Music Listening Review Paper

Words: 600
Pages: 3

Expecting the typical day, I was surprised when Kristin announced a change to the day’s schedule. As she explained, resulting from the composition of the unit—mostly young males who previously requested for songs with mature content (e.g. curses)—music listening was not the most suitable group to conduct, especially since other patients had expressed unease with some of the music choices.
Rather than beginning the day with music listening, the first group was an extended drum circle group. Similar to the typical drum circle, the patients gathered and played with the instruments; though this time, there was an added element—Kristin’s guitar and piano—which incorporated melodic tunes that contrasted the sounds of the percussions. Although this group was held in the morning rather than its typical afternoon time-slot, it still garnered participation from a handful of patients who were wholly immersed in playing the instruments and creating harmonious music.
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During this group, Kristin provided the patients with a print-out containing a list of (free) resources available (e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous, Mood Disorder Support Group, National Alliance on Mental Illness). The insight patients received from this group regarding the types of programs and resources available to them after discharge was invaluable as many learned about programs they did not know existed; although the value of insight is typically centered on the idea of patients gaining insight regarding their illness, insight regarding community reintegration is just as important, though it does not receive as much recognition (e.g. Kottler and Brew (2003) dedicated an entire chapter to the former sense of insight, but failed to acknowledge the latter