How can music support mental health? While hundreds of studies have been conducted to answer this question, the availability and application of music interventions for mental health remain limited. Part of the challenge is the multidisciplinary nature of this research and difficulties in synthesizing findings across different fields including psychology, neurology, psychiatry, music, and public health. […]

The healing power of music for mental health has been formally studied across many professions – from psychology to music therapy to nursing – dating back to the 1940s. A recent global scoping review evaluated published research on music-related interventions for serious mental health issues and underscored the therapeutic potential of music to support mental […]

A growing chorus of scientists, researchers, musicians, clinicians, and patients interested in music and health now have a new network to help bring them together. On Tuesday, January 26, the Sound Health Network launched with an hourlong online event featuring renowned researchers like Francis Collins and clinicians like Sanjay Gupta alongside world-class musicians like Renée […]

Music has long been recognized for its ability to bring people together. But can its healing powers help to suture the divides wrought by pandemic distancing and growing social unrest? The Silkroad Ensemble shows us the possibilities even in the midst of the most challenging circumstances. This award-winning team of virtuosos has met the challenges […]

When the pandemic put me in lockdown, I decided to make use of extra time at home by sorting through boxes of memorabilia in my closet. My goal: throw stuff out and reduce clutter. But as I blew the dust off old family photos, concert ticket stubs, baseball cards and playbills, I enjoyed a fringe […]

While the COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide, there is no running tally of the millions left behind to grieve for their loved ones. The weight and scale of this kind of loss in such a short period of time is difficult to fathom, but palpable. The world is collectively […]

The arts are a powerful way of responding to and addressing inequity and injustice.  As part of IAM Lab’s series exploring Arts for Health Equity and Social Justice, we are sharing art here —songs, signs, dancing, murals, poetry and more—and urging readers to join us in spending time with it, learning from it and taking […]

Healthcare professionals are under extreme pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is putting their medical training and resourcefulness to the test daily. Many are going above and beyond the call of duty by turning to the arts to comfort and heal patients. As a clapback to the virus, singing and dancing have erupted spontaneously […]

When our lives are disrupted by the stress of a traumatic experience, like the pandemic, our mental health can be compromised.  The constant disruption in our routines, the possibility or reality of loved ones becoming ill, the potential exposure to a life-threatening virus and the overall uncertainty of the situation makes it difficult for the […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the entire healthcare system and the first responders treating those who fall ill.  Even before the outbreak, half of all doctors and a third of nurses in the United States experienced symptoms of burnout, which the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that […]