We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marlys Woods a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marlys, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you recount a time when the advice you provided to a client was really spot on? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

Most everyone has experienced the effect of music on our emotions. Just watch an action movie – almost all of the drama and suspense we feel is created by the music!

But most people don’t know that music can unknowingly cause harm when used to manage and cope with emotions. People often listen to music as a way of feeling “better” – they use music to feel more calm or to shake off an uncomfortable emotion. They use it to feel connected to someone who they feel can relate to what they’re going through, in this case the artist. This can lead to isolation and a false sense of connection.

I typically work with groups, and the best advice I’ve ever offered my clients is this: Do more than listen. When music is being used for mental health, have an honest check-in with yourself and see if the music is truly helping.

This has made a major difference for my clients in therapy. They didn’t realize that how they were using music was so important!

By looking at how they were using music for well-being, and then examining whether or not it’s actually helping, we are able to make the changes needed to get the most out of using music for their healing journey.

Individuals can do this too. Just ask yourself these questions:

Is music helping you feel the emotions that are helpful for you to feel?
Is music helping you face your uncomfortable emotions or challenges?
Is music helping you move towards freedom from being held back when it comes to your emotions and how you communicate your needs to others?

If yes, music is helping!

If you answered no, think about what role music is actually playing.

Is the music keeping you stuck in an emotion or frame of mind that isn’t helping you? Are you using it in a way that is isolating? Are you listening to music because you feel like no one else can understand what you are experiencing?

If this is the case, music could actually be holding you back from healing. How you use music matters, and you can learn how to use it to help – all you need are some tools!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the CEO of Get in Tune Music Therapy. Our mission is to teach everyone struggling with mental health how to use music in a safe, effective way to heal and transform their lives.

Growing up, music was my outlet. And because it was such a profound and influential part of my life, I knew I wanted to do something with music that would also help others.

But when I started studying to become a therapist, I was surprised to find that music was also the thing that was keeping me stuck! I was using it to avoid communicating my struggles. What I thought was helping was actually hurting me – and I had no idea.

This is why I founded Get In Tune. I wanted to ensure others know that music is a wonderful, powerful tool – *if* you know how to use it effectively.

If you struggle with things like anxiety, depression, or addiction, music therapy can give you the ability to:
-Understand how you are really feeling (no more “I’m fine” when you’re really not)
-Sit with and work through your emotion (for all my fellow emotion stuffers or avoiders out there!)
-Find the words to communicate your struggles and needs to others

I call this our “Feel It, Face It, Freedom” formula: when you can understand your feelings, face them and work through them, and learn how to communicate what’s going on, you can become free to pursue positive experiences, healthy relationships, and big dreams!

It makes me incredibly proud that Get In Tune’s therapists are changing the way that thousands of people use music. There are very few music therapists who specialize in this work, and we are forging a path to mental health recovery for individuals and our communities.

Because we know the ways in which people address mental health can be varied, we’ve taken a multi-faceted approach to providing music therapy services. We offer virtual individual and group music therapy sessions, treatment center music therapy, and we even have an online self-study program that focuses on mental health. We also help train therapists and treatment center staff to learn how to use music properly with clients working on their mental health.

Our “DIY” online self study music therapy program is called In Tune. It’s filled with ways to use creative arts, music making, writing, and music listening to identify and manage emotions while creating a greater sense of self alignment. It’s an affordable way to incorporate music into working with mental health if music therapy sessions aren’t possible, as well as making a great complement to working with a talk therapist. Anyone who struggles with things like stress, anxiety, overwhelm, depression, panic attacks, imposter syndrome, trauma, low self-esteem and burnout would benefit from it!

I believe everyone deserves to find their own voice and learn to express and communicate in a way that promotes healthy and happy living. This is why we also offer free music and mental health tips to our email community. Everyone should have access to these tools because our mental health can affect every part of our lives.

Everything we offer teaches skills and exercises that can be used over and over, throughout your life. And to me, it’s awesome to work on mental health in a way that’s connected to something we all love… music!

If you’d like to learn more about Get In Tune or connect, you can find us at www.getintunemusictherapy.com or on Instagram at @getintunemusictherapy.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I’ve had to unlearn the behavior of being a people pleaser. In fact, I would call myself a “reformed” people pleaser!

I grew up in a home that was bi-racial and bi-religious, and different religious beliefs were the cause of my parents’ divorce. As they both attempted multiple times to find a partner who would be a more ideal match, I developed the belief that when people disagree, someone leaves.

This led to a behavioral pattern of molding myself into whatever I thought people wanted me to be. I made it my role to make everyone else feel happy and good. And to ensure I was never a cause of any problems, I hid my own opinions and emotions, afraid of expressing anything that might lead to abandonment.

When I became a therapist and a business owner, a lot of this people-pleasing behavior followed me into my profession. I believed I should do whatever a site wanted me to do, accept whatever pay I was offered, and avoid setting my own boundaries and policies to ensure everyone was happy.

But I quickly realized that, as a business owner, it is vital to differentiate between hearing other people’s needs and solely focusing on and accommodating other people’s needs. If I was going to succeed, I had to unlearn that behavior and communicate my own needs and the needs of my company.

Another important lesson I’ve learned is that it is not about me. Every business has dynamic needs, and sometimes business relationships end. But this is rarely, if ever, a reflection on me as a person or even on the services my company provides. It’s critical to not take business relationship changes personally. And often when a business relationship has ended on a good note, I end up working with the same individual or company again later!

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Even just a few years ago, I’d have said I would love to go back in time and follow my original dream of becoming a performing artist. Since childhood, I dreamed of creating music that could help people, as music had helped me, and I thought being a singer was the path I needed to follow to do this. Even after becoming a music therapist, my old dream would occasionally resurface, making me wonder what it would have been like to take that other path.

Then I had an epiphany. When I was in my internship for my marriage and family therapist license, I realized that my work as a music therapist in mental health was accomplishing my dream. I support others in using music to heal. I was living my dream!

So yes, I would choose exactly the same role I am in now. I am the CEO of a company I created, teaching ANYONE struggling with mental health how to find their own personal freedom through music. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.getintunemusictherapy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getintunemusictherapy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetInTuneMusicTherapy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlys-woods/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetInTuneMusicTherapy

Image Credits
SC Photography