills. Playing instruments can make it easier for patients in treatment to communicate with those who are there to help them.
  • Improved memory and learning. The auditory cortex isn’t the only brain structure positively impacted by music. The prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of our sensory processing abilities, is also improved through performing and listening to music. Over time, patients are able to retain long and short term memories better, which helps them learn new ways of coping with life’s stresses without reaching for a substance.
  • Increased dopamine production. Dopamine is a vital neurotransmitter. Substance abuse damages the body’s ability to naturally produce this substance in useful amounts. Music naturally stimulates dopamine production, which helps even moods, relaxes the body, and calms the mind.

The Mental Effects of Music

Everyone knows how a good piece of music makes them feel. Crashing cymbals, twinkling keyboards, and artfully strummed guitars can lift spirits and stimulate a change of mind. During the recovery process, these effects can be used to the patient’s advantage in many ways.

  • During the detox stage, calming music can help patients cope with the physical and mental stress that comes with the experience. Once the acute stage is passed, playing calming music can help patients keep a level of mood throughout treatment.
  • When the urge to relapse pops up, music can inspire patients to stick with their program. In these cases, upbeat and meaningful tunes are the most effective. Many patients enjoy music with spiritual overtones that help them connect to their higher power for aid.
  • Music can connect support groups. Singing and performing together as a group helps members connect on a safe, emotional level. This facilitates group and private talk therapy sessions. When they’re alone, group members can turn to that piece of music to help them when they can’t reach their support system.

Techniques in Music Therapy

How is music therapy used in the recovery process?

  • Performance. Singing and playing instruments is a physical experience that helps patients work out stress in a healthy way. Keeping your hands and mind busy is a great way to fight the urge to relapse.
  • Meditation. Quietly listening to inspirational tunes while alone is another successful therapy tactic. The right selection can lower blood pressure, relax tense muscles, and help patients cope through difficult stages.
  • Exercise aid. Physical exercise is a well-known technique for resetting the body after detox. Add music to a workout to stay inspired, engaged, and joyfully active through the sweat session.

These techniques can be effective in group or private sessions. Music therapy is also easily adapted into a home practice to support the work outpatients do with their therapists.

Music is more than a pastime. When used consciously and purposefully, it can help those fighting addictions by providing a healthy outlet for many of the negative emotions that can come along with the healing process.  Talk to your addiction treatment specialist about adding music therapy to your program.