In short:
A Brisbane music program has helped women and children transitioning out of homelessness "reconnect with parts of their identity".
asserted
women → help → identity
During the 12-month project, 32 women and 20 children took part in collaborative songwriting, singing, and music-making to rebuild confidence and social connection.
asserted
women → take → confidence
Experts say music and art can play a role in helping cope with trauma.
asserted
music → say → trauma
When Kateryna Kozlovska arrived at a women's shelter in Brisbane in 2024, she felt weak, vulnerable and uncertain.
asserted
she → arrive → 2024
She had left her war-torn home country of Ukraine behind two years prior, hoping to rebuild her life in Australia.
asserted
She → leave → Australia
But after her relationship with her partner became emotionally unsafe, she turned to Peggy's Place, a Brisbane shelter for women and children, for support.
"It was an extremely difficult period, especially when I [didn't] feel the ground under my feet," Ms Kozlovska said.
asserted
Kozlovska → become → feet
"At the same time, [grieving] the losses, the family, friends and the balance of life I once had.
asserted
I → grieve → life
Ms Kozlovska was offered to participate in Creative Transitions, a Griffith University music program designed to support women transitioning out of homelessness.
asserted
Kozlovska → offer → homelessness
During the 12-month pilot project, researchers, led by a registered music therapist, worked with 32 women and 20 children across two shelters and two community groups in south-east Queensland.
asserted
researchers → lead → Queensland
The groups took part in collaborative songwriting, singing, drumming and music-making as a way to rebuild identity, confidence and social connection.
asserted
groups → take → identity
Micah Project's Brisbane domestic violence service lead Ria Wong, who was not involved in the program, agreed creative arts projects provided an essential service for women who have escaped unsafe situations.
asserted
who → involve → situations
"Being able to participate in anything or follow interests that are core to them are really important ways to be able to regain that sense of agency and choice," Ms Wong said.
asserted
Wong → participate → agency
"Often these programs provide people an opportunity, a sense of connection with others who've had similar experiences and sometimes different experiences, but people being able to find themselves in a community is a really important part of their recovery and healing."
asserted
being → provide → recovery
University of Queensland research expert and senior music therapist, Dr Kate Aitchison, said music therapy can foster social connection and hope while strengthening personal identity.
asserted
therapy → say → identity
But she noted it was important for programs to be led by a registered and qualified music therapist.
asserted
programs → note → therapist
"Those counselling micro skills that you might need to respond to someone if they are in crisis or if they do become distressed, that's where our music therapists can be really useful in this space," Dr Aitchison said.
uncertain
Aitchison → need → space
Project leader and Deputy Director of Research at the Queensland Conservatorium, Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, said women moving from crisis accommodation to permanent housing were often "particularly fragile".
asserted
women → say → housing
She said arts programs played a "vital role" during this transitional period.
asserted
programs → say → period
"When people think about homelessness, they start to think about the housing crisis," she said.
asserted
she → think → crisis
"But of course, we find that people become very isolated, and there's a really strong need for people to also rebuild their sense of selves, rebuild their sense of social connection."
asserted
people → find → connection
Professor Bartleet said it was "awe-inspiring" to see women progressively gain confidence and make social connections throughout the program.
asserted
women → say → program
"Some of these women have really been silenced, and they used their voices to tell their stories, to write song lyrics, to be creative, to draw."
asserted
they → silence → lyrics
"That really helped them reconnect with parts of their identity that had been squashed and lost and really traumatised."
asserted
that → help → identity
"The most powerful things we saw was the women were starting to talk about their lives with hope and starting to talk about their dreams for the future."
Processing trauma through music
Each Creative Transitions session began with a talking circle, followed by a breathing exercise or drumming, then songwriting or instrument-learning.
asserted
session → see → exercise
Lead program facilitator and music therapist Sarah Dunstan said trauma could put the brain into a constant fear response, making it harder to connect with people and the present.
uncertain
it → say → people
"What you can do with something like music, with something like drumming, is allow that part of the brain to be regulated," Ms Dunstan said.
asserted
Dunstan → allow → brain
"From there, you can move on to doing things like songwriting, where then you can learn to process your emotions in another way.
asserted
you → move → way
For Ms Kozlovska, the sessions helped her realise she could "create something meaningful even after difficult experiences".
uncertain
she → help → experiences
"Music and art help people express what is difficult to put into words," she said.
asserted
she → help → words
"It helps people feel human again, not just like survivors."
asserted
people → help → survivors
"We focus more on how [to] find money for bread and milk, but we also need [to] find that space and time for music and art."
asserted
we → focus → music
"When you do something with your hands and with your brain, it can change you inside, [make you] feel alive."
asserted
you → do → you
The Aporia