In this study, researchers from the Yale School of Medicine explored the effects of a group-based song-making / songwriting program (called SING) on people experiencing psychosis (including symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and social withdrawal).
The researchers investigated whether actively creating music together in a group setting could help improve symptoms, social connection, and cognitive processes — particularly predictive coding (the brain’s ability to make accurate predictions about the world, which is often disrupted in psychosis).
Key Approach
- Participants with psychosis took part in group sessions where they collaboratively wrote and performed original songs.
- The study combined:
- Symptom-specific clinical measures (e.g., changes in hallucinations, paranoia, etc.)
- Linguistic analyses of speech and song lyrics as objective markers
- Longitudinal follow-up (tracking changes over time)
Main Findings
- Group song-making helped participants re-engage with their surroundings and improved their ability to make reliable predictions.
- Music was described as a safe “roller coaster” for the brain — it challenges expectations in a controlled, enjoyable way, which may help correct the brain’s “glitched” predictive mechanisms often seen in psychosis.
- Improvements were observed in symptoms, social functioning, and the quality of predictions people made about upcoming events or sensory input.
- The intervention appears promising as a creative, non-pharmacological complement to traditional antipsychotic treatment.
Conclusions & Implications
The authors suggest that group song-making offers a meaningful way for people with psychosis to rebuild predictive abilities, reduce isolation, and reconnect with others. Senior author Philip Corlett emphasized that “music is a golden road for making predictions.”
The study adds to growing evidence that music-based interventions can be therapeutically valuable in psychosis treatment, going beyond traditional music therapy by focusing on active song creation and measurable cognitive changes.
