67th Annual Conference

Friday, February 26

Morning Workshops

10:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.

Workshop 13

Together Through Song: The Power of Communal Singing to Create Connection and Elevate Mood

Chair:                

Geraldine Alpert, Ph.D., CGP, LFAGPA, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, California

Whether to arouse spiritual and sentimental feeling or to stir to action, communal singing has long been used to modify affect and create connection. This workshop/self study group will explore how communal singing effects mood, group development, and particularly group cohesion and feelings of connectedness. Since participants will express feelings entirely via communal singing of old familiar songs, some knowledge of “oldies but goodies” (camp fire songs, peace songs, folk songs etc.) is recommended.

experiential-didactic-sharing of work experiences-demonstration

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Explain the evolutionary role of Communal Singing, as a replacement for group grooming in lower primates.

2. Explain changes in the brain that occur during communal singing which effect both mood and the sense of connection.

3. Personally experience the impact of communal singing on group cohesion and mood, and using data from simple objective scales, evaluate the magnitude of this impact, both for themselves and for the group as a whole.

4. Identify types of groups and clinical populations most likely to benefit from communal singing.

Course References:

Yalom, I. Group Cohesiveness, in The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 1985. Basic Books, 50-69.

Davis P. Kenny, D and Unwin, M. (2002). The effect of Group Singing on mood. Psychology of Music 30:2 p.175-185.

Kncheloe, J. L. (1985). The use of music to engender emotion and control behavior in Church, politics and school. The Creative Child and Adult Quarterly, 10 (3), 187-196.