Spontaneous SongMaking for Anxiety Reduction in Patients
February 11, 2010
Reducing anxiety for those with difficult or terminal diagnoses can present a major challenge, resulting in pharmaceutical and other remedies. Responding to patient’s anxieties around the fear of dying, a new therapeutic arts approach, the practice of spontaneous songmaking, is being considered for pilot study in America and Europe.
Developed by Care for the Journey program director Michael Stillwater, SongSourcing™ has been delivered to general audiences in the US and Europe since 1998. By reconnecting a person to aspects of childhood joy and fulfillment, fears of the unknown have been observed to subside. The return of wonder, which spontaneous songmaking can help evoke, provides patients with a better appreciation for the now moment, even with difficult health conditions or in proximity to death.
A 1973 survey published in The London Times found that 41% of the 3000 respondents listed “fear of public speaking” as their number one fear, while 19% listed “death.” With an obvious close correspondence to characteristics found in public speaking, just imagine where singing in public must rank! Add spontaneous singing into the mix- simultaneously composing lyric and melody in the moment in front of others- how might that fare on the ‘fear poll’?
From this perspective, one who ‘faces down the dragon’ of public speaking, singing, or spontaneous singing may experience a reduced level of anxiety when considering their own mortality.
Thus SongSourcing, a language-arts practice of cultivating ‘free space’ in the mind (the domain of spontaneous improvisation, not dominated by the left brain, using both hemispheres in tandem) is a candidate for reconnecting one’s spontaneous songmaker.
SongSourcing for adults (as seen on PBS ‘Healing Quest‘ program) is convincing in its effectiveness on multiple levels (endorsed by neuroscientist Dan Siegel, MD, psychologists Ron Alexander, PhD and Peter Levine, PhD).
In addition to the anxiety-reduction study, Stillwater is exploring the beneficial effects of spontaneous songmaking in elementary schools (cultivating core self-acceptance while promoting healthy relationships), introducing the practice in pilot schools (India, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico, USA)
CD funded by Song Without Borders, fiscally sponsored by 501 (c)3 nonprofit, Companion Arts.
