can heal

Guided songwriting in Flow is grounded in a mature body of work from music therapy, psychology, and neuroscience. Researchers have examined how writing songs can support emotional expression, identity formation, and recovery in many different settings, including neurorehabilitation, dementia care, youth mental health, and late-life depression.

Professor Felicity Baker is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of therapeutic songwriting within music therapy.

Her clinical research, together with contributions from many colleagues around the world, has helped clarify how structured songwriting can:

Organize and express complex emotions

Support reconstruction of self-concept after illness or trauma

Strengthen relationships between patients, families, and caregivers

Cultivate the psychological state known as flow, where attention is deeply focused and experience feels meaningful and absorbing

The references below represent a sample of the peer-reviewed studies, books, and professional resources that inform guided songwriting experiences for mental wellness.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

  1. Baker, F. A., & Ballantyne, J. (2013). You’ve got to accentuate the positive: Group songwriting to promote a life of enjoyment, engagement and meaning in ageing Australians. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 22(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2012.678372

  2. Baker, F. A., & MacDonald, R. A. R. (2017). Shaping identities through therapeutic songwriting. In R. MacDonald, D. Hargreaves, & D. Miell (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of musical identities (pp. 436–452). Oxford University Press.

  3. Baker, F. A., Tamplin, J., Rickard, N., Ponsford, J., New, P., & Lee, Y.-E. C. (2019). A therapeutic songwriting intervention to promote reconstruction of self-concept and enhance wellbeing following brain and spinal cord injury: Pilot randomised controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1177/0123456789123456

  4. Clark, I. N., Stretton-Smith, P. A., Tamplin, J., Lee, Y.-E. C., Cotton, A., & Baker, F. A. (2021). Doing things together is what it’s about: Experiences of group therapeutic songwriting for people with dementia and their family caregivers. Frontiers in Psychology: Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.598979

  5. Eickholt, J., Baker, F. A., & Clark, I. N. (2022). Positive psychology in therapeutic songwriting for people living with late-life depression: An intervention protocol. Brain Sciences, 12(5), 626. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050626

  6. Eickholt, J., Gold, C., Hillecke, T. K., & Bensimon, M. (2023). Positive psychology in therapeutic songwriting for people living with late-life depression: A randomized controlled pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1177136. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1177136

  7. Hiller, J. (2019). Risks inherent in music therapy: How can we understand, minimize, and work with them? Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v19i3.2720

  8. Johnson, J. K. (2014). Benefits and challenges of therapeutic songwriting: A review of the literature. Canadian Journal of Music Therapy, 20(1), 33–57.

  9. McMahon, K., Baker, F. A., Stretton-Smith, P., & Clark, I. N. (2021). Using group therapeutic songwriting to support the relationship between people living with dementia and their caregivers. Australian Journal of Music Therapy, 32(2).

  10. Murakami, B. (2020). The music therapy and harm model (MTHM): Understanding risks in therapeutic practice. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 29(2), 139–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2020.1712161

  11. Pérez-Núñez, M. I., Martínez-Sánchez, C., & Ochoa, J. J. (2024). Effects of a songwriting group music therapy program on emotional regulation and wellbeing in adolescents: A quasi-experimental study. Arts in Psychotherapy, 87, 102004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2024.102004

  12. Rolvsjord, R., & Stige, B. (2015). On a positive note: Songwriting as a resource-oriented method in music therapy with families living with mental illness. Music Therapy Perspectives, 33(2), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miv020

  13. Silverman, M. J. (2022). The effect of group songwriting on the self-concept of adolescents receiving psychiatric treatment. Journal of Music Therapy, 59(1), 48–72. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/thab018

  14. Viega, M., & Baker, F. A. (2019). One brick at a time: Songwriting and clinical identity formation for music therapy students in academic supervision. In M. Forinash (Ed.), Music therapy supervision (2nd ed., pp. 277–293). Barcelona Publishers.

Books

  1. Baker, F. A. (2015). Therapeutic songwriting: Developments in theory, methods, and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

  2. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. Basic Books.

  3. Fox, E. (2018). Fostering self-awareness and meaning through songwriting in music therapy. In B. L. Wheeler (Ed.), Music therapy handbook (pp. 307–316). Guilford Press.

  4. Sutton, J. P. (2002). Music, music therapy and trauma: International perspectives. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Podcasts and Presentations

  1. The Art and Science of Songwriting in Therapy — interview with Dr. Felicity Baker, Voices Podcast.

  2. Music, Meaning, and Mental Health — presentation from the World Congress of Music Therapy.