Music therapy sessions for people struggling with disordered eating on Yorkshire Coast
They are being run by MIND and the North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre
People in Scarborough, Hunmanby and Filey who struggle with an eating disorder or a difficult relationship with food are being offered access to a new Music Therapy programme. The service is being piloted in partnership between Scarborough Whitby and Ryedale Mind and The North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre.
Most services are currently limited to people with an eating disorder diagnosis, but the new service is there to support anyone who feels they have a difficult relationship with food that is impacting on their mental health and quality of life. Research increasingly shows that Music Therapy is not only effective in tackling some of the immediate symptoms but supports people to explore the root causes and result in reduce anxiety, increased body acceptance and improved emotional resilience.
Music therapy sessions will involve a range of different approaches guided by a music therapist including listening to music, making music and playing instruments, talking through or composing song lyrics, moving to music as well as talking with the therapist. No prior music ability is needed.
Sophie Hall, CEO of Scarborough Whitby and Ryedale Mind says: “We are incredibly excited to offer this service in our area, especially as therapeutic treatment options for eating disorders and eating problems are very limited. We’re delighted to be working with North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre and similar to art therapy, we’ve seen first-hand the incredible benefits of music therapy for people struggling to manage complex emotions or mental ill health.”
Sessions are current being offered on Wednesday mornings in central Scarborough and there is a limited number of places available from now until March 2024. Anyone interested in referring themselves or finding out more information should complete an expression of interest at https://www.swrmind.org.uk/transformation-music-therapy/ email their contact information to info@swrmind.org.uk or phone 01723 339838.