Young woman singing and dancing while wearing yellow headphones and a yellow t-shirt against a yellow background.

Using Music as a Portal

Speaking & Workshop Series Mental Health, Mood & Music

The MHMM series/workshop is psychoeducational and looks to open conversation in an indirect approach that allows groups to learn and relate to mental health issues through musical content. Through discussion produced by verbal analysis (a cognitive approach) and my personal disclosure, this series can be helpful to decrease stigma, raise personal and public awareness, develop resilience and provide coping strategies. See podcast page for example.

The concept of MHMM was developed from my graduate school thesis. It is offered in a series of mental health topics or as a full day workshop for young adults, parents, adults, businesses (workplace mental health) and in the community.

Mental Health, Mood & Music

Mental health is a stigmatized issue that prevents individuals from receiving proper support. These workshops have been developed to help remove the stigma and encourage conversation around mental health. Mental Health, Mood and Music (MHMM) is a mental health series that uses music as a portal to reflect on personal experiences. It helps to explore personal thoughts, moods and feelings in a safe space.

Full-Day Workshop: Mental Health, Mood & Music

MHMM has a psychoeducational workshop (not clinical) that uses music to educate about mental illness and provided relatable experiences that are portrayed through lyrical analysis and sometimes videos. This workshop is designed to increase awareness and decrease stigma. By examining the dynamics of mental health and mental illness, the MHMM will promote self-reflection, create conversation and help to develop a personalized coping tool to help manage day to day stress and strain caused by life’s demands. This is a one-day interactive workshop that aims to improve mental health literacy and help people better manage potential or developing mental health problems. MHMM is inclusive to all races, genders and cultures.
Presentation: Mental Health, Mood & Music

MHMM also consists of a series of psychoeducational presentations on mental health and mental illness that provides thought-provoking insight on issues that are prevalent in our community using music as a method to spark conversation.

Select three or more of the following topics to better understand mental health:
Mental health vs. mental illness
Understanding the counseling process
Empathy
Anxiety
Depression
Spectrum of Learning Disorders