Faithfully Fit-Mind, Body, and Soul
Authors:   , Williams Kerri G. , Ierardi Florence 
Published: July 2021

Could music therapy interventions applied in a short-term group setting be effective in supporting the relational, economic, political and socio-cultural challenges to sustaining healthy lifestyles that participants face when returning to their domestic environs? This capstone project was initiated because of a query from the director of a church-operated lifestyle/health retreat and a concern for the increased effectiveness and sustainability of healthy lifestyles post-retreat. The annual retreat is open to any and all, regardless of creed or ethnic origin, and about sixty campers plus staff members came from around the world and across the United States. The predominant ethnicity of retreat participants was of African descent, the predominant gender was female. Participants ranged in age from 13 to 88, and most had some religious affiliation. The dominant health issues were obesity, diabetes, and cardio-vascular diseases. The purpose of this capstone project was to identify, develop and implement music therapy group sessions that would help support the continuity of healthy lifestyle changes beyond the two weeks of intense health education and fitness training. The interventions and sessions were focused on 1) enabling lifestyle retreat participants to initiate and support self-reflection, resulting in a personalized healthy lifestyle plan; and 2) using music and group support to develop tools for sustaining healthy lifestyle choices and post-retreat networking. Processes included psychoeducational presentations, general music therapy interventions, a camp choir, and spiritual components as part of the music therapy experience. Daily workshops were structured with a whole group experience that would have a spiritual/psychoeducational foundation regarding neuroscience and the mental and emotional components of changing lifestyle habits, supported by small group exploration and application. The allotted time, the general physical and probable spiritual characteristics of the participants, the specific goals request from the retreat director, and the body of research information accessed contributed to the decisions regarding the development of the sessions and the interventions chosen for this project. Sessions included socially engaging music improvisations using a variety of hand and melodic percussion instruments. Experiences from this project demonstrated that the mental, physical and spiritual responsiveness to music supports a rationale for using music and music therapy in stress management. The combination of community music therapy and the psychoeducational instruction regarding mindfulness, positive psychology, and cognitive-behavioral discussions appeared to connect with the variety of learning styles inherent in a large group. Project findings validate other literature that recommends holistic approaches as opposed to focused and compartmentalized approaches to growth, change, and other areas of lifestyle development. Music therapy introduced novelty to the programming, an opportunity for some to revisit or discover interests in playing instruments new to their experience, the chance to sing in a choir after years of non-participation, and the opportunity to give of oneself in sharing their musical expression. According to participant comments, elements of music therapy enhanced and assisted in the creation of their sustainability plan.