In What Ways Does Music Therapy Contribute to Healing from Addiction?

Martin Luther famously wrote, “Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.” This gets at the core of music therapy. Music therapy can make one begin to truly love and cherish their experience in addiction recovery. It also works well with many other effective means, methods, and modalities. The key is to connect with the right recovery center for long-term success.

The Importance of Individualized and Comprehensive Addiction Care

Many people end up at a recovery center or treatment facility that does not fully meet their needs. This is often because they wind up at a recovery center that only offers overarching “one-size-fits-all” treatment plans. They fail to see the importance of individualized addiction care.

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we know that this type of treatment rarely works. We have seen it time and time again with our clients’ experiences before coming to stay with us on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. At Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we know that getting to know our clients from the very beginning is essential. It helps us to cater a treatment experience that won’t just be effective but will be effective long after a client has left.

At Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we also believe in comprehensive addiction care. This means using more than just one modality, and it also means focusing on the entire capital “S” Self – the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. This is what healing at the cellular level is all about. It is also about understanding what addiction is before one can effectively treat it.

Better Understanding Addiction

Millions of people struggle with addiction every day. This is true both in the U.S. and around the world. Addiction is perhaps the most pervasive disease on the planet, and, yes, it is a disease. Many people stigmatize addiction by labeling it as some type of moral failing or “choice.” This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

It is now widely agreed upon in most medical and addiction recovery circles that addiction has more in common with other chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes than it does with a choice. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “Scientific breakthroughs have revolutionized the understanding of substance use disorders. For example, severe substance use disorders, commonly called addictions, were once viewed largely as a moral failing or character flaw, but are now understood to be chronic illnesses characterized by clinically significant impairments in health, social function, and voluntary control over substance use… All of these disorders are chronic, subject to relapse, and influenced by genetic, developmental, behavioral, social, and environmental factors.”

Addiction is also a family disease that has been tearing families apart since “man crushed grape.” So, what exactly is a “family disease?” Family disease simply refers to an issue that affects the entire family and not just the individual who is struggling. Often, it is associated with addiction (and mental illness). This is often why addiction is referred to as “a tornado that destroys everyone and everything in its path.” Addiction also has many underlying causes, which must be addressed if one is to heal at the cellular level.

Root/Core Causes: The Underlying Issues of Addiction

Addiction is not a surface-level disease. It goes much deeper. It has many root/core causes that must be addressed if one is to experience long-term success. This is often why people in 12-Step recovery say that addiction is “about the thinking rather than the drinking.” 

Now, there can be many root causes of addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “No one factor can predict if a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of factors influences the risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction.” These risk factors include biology, environment, and development.

Another major factor underlying addiction is trauma and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). Many people don’t realize just how prevalent PTSD actually is. According to the Bristish Medical Journal (BMJ), “PTSD is a widely accepted diagnosis but some believe that the term medicalises understandable responses to catastrophic events and further disempowers those who are already disempowered…. About 3% of the adult population has PTSD at any one time. Lifetime prevalence is between 1.9% and 8.8%, but this rate doubles in populations affected by conflict and reaches more than 50% in survivors of rape.” Now, recognizing the signs and symptoms of addiction is just as important as understanding its underlying issues.

The Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Addictions are complex diseases, and, yes, as previously mentioned, they are diseases. Now, of course, the signs and symptoms of these addictions are going to vary based on the individual. However, there are some universal signs that someone may be struggling. The following are just a few of those universal signs and symptoms:

• Struggles with sleep cycles, including sleeping too much and not sleeping enough (hypersomnia and insomnia)
• Having feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, or hopelessness
• Feeling depressed
• Feeling overly anxious, nervous, or “stressed out”
• Isolating away from family and close friends
• Losing interest in activities once enjoyed
• Loss of appetite and sudden changes in weight (loss or gain)
• Engaging in other risky behaviors
• Exhibiting excessive mood swings
• Not being able to stop using and drinking once started
• Harming oneself or others
• Having suicidal ideations

As one can see, addiction should never be minimized. It can be life or death. This is why if any, many, or all of these symptoms are present, it is important to seek professional help as soon as possible. Doing so could mean the difference between short-term side effects and long-term consequences. The good news is that there is hope and help. One form of help is music therapy.

What Is Music Therapy?

So, what exactly is music therapy? Music therapy is the use of instruments, rhythms, and sound to harmonize and synthesize one’s entire recovery plan. Essentially, it can be like the glue that holds one’s recovery together. Music therapy has become more accepted and more available in recent years. 

According to the World Journal of Psychiatry, “In last decades, a growing body of evidence in the use of musical intervention in clinical setting have been seen, concerning singing, music listening, musical improvisation, and other musical activities, as long as more structured music therapy (MT) treatments. Given that music engages a variety of brain areas involved in emotion, motivation, cognition, and motor functions, musical interventions have been used to increase socialization and cognitive, emotional, and neuromotor functioning. Although the debate on what the boundaries of MT are still going on, different approaches of musical intervention are actually available referring to three principal domains: relational approaches, rehabilitative approaches, and music listening.” Music also connects people.

Music therapy is also a highly beneficial way for individuals to get together and work with other people in recovery. Working and connecting with others is crucial for recovery. Many people believe that it is the best way to avoid a relapse. This is even discussed in the primary text of 12-Step recovery (commonly referred to as the Big Book). In reference to working with others, The Big Book states, “Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends – this is an experience you must not miss.” 

Music Therapy and Other Modalities

One of the most beneficial aspects of music therapy is that it works so well with other means, methods, and modalities of recovery. As previously mentioned, it is like an adhesive that brings treatments together. This is because it can help to expand one’s mind and open them up to new experiences that they may have balked at before. For example, many people may push back against something like ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP). However, music therapy may make one willing to explore.

KAP has been shown to aid in recovery from addiction. According to the peer-reviewed journal Discover Mental Health, “Preliminary data from a small number of completed studies in cocaine, opioid, and alcohol use disorders suggest that ketamine may be useful in treating substance use disorders. Another recent, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 study of 96 individuals with severe alcohol use found that three ketamine infusions (0.8 mg/kg) per week significantly increased the number of days abstinent at three and six months compared to placebo…. In this context, ketamine may prove useful in both substance use abstinence and in the management of withdrawal symptoms.”

Music Therapy and Psychotherapy

There are also many other types of psychotherapy that can be effective at treating addiction while also combining well with music therapy. These psychotherapies include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.

EMDR can be particularly effective for treating those underlying issues of addiction previously mentioned. According to The Permanente Journal, “Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an empirically validated psychotherapy approach that medical personnel can employ to treat the sequelae of psychological trauma and other negative life experiences. Its ability to rapidly treat unprocessed memories of these adverse experiences has important implications for the medical community, as they appear to be the foundation for an array of clinical symptoms. Clinical applications of EMDR include a wide variety of psychological problems affecting patients and family members, as well as stress-induced physical disorders and medically unexplained symptoms.”

DBT also works particularly well at addressing underlying issues of co-occurring mental illness and addiction. This started with borderline personality disorder (BPD) but has since expanded to most issues. According to the peer-reviewed journal Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, “Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a psychotherapeutic intervention with a growing evidence base in treating individuals who have received a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Over the past three decades, there have been a number of randomised controlled trials across different sites that have demonstrated the efficacy of DBT in treating individuals with this diagnosis. Results have demonstrated reductions in a number of outcomes associated with BPD, including self-harm, suicidal behaviours, and hospital admissions.”

Music Therapy and Experiential Therapy

Experiential therapy works extremely well with music therapy because with something like nature immersion therapy, the sounds of the outdoors can be soothing and invigorating. Also, with an experiential therapy like art therapy, the combination of artistic mediums can be particularly healing. Art therapy has been shown to offer a myriad of benefits. 

It’s all about personal expression. According to the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology, “The development of art therapy comes partly from the artistic expression of the belief in unspoken things, and partly from the clinical work of art therapists in the medical setting with various groups of patients. It is defined as the application of artistic expressions and images to individuals who are physically ill, undergoing invasive medical procedures, such as surgery or chemotherapy for clinical usage. The American Art Therapy Association describes its main functions as improving cognitive and sensorimotor functions, fostering self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivating emotional resilience, promoting insight, enhancing social skills, reducing and resolving conflicts and distress, and promoting societal and ecological changes.”

Music Therapy and Holistic Healing Methods

Holistic healing methods also work well with music therapy because music can be a critical component of modalities like yoga therapy and mindfulness meditation. These holistic methods have been shown to have many benefits. The following are just a few:

• Improved breathing
• Better strength and posture
• A greater focus on mindfulness
• Creates empathy
• Acquiring a better sense of self
• Finding a better sense of mental balance and clarity
• Helping one to connect with others and heal relationships
• Increased positivity and wellness
• Connects individuals with new relatable people
• Encourages spirituality
• Reduces anxiety and depression
• Can help individuals who struggle with suicidal ideations

As one can see, these benefits are vast and varied. Mindfulness meditation also offers a series of other benefits. According to the International Quarterly Journal of Research in Auyrveda (AYU), “Research has confirmed a myriad of health benefits associated with the practice of meditation. These include stress reduction, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in pain (both physical and psychological), improved memory, and increased efficiency. Physiological benefits include reduced blood pressure, heart rate, lactate, cortisol, and epinephrine; decreased metabolism, breathing pattern, oxygen utilization, and carbon dioxide elimination; and increased melatonin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), skin resistance, and relative blood flow to the brain.”

Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab

There is little doubt that addiction recovery is a communal experience. We must rely upon one another for strength and guidance. Music helps us to do that. Friedrich Nietzsche famously said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” The same is true without recovery – we must recover to truly live.

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we believe in long-term success over short-term “fixes.” This is why all of our recovery plans are individualized and comprehensive, with a focus on the future. We know that this is the best way to heal at the cellular level, and healing at the cellular level is how we can be reborn and start to live life anew again.

Recovery is out there and waiting. It is right here on the Hamkua Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. It is here under the palm trees and out over the big blue Pacific Ocean. If you are on the fence, it’s time to get off and get on the right track to recovery. There is a solution. Yes, there is hope. We can help.

Music therapy leverages the power of sound to facilitate emotional expression, build essential connections, and promote healing in individuals facing addiction. Engaging with music – through listening, creating, or performing – can enhance addiction recovery by enabling individuals to process their feelings and experiences in a therapeutic setting. Music therapy also works well in tandem with other means, methods, and modalities. If you feel like you or a loved one is struggling with issues of addiction, mental illness, or both, we can help get you on the right road to recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this process alone. For more information about the benefits of music therapy, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.