Therapeutic Songwriting Through a Trauma-Informed Lens: Exploring Student Practice at an Acute Adult Inpatient Mental Health Unit

This project explores how I used songwriting as a therapeutic approach through a trauma-informed lens within a student placement in acute adult inpatient mental health. Using an interpretivist case study methodology, the research draws on clinical notes, reflexive journaling, and songwriting artefacts, analysed through reflexive thematic analysis to understand how the work unfolded in practice. Findings indicated that working in a fast-paced and unpredictable ward environment required a flexible and relational approach. Three key themes were identified; 1) establishing safety and therapeutic connection; 2) the collaborative nature of the songwriting process; 3) cultural and systemic considerations, including my own reflexivity in navigating challenges and therapeutic endings. Guided by Trauma-Informed Care principles, and informed by resource-orientated and recovery approaches, the study emphasised safety, trust, attunement, cultural responsiveness, and collaboration, which supported participants to feel involved and respected in the creative process. Improvised songwriting was recognised as the most helpful method in this context, allowing me to meet participants where they were emotionally and musically and to respond to the realities of single-session or brief encounters. These improvised moments created opportunities for expression, connection, and a sense of agency, even for participants who were unsure or distressed. The research also highlighted the importance of pacing that responds to the participants needs, particularly when working within a constantly changing environment. Future research could develop a trauma-informed songwriting framework for acute care that incorporates Altshuler's ISO principle, which emphasises meeting people where they are emotionally and musically; explore longer-term impacts of collaborative songwriting on participants’ ongoing recovery with more opportunity for participant voices in the research; or examine the use of gender-neutral pseudonyms as a strategy for further protection of participant privacy in research.