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Lifemusic as an aid to recovery in a forensic mental health setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2014

Sandra Walker Open the ORCID record for Sandra Walker [Opens in a new window]  and
Rod Paton
Sandra Walker*
Affiliation:
Senior Teaching Fellow, Southampton University, Faculty of Health Sciences, UK
Rod Paton
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer in Music, University of Chichester, UK
*
Correspondence to: Sandra Walker, Southampton University, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Road, Southampton, Hants SO17 1BJ. E-mail: scw1y10@soton.ac.uk
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Abstract

The Lifemusic project ran from 2008–2011 as part of a UK government funded programme demonstrating the potential benefits to community well-being from knowledge exchange between universities and their local communities. The Lifemusic method, which grew out of 20 years of development and community practice, uses music improvisation as a primary resource for group health and well-being. It presented a training programme and over 400 workshops with a variety of client groups including mental health. This paper introduces and outlines the Lifemusic method, placing it within a tradition of humanistic approaches to community health and goes on to describe its impact in a mental health facility where the approach was introduced and sustained. It looks at the practical aspects of setting up the programme, the challenges of client participation and sustainability and outlines the positive outcomes and benefits to patients and the methodology used in measuring well-being.

Keywords

Lifemusiclow securerecoveryforensicimprovisation
Type
Brief Report
Information
Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , April 2015 , pp. 7 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © NAPICU 2014 

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