A couple of days ago, I posted a blog entitled Music in a psychiatric hospital and the response has amazed me. I am still trying to cope with the mails received in relation to the subject. I received the following from Andy Goldenson and Sabrina Schram explaining what they have done with music and giving me permission to post it here:
“Our organization, Musical Minds was founded on the belief that music heals the soul. The mission of Musical Minds is to give a wellness tool to people in recovery from mental health and substance use challenges through musical participation. This unique peer-run and peer-based program, gets people involved in a collaborative music-making process by giving them the chance to play a variety of instruments and raise their voices in song. Previous musical knowledge or experience is not needed in order to participate. There is something to offer, benefit and teach everyone. Whether it is bringing up group-initiated selections of music or engaging in a jam/improvisation, this program guides the production of a collective sound full of meaningful, self-expressive exchanges between all of the program’s participants and co-founders.
We are not professional music therapists, rather, peers who have personally benefitted form the healing effects of music in our own lives. The healing effects of music and specifically of Musical Minds are both immediate and long-term. Participants in our program commonly find phenomenally positive transformations in mood and spirit as they become immersed in the music-making process. Many participants go on to further pursue and expand on the skills that they establish at the programs they attend, using music as a tool for personal wellness.
Our organization has been going strong for a little over a year and has met with overwhelming success in the Maryland and Washington DC areas. Due to the great demand for programming that we are facing, we are looking to file for non-profit status in the coming months, as well as going full throttle with our program scheduling.
Your donation is greatly needed to help us with upcoming IRS filing fees for non-profit status and other related expenses; programming expansion, operating expenses, instrument maintenance and expansion and any other indirect costs and incidentals that need to be covered.
We thank you for your kind consideration and would like you to know that we have yet to see the power of music fail to turn a frown upside down. The smiles across the faces of our 100′s of participants, are proof that our program is a huge success and is making a difference in their recovery.
For more information, here is a link to MUSICAL MINDS.
https://sites.google.com/site/musicalmindsforhealing/
