Forming the Youth Music Action Group

Abstract

Young people recovering from mental illness may benefit from ongoing musical opportunities in the community following music therapy engagement in mental health services. In this paper I describe the second cycle of a Participatory research project investigating young people’s musical identities in their recovery from mental illness. This cycle explored the types of services needed for young people’s ongoing recovery and compared these against the reality of service provision in the local area. Findings revealed the need for a unique advocacy body to facilitate partnerships between institutions and community-based services and lead to the forming of a Youth Music Action Group to address this unmet need.