Music can be used to create community, improve well-being

SAN ANTONIO — An interactive keynote session here at the U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress used group sing-a-long to illustrate the power of music to overcome fear and improve mental health.

Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman, who delivered the address, co-founded Choir! Choir! Choir!, a twice-weekly singing event that invites individuals with no professional singing background to participate in group song. The revolving choir, based out of Toronto, consists of more than 12,000 individuals.

“A lot of the people in our choir may have been in performance groups before but some of them haven’t. So this idea of performing in front of — in some cases, 1,000 people — is exhilarating,” Adilman said. “Art becomes a space about exploration of the self and also about adventure with large groups of people. This reinforces the idea of overcoming fear.”

The choir leaders use humor to disarm members of their anxieties and emphasize vulnerability as a positive. Trying something that makes an individual scared and then succeeding can inspire positive feelings of accomplishment and confidence to tackle other daunting challenges.

In addition to overcoming fear, the group singing event establishes a sense of trust, which fosters community and encourages friendship.

“Things change when you open yourself up to large groups of people,” Goldman said. “You might learn about yourself a bit more doing something you might not be comfortable doing. More importantly, how you feel about the people around you will change. We’ve seen that with choir. Bonds that have been created. It’s not natural to have those sort of bonds happen in [adult] years.”

The choir has participated in a variety of events related to mental health and wellness, including a documentary on intimate partner violence.

Further, the choir has raised nearly $60,000 for Syrian refugees and expect to host Syrian families in the near future. – by Amanda Oldt

Reference:

Adilman N, Goldman D. The power of community: A Psych Congress special event. Presented at: U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress; Oct. 21-24, 2016; San Antonio.

Disclosure: Adilman and Goldman co-founded Choir! Choir! Choir!.