In October, Dr. Matthew Brooks, Associate Professor and Director of Orchestral Activities in Music & Medicine, returned to Spain for the third year in a row to present at the Barcelona Conference on Arts, Media, and Culture.
His presentation examined the mental health challenges facing professional musicians—such as anxiety, perfectionism, behavioral addiction, and identity foreclosure—and how traditional training and career models can reinforce these patterns. Drawing from psychology and performance studies, Dr. Brooks offered evidence-based interventions from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to foster resilience, healthier self-talk, and sustainable artistic growth.
This talk was the second in his ongoing series on mental health in music, following a presentation about mental health in music students at the 2025 American String Teachers National Conference in Atlanta. The next, focused on maladaptive perfectionism and practice addiction, will be presented in February at the 2026 national conference in San Francisco.
Dr. Brooks's work continues to bridge the fields of music, mental health, and wellness reflecting his strong interest in encouraging positive mental health within the academic and professional music communities.
No comments:
Post a Comment