Music & Mental Health: Unveiling Phase Two
The Wonca Working Party on Mental Health (WWPMH) started The Music and Mental Health Project (MMHP) in 2020 due to the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
In 2021, four distinctive productions marked the beginning of this creative journey. These included: 1) a live event; 2) a teaser featuring the participation of family physicians from around the globe; 3) a collaborative composition titled
"Tone of Mind," crafted between Brazil and India; and 4) a music video. The details of this experience have been documented in
WONCA News.
MMHP is currently in its second phase, dedicated to the production of a documentary showcasing the experiences of groups that have already been mapped. Australian filmmaker Tristan Pemberton is taking the helm, overseeing both the direction and editing of this project.
Within the documentary, four distinct experiences, each situated in a different country, will be explored to understand the connection between music and mental health. MMHP's objective is to delve into the daily lives of these groups, capturing not only their unique musical expressions but also the implications of the relationship between music and mental well-being. The documentary will feature firsthand accounts and insights, as all of them will be filmed by the groups themselves.
The experiences are:
• Harmony Gets Crazy (Brazil): This band, comprised of psychiatric patients and health professionals, originated from music therapy workshops at the Rio de Janeiro Psychiatric Center 22 years ago. Currently in the process of recording their fifth album featuring original songs, the band serves as a symbol of Brazilian psychiatric reform. Alfredo de Oliveira Neto, leader of MMHP and Vice-Chair of WWPMH Iberoamerica, is an active member of this musical collective.
• The Desert Stars (Australia): Hailing from the Tjuntjuntjara Community in the remote Great Victoria Desert region of Western Australia, The Desert Stars claim the title of "the most remote rock band in the world." Their journey is documented in "Gravel Road," a film directed by Pemberton.
• Know Your Rhythm (India): Based out Pondicherry, south India, Arnab Bishnu Chowdhury, a 3rd generation Indian Classical musician-composer-researcher dedicated to music therapy, collaborates with doctors, therapists and international musicians to compose and apply therapeutic music for different conditions. Arnab founded
Know Your Rhythm, a training program blending Music Therapy with Yoga Therapy, which helps participants discover their own sense of Rhythm raising well-being, wellness, empathy, teamwork, leadership. Know Your Rhythm has engaged over 20,000 global caregivers from healthcare including
Covid, wellness, special education, management, education spaces.
• Delisile Kubheka (South Africa): A healthcare professional and accomplished opera singer.
The film is set to be finished in 2024, and our aim is to premiere it at the Wonca World Conference in Lisbon in 2025. We're also considering a musical presentation highlighting the four experiences in Portuguese lands.
On a related note, MMHP has already created an
extended trailer, showcased via QR code at the 2023 Wonca World Conference in Sydney. This preview has set the stage for the film's official debut in Lisbon.
We received encouraging responses from amazing family doctors:
"Congratulations on your work on music and mental health. I loved the video." (Michael Kidd)
“Great film! Great work!” (Iona Heath)
We hope MMHP helps to expand the visibility of the musical projects and sensitize mental health professionals and managers, as well as patients and their families, to the transformative potential of music as a tool for care in psychosocial suffering.
Alfredo de Oliveira Neto