When Words Aren't Enough- Processing with Songwriting

Songwriting with April Knight, LCSW

Have you ever had a feeling you couldn't quite explain? Maybe it showed up as a heaviness after a loss, restlessness during a big life change, or a knot in your stomach you couldn't name.

Most of us have a song that seems to say what we couldn't. It brings back a memory, makes us feel understood, or gives shape to something we've been carrying for a long time.

So what happens when, instead of borrowing someone else's song, you write your own? That's the question behind Songwriting Saturday, a new workshop series led by April Knight, LMFT, that we'll host periodically at Mindful Connections Therapy. Our first one is Saturday, November 7. Before we tell you more about it, here's what research says about why music and emotions are so closely connected.

What the Research Says About Music and Emotions

Naming a feeling calms the brain. In a well-known UCLA brain-imaging study, simply putting a feeling into words reduced activity in the amygdala, the brain's alarm system, while increasing activity in a region of the prefrontal cortex linked to thinking about emotions (Lieberman et al., 2007). Researchers call this "affect labeling." Lead author Matthew Lieberman compared it to tapping the brakes on an emotional response. Writing lyrics is affect labeling with a melody.

Music-based therapy helps with depression and anxiety. A 2025 review that pooled 40 research articles found that music therapy added to usual care improved depression, anxiety and quality of life across a range of mental health conditions (Lassner et al., 2025). A Cochrane review reached a similar conclusion for depression, finding short-term benefits for mood, anxiety and day-to-day functioning (Aalbers et al., 2017).

Songwriting helps people make sense of hard experiences. At the University of Melbourne, researcher Felicity Baker has studied songwriting with people recovering from brain and spinal cord injuries. Participants reported greater life satisfaction and found it easier to face painful questions about who they are after a life-changing event (Baker, 2016). She notes that you don't need to call yourself a musician to benefit.

It gives grief somewhere to go. In a group songwriting program for grieving teens, participants described a sense of belonging and a safe way to express grief, both with and without words (Myers-Coffman et al., 2019). The study was small, but the pattern matches what many clinicians see: creating something together helps people feel less alone.

Why Writing Your Own Song Is Different

Listening to music can comfort us. Writing a song asks something more, and gives something more back.

• It slows you down. To write a lyric, you have to notice what you're actually feeling and choose words for it. That's the same "naming it to tame it" process the research describes.
• It turns a feeling into a story. A song has a beginning, middle and end. Shaping your experience that way can help you see it from a little distance, and sometimes see a way forward.
• It reaches what words miss. Melody, rhythm and tone can hold the parts of an experience that don't fit neatly into sentences.
• It leaves you with something. Unlike a feeling that comes and goes, a song is something you can return to, reflect on, and share with someone you love.

How This Workshop Puts the Research Into Practice

April Knight, LMFT, is one of our experienced therapists and trauma specialists. She designed this workshop to give people a guided, supportive way to do what the research describes: name what they feel, explore what it means, and shape it into something they can hold onto.

During the workshop, April will walk you through:

1. Identifying your emotions. Getting clear on what you're carrying right now.
2. Exploring what they mean to you. Finding the memories, images and words connected to those feelings.
3. Turning them into a song. Shaping your story into lyrics and melody, with April guiding each step.

You don't need to be a musician. You don't have to sing, play an instrument, read music, or know anything about songwriting. Just bring an open heart and a willingness to explore. The goal isn't to write a hit. It's to give your emotions somewhere to go.

Who it's for. This workshop may be a good fit if you are:

• Grieving the loss of someone or something important to you
• Navigating a faith transition or questioning long-held beliefs
• Entering a new stage of life and figuring out who you're becoming
• Working through trauma or difficult experiences
• Feeling overwhelmed by emotions you haven't been able to express
• Looking for a creative way to understand yourself better

The workshop can complement ongoing therapy, serve as a starting point for personal exploration, or offer an affordable option if ongoing therapy isn't possible right now. It isn't a replacement for individual mental health treatment, but it can be a meaningful space for reflection and expression.

Take Your Song Home: Optional Production

Every participant leaves with a song that tells part of their story. For those who want to take it further, we're offering an optional add-on at the end of the workshop: create and produce a finished recording of your song for an additional fee.

A produced track is something you can listen back to, share with family or friends, or keep as a marker of where you were and how far you've come. It's completely optional. The workshop itself is a full experience on its own.

Production fee: ask for more details 

Join Us for Our First Songwriting Saturday

Songwriting Saturday with April Knight, LMFT
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: Mindful Connections Therapy
Lunch: Provided
Workshop fee: $120
Musical experience required: None
Optional add-on: Song production, for an additional fee

Register for Songwriting Saturday

Sign up here

Can't make this one? Songwriting Saturdays will be held periodically, so let us know if you'd like to hear about the next date.

You don't have to be a musician to create something meaningful. Just bring an open heart, a willingness to explore, and your story. We all have one.

Mindful Connections Therapy: helping people find meaningful ways to connect, grow and heal.

Sources

• Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.
• Lassner, A., et al. (2025). Evidence for music therapy and music medicine in psychiatry: Transdiagnostic meta-review of meta-analyses. BJPsych Open, 11.
• Aalbers, S., et al. (2017). Music therapy for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
• Baker, F. A. (2016). Songwriting as solace. The Conversation / University of Melbourne.
• Myers-Coffman, K., et al. (2019). The Resilience Songwriting Program for adolescent bereavement. Journal of Music Therapy, 56(4), 348–380.