An inexplicable benefit—musical self-expression in a hospital based Day Treatment Program
Shreya Jha, Julie Birrell, Karen Leslie · 2026
Read An inexplicable benefit—musical self-expression in a hospital based Day Treatment Program by Shreya Jha, Julie Birrell, Karen Leslie (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13580633.txt.
Description
Shreya Jha, Julie Birrell, and Karen Leslie tell how songwriting lessons took root in a hospital day program for teens with substance use trouble, in a 2026 narrative piece. Jha, who trained in music composition before medicine, had seen self expression through music steady her own mind and lift children in a free lessons program for poor youth. A medical school project opened the door to try it in care.
The Toronto program pairs treatment with school credit, five days a week. A team of a trainee doctor, a physician, a teacher, music therapists, and youth counselors adapted a classroom songwriting course for the group. The piece reflects on what making songs offered young patients: a voice, a finished thing to own, and relief that words alone had not given.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Shreya Jha, Julie Birrell, Karen Leslie |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 9839 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |