Donald Wetherick, a Newham based music therapist, was interviewed about his work with adults experiencing the most serious mental health conditions including psychosis, schizophrenia and severe depression.
Working at the Newham Centre for Mental Health at East London NHS Foundation Trust, Donald leads groups both in psychiatric wards and in the community, and says that music is a way of connecting and communicating for people experiencing extreme isolation and trauma at the worst points in their lives.
The ERA study started in September 2018 and compares group arts therapies with group talking therapy to see if group arts therapies are effective for people with different types of mental illness. The study took place between 2019 - 2025 with 425 participants across five UK sites. Over 200 service users participated from ELFT community services.
The study was led by led by Dr Catherine Carr, a Music Therapist on Leadenhall Ward at Tower Hamlets Centre for Mental Health and Senior Clinical Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, who said:
"The study is unique in that it offered participants their preferred form of arts therapy and allowed for a range of different mental health diagnoses."
The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with findings due to be published soon.
Each of the BBC Radio 3 programmes in the series focuses on a different stage of life and the specialised work of a different therapist and their clients whether children, young people or adults. Psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry presents each programme.
Episode one of 'How Music Heals' is available to listen to here from 9.45pm, Monday 22 September on BBC Radio 3.
Read more information on this article on ELFT's news page: BBC Interviews Newham Therapist on Music Therapy | East London NHS Foundation Trust
Image: GRAY