Recovery Themes in Songs Written by Adults Living With Serious Mental Illnesses
Abstract
This arts-based study used hermeneutic phenomenology to answer the question 'What do songs written by adult music therapy participants diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI) reveal about their lived experience of mental illness?' Three participants living with serious mental illness provided informed consent to participate in the study A total of 17 songs representing illness narratives written in music therapy were retrospectively selected. Open-ended interviews were conducted with each of the participants to augment their illness narratives. The analysis of these data resulted in findings that are presented in the form of a model. Songwriting was also used by the researcher as a tool for analysis, resulting in a song that describes the model and conveys the relevant themes. The findings revealed insights into participants' interpretations of both their illness experiences as well as discoveries into catalysts that promote recovery from serious mental illness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)