How singing helped me heal: a heuristic, arts based inquiry

Abstract

This arts-based, heuristic inquiry explores how the act of singing throughout my lifetime helped facilitate the healing of my trauma and how recent vocal psychotherapy allowed for the recognition of this discovery. Reflexive journaling was used to uncover themes after each vocal psychotherapy session and songwriting was used to further explore these themes. This resulted in six songs based lyrically on the themes. These songs paired with the reflexive journals and data collected from journal analysis reflected a timeline of my life that examines how singing was a tool for protective dissociation, growth, healing, and self-discovery. Participation in vocal psychotherapy further examined my healing journey and acted to facilitate a new step in the process: forgiving myself for my perceived mistakes along the way. By re-examining how singing helped me heal in the past, I was able to gain a holistic understanding of my present ideology as a performer, songwriter, teacher, and music therapy student.