COUNSELING THROUGH MUSIC

MS-101 Edward Byrne School

As a Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialist at Middle School 101 in the Bronx, I recognized the need for group counseling among the students. Although the students at MS 101 perform very well academically, I still found the same issues that one would expect to find in under-performing schools. For example, dysfunctional families, and drug and alcohol abuse. Through group sessions, I discovered a common thread among the students - a love of music. Through music, my students could develop a variety of skills, including writing, mathematics, problem solving, and emotional awareness of self and others.

After listening to the Demo CD, the principal of MS 101 agreed to fund the duplication and packaging of the CD. The level of enthusiasm among the students was very high. We completed the project in june of 2004, four months after we began this journey. The response from the community, parents, and school staff was overwhelmingly positive. As a result of all this work, the students made dramatic improvements in school, academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. They learned to assess intensity of feelings, manage anger and conflict, effectively communicate feelings and needs, and cooperate, share, and work effectivelly in groups.

During group sessions, students wrote their own songs and shared them with the group. They explained what the songs meant to them and what they were trying to express in their writing. Those students who lacked vocal talent, and /or songwriting ability learned the engineering aspects of the recording industry. They learned the step -by-step process of laying down tracks, mixing, and editing a song. They also learned that they could be a part of the creative process. All of the students developed a greater sense of self-esteem and sense of accomplishment through this process. They developed an increased capacity to recognize and name feelings, express their feelings and link their feelings with their actions.

During a group counseling session, one child began to sing. Two other kids joined in and the idea struck me; why not invite the group to my recording studio and incorporate formal musical training into their group sessions. Two teachers accompanied the students to the studio and assisted with the creative writing development while I provided vocal and recording engineering training. Immediately, the decision to record an album was made. That way, the students would have a finished product that would be their tangible evidence of accomplishment.

Based upon the success of this pilot program, we would like to expand the program and offer it to more children.