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Music activates regions of the brain related to sound processing, emotional regulation, and reward. As research on music and neuroscience grows, experts in the field are using functional neuroimaging studies to uncover the impact that music has on brain development, mood, mental health, and identity formation in youth.
Understanding these can help guide teen mental health treatment, incorporating music therapy as a tool to support healing and recovery.
How Does Music Affect The Teen Brain?
The effects of music on the brain shape emotional and cognitive growth in teens. Listening to music engages the reward system, especially in youth who may be more emotionally sensitive to music. Several regions of the brain are activated when listening to music or playing an instrument, these include [1] [2] [3]:
- Auditory cortex: Region responsible for processing auditory information (sound).
- Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC): Essential for reward processing and emotional regulation, functional MRI studies show that listening to music in adolescents can strengthen emotional control by supporting the reward network in the OFC.
- Insula network: Links emotional sensitivity to music experience by engaging the reward circuits’ response to music.
- Hippocampus and amygdala: Activated when music is tied to emotional memories, trauma, or nervous system response.
What Shapes Music Taste? Identity Development in Teens
Music also plays a role in identity formation and self-expression, allowing teens to channel emotions and share their inner world with peers, parents, or other loved ones. Musical style, genre, and lyrics are a deep reflection of one’s identity, personality, and emotions.
For teens who struggle to verbalize what they are feeling, music can act as a voice for emotions that are difficult to put into words. Youth also use music to represent who they are, who they want to be, and to find communities with like-minded peers [4].
Music tastes are also often influenced by one’s culture. Teens may enjoy music more if they are familiar with it or grew up hearing it. For example, research has found that people in the global West tend to prefer certain chords and harmonies more than groups in the East [5].
Can Music Heal Mental Health?
Music acts as self-expression and aids in emotional processing. At varying tempos and beats, music can support teens with different emotions and moods. While music isn’t an official medical treatment, music therapy continues to grow as an evidence-based approach for treating several mental health conditions. Teens also often report using music to study, work out, sleep, and cope with mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, or ADHD. Some common kinds of music teens use in their everyday life include:
Calming music often has slow or soothing tones and minimal or no lyrics to reduce activity in the central nervous system. Teens use this to wind down, sleep, and reduce stress.
Study music or focus music has minimal or no lyrics and a repetitive beat. Teens often use this to increase focus.
Workout music is often upbeat, energetic, and has strong rhythms. These might include genres such as pop, hard rock, rap, electronic, or reggaeton. This kind of music stimulates the brain’s reward system and boosts motivation.
Music in group settings, such as classes, chorus, band, and mental health music therapy groups, can improve social skills, foster a sense of community, and reduce feelings of isolation in teens who struggle with depression. Music is often implemented in mental health treatment programs for youth in individual and group settings, often as a way to complement traditional talk therapies.
Can Music Negatively Impact Mental Health?
Although music is often used as a tool for mental health recovery, it can also cause teens harm in some situations. A few ways music can be harmful to developing teens include [1]:
- Rumination: Listening to sad or negative music can increase feelings of depression and anxiety, and cause teens to ruminate on their negative thoughts. Instead of providing support and comfort, repeatedly playing sad music has been shown to worsen mood.
- Inappropriate Content: Teens who are already at-risk for behavioral problems and listen to songs with violent or sexually explicit lyrics may be at an increased risk of aggression, substance abuse, and unsafe sex.
- Reduced Hearing: Blasting music is associated with hearing loss and ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
- Distracting: Music with lyrics can be distracting for some teens when studying, working, or doing a task that requires focus, potentially impacting academic performance in teens.
What Is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is a clinical, evidence-based mental health therapy that uses music interventions to support emotional, cognitive, and behavioral growth within a therapeutic relationship. Music has been used therapeutically for centuries, but modern music therapy began to develop as a formal clinical field in the mid-20th century, particularly after World War II when musicians worked with veterans in hospitals.
It is delivered by a trained, credentialed professional (music therapist) who uses music intentionally, not just for entertainment. This helps clients reach individualized treatment goals such as emotional expression, stress reduction, communication, or trauma processing. Music therapy can include listening to music, songwriting, improvisation, lyric discussion, movement, or guided musical experiences designed around clinical needs.
How Music Therapy Works
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Lyric analysis & discussion explores song meaning to process emotions or life experiences
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Songwriting creates lyrics or melodies to express feelings that are difficult to put into words
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Guided listening can support relaxation, reflection, or emotional regulation
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Improvisation or spontaneous music-making helps teens explore emotions safely without pressure
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Playing an instrument can build focus, confidence, and mind-body connection through rhythm and sound
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Group music therapy focuses on strengthening social connection, communication, and healthy peer interaction
Who Can Benefit from Music Therapy? Common Conditions Treated
Music therapy can be helpful for teens and adults who struggle with emotional regulation, communication, trauma, or mood-related symptoms. Research supports music therapy as a complementary, evidence-based approach that improves engagement in treatment, especially when integrated into a broader clinical care plan.
Music therapy works best when it is personalized and used alongside other therapies such as CBT, DBT, family therapy, or psychiatric care. While it can be powerful on its own for emotional expression and coping, it is typically most effective as part of a structured program that addresses the biological, psychological, and social factors influencing mental health.
Mental health conditions that typically respond well to music therapy include:
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Anxiety disorders: Music helps calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and improve relaxation
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Depression: Encourages emotional expression, motivation, and connection when teens feel withdrawn
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Trauma and PTSD: Provides a nonverbal way to process difficult experiences safely
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD): Supports communication, social interaction, and sensory regulation
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ADHD: Rhythm and structured musical activities can improve attention and emotional regulation
For complex cases, music therapy is often most effective after core stabilization and alongside structured treatment. For individuals experiencing active psychosis or severe thought disturbances, psychiatric care and symptom stabilization need to come first to ensure safety and reduce acute symptoms. Once stabilized, music therapy may be introduced as supportive care. This is similar for substance use disorders; music therapy can strengthen coping skills and emotional processing, but it tends to work best when integrated into a larger addiction treatment plan that includes behavioral therapy, medication management, and relapse-prevention support.
Healing Through Rhythm: Music Therapy for Teens in Texas
Clearfork Academy is a network of behavioral health facilities in Texas committed to helping teens recover from behavioral addictions, substance abuse, and mental health disorders. Our licensed and accredited facility is dedicated to providing comprehensive, evidence-based care and education for parents and caregivers of youth.
We help teens heal through the power of music therapy, enabling them to process trauma and complex emotions and express themselves in a creative outlet. Reach out to our Admissions team, we can help your family.
Sources
[1] Chen L. (2023). Influence of music on the hearing and mental health of adolescents and countermeasures. Frontiers in neuroscience, 17, 1236638.
[2] Kringelbach, M. L. (2023). The early adolescent brain on music: Analysis of functional dynamics reveals engagement of orbitofrontal cortex reward system. Human brain mapping, 44(2), 429–446.
[3] Tamer, R. et al. (2023). The transformative power of music: Insights into neuroplasticity, health, and disease. Brain, behavior, & immunity – health, 35, 100716.
[4] Campbell, Meagan. 2019. Self Expression Through Music. University of Lynchburg.
[5] Akrami, H. 2017. Culture Modulates the Brain Response to Harmonic Violations: An EEG Study on Hierarchical Syntactic Structure in Music. Frontiers in Neuroscience.
Austin Davis, LPC-S
Founder & CEO
Originally from the Saginaw, Eagle Mountain area, Austin Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Pastoral Ministry from Lee University in Cleveland, TN and a Master of Arts in Counseling from The Church of God Theological Seminary. He then went on to become a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor in the State of Texas. Austin’s professional history includes both local church ministry and clinical counseling. At a young age, he began serving youth at the local church in various capacities which led to clinical training and education. Austin gained a vast knowledge of mental health disorders while working in state and public mental health hospitals. This is where he was exposed to almost every type of diagnosis and carries this experience into the daily treatment.
Austin’s longtime passion is Clearfork Academy, a christ-centered residential facility focused on mental health and substance abuse. He finds joy and fulfillment working with “difficult” clients that challenge his heart and clinical skill set. It is his hope and desire that each resident that passes through Clearfork Academy will be one step closer to their created design. Austin’s greatest pleasures in life are being a husband to his wife, and a father to his growing children. He serves at his local church by playing guitar, speaking and helping with tech arts. Austin also enjoys being physically active, reading, woodworking, and music.
