Music for the Mentally Ill: Healing the Psyche

While the U.S. cannot claim any program as centralized as the U.K.’s, a smattering of initiatives has emerged across the country, among them music therapy for mentally ill and sex offenders.

The study Doing the Arts Justice (2005) references music’s healing potential for those with deep physical and emotional scars. Because music can stimulate portions of the psyche that cognitive thinking alone cannot access, it can serve as a balm for those who may not be able to express themselves intellectually.

photo by Lizzie Coombes

One man who had a history of assaulting staff attended Reed’s Improvisation class. Before he started attending the class, his behavior was so violent and disruptive that he was forced to wear restraints every day. Although Reed knew the man was a risk, she permitted him to participate in the class, allowing him to experiment with cabasas and other small rhythmic instruments. Over time, Reed noticed that the man grew in confidence and even asked if he could try out other types of instruments. Meanwhile, his infractions decreased and, eventually, he stopped being restrained altogether. He got a job at the facility and began to pursue his education. Not long after completing the class, he was released.

While Reed doesn’t claim that music alone prepared the prisoner to be released from prison, she said she believes it played a role: “He developed coping skills and better mechanisms for dealing with frustrations . . . that he started applying on his unit and in his work environment . . . then those things led to him being released.”

But the question still remains: Does music really impact criminality?

Some are skeptical.

A Beast Too Large?

Dr. Ed Latessa, director of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati, has written extensively on the factors that create—and do not create—criminals. According to Latessa, criminogenic factors include antisocial attitudes, antisocial friends, substance abuse, lack of empathy, and impulsive behavior. Non-criminogenic factors include anxiety, low self-esteem, creative abilities, medical needs, and physical conditioning. Arts programs, Latessa says, combat only non-crime-inducing factors, like self-esteem and creativity.

“You’re not a criminal because you have low self-esteem,” Latessa asserts. “Lots of people have low self-esteem . . . if that’s all you target, you just have an offender who feels better about themselves.”

Photo by Lizzie Coombes

Perhaps the greatest argument that can be made for the correlation between music and reduced criminality is that it can lead to behaviors that reduce criminogenic factors. For example, if taking a music class introduces a prisoner to other inmates with more pro-social attitudes (e.g., a sense of responsibility for actions and a desire to contribute to society), the prisoner could begin to develop relationships that would replace this antisocial friends. Or, if a new interest in music leads to an increased sense of confidence, a prisoner could feel less inclined to rush to drugs or alcohol to repress negative feelings. At the very least, music creates a mindset that is receptive to reducing criminal behavior.

But is that where it ends?