Why offer Music Therapy on University Campuses?

There is no point in reinventing the wheel. When it comes to mental health supports – let’s tap in to what people are already making an effort to engage in. For example, during the first COVID-19 lockdown, we discovered that undergraduate students were actively using extra-curricular activities to manage their stress—especially music, exercise, and social connection. And when it comes to offering mental health supports on campus – what kinds of supports are students looking for? We conducted a survey across campus, and students expressed a clear interest in proactive group music and art therapies. This paints a compelling picture of students reaching for creative, social, and accessible ways to cope.

Life in Lockdown: The Survey

The survey captured the experiences of 786 full-time undergraduates at a Canadian university during April 2020, just as courses moved online and exams shifted to virtual formats under stay-at-home orders. Anxiety levels were strikingly high: 65% of students scored in the “high anxiety” range on a standardized state anxiety measure, yet only about 24% had reached out for professional mental health support, underscoring a major gap between need and actual service use.

What Students Actually Did to Cope

Despite intense stress, students were far from passive: 92% reported listening to music and 92% watched movies or series, making these the two most common extra-curricular activities during lockdown. Social connection remained central, with 89% socializing virtually and 85% engaging with social media, suggesting that even under strict restrictions, students sought ways to stay connected and manage emotions through familiar platforms.

Which Activities Felt Most Helpful

When rating how much each activity supported their well-being on a 1–7 scale, students gave the highest scores to outdoor exercise (mean 5.8), virtual socializing (5.6), and listening to music (5.4). Every extra-curricular option was rated above the midpoint, but activities with a social component or those combining movement and enjoyment were perceived as particularly supportive of wellness.

Interest in Group Music, Art, and Verbal Therapies

When asked about proactive online group therapies, 52% of students were interested or maybe interested in group music therapy, 48% in group art therapy, and 40% in group verbal therapy. Given that arts-based therapies are rarely available on Canadian campuses, this level of interest indicates a clear opening for universities to offer creative, group-based options that may feel more accessible or appealing than traditional talk therapy for many students.

Rethinking Campus Mental Health Supports

The findings suggest three key needs for campus mental health: scalable supports that can reach large numbers of students, proactive interventions offered before crisis, and a menu of options that respects individual differences and expressive preferences. Group music and art therapies fit well with these goals because they can be delivered to many students at once, build social connection, and align with the activities students already use and perceive as helpful, such as music listening, creative expression, and shared experiences.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647402/full