The Power is in the Song

Clearly music can do things which language can not. Music has unique powers, something very primal is at work.* Music is such a healing force, but adding your story to a melody, singing that song or having someone else sing it for you, is powerful for those who have been silenced by trauma. The power is in the song. Your truth in a poem or lyrics put to music can transport what may have been stuck or trapped inside, out to where you can look at and feel it from a safe distance

These songs have the ability to reach where regular talk therapy can not always go. After 30 years as a songwriter and recording artist, I began to teach songwriting to survivors of trauma.Inspired by studies that showed the power of healing through music, and witnessing the profound healing and recovery of women in my groups, I founded my non-profit Songbird Sings. In my programs survivors break the silence that hides abuse by finding their own voice through songwriting and singing.

As Carl Jung said, “The reason for evil in the world is that people aren’t allowed to tell their stories.”

*  paraphrased from Oliver Sachs.