You don’t have to be a musician to play music. At least it’s not a requirement of music therapy.

“If you have no music skill, it doesn’t matter,” said George Wanke, the former integrated dual diagnosis treatment team leader at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center who helped launch the music therapy group; he is now part of the Bert Nash Child and Family Services staff. “All you really have to do is have an interest in investigating music and have it be part of your recovery.”

Abbey Dvorak, KU assistant professor of music therapy, leads the adult music therapy group at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center.

The Bert Nash psychosocial rehabilitation program started a seven-week trial for adult music therapy last February. The trial went so well the decision was made to offer music therapy on an ongoing basis. The group is available for Community Support Services clients — individuals who have been diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness.

“Music therapy can aid people in managing their thoughts and feelings, which is what it’s all about,” Wanke said. “This is a way to provide another skill for people to manage how they think and feel about themselves.”

The Bert Nash music therapy group is a collaboration with the University of Kansas Music Therapy Department. Abbey Dvorak, KU assistant professor of music therapy, leads the music therapy group, along with Bert Nash case managers T.Q. Warren and Jessica Pennewell.

“It’s a really great experience for people to make music together,” Dvorak said. “They don’t have to have any music skills or talent; they don’t have to play an instrument. They can just come and be themselves.”

The music therapy group meets from 1-2 p.m. on Fridays. Average attendance is about six. The group is interactive, but members can choose to participate at their comfort level.

“Even if you just want to listen, music has an impact on the way you feel and think,” Wanke said.

The music therapy group is intended to be a fun and safe place for participants.

“In the past, I would make an excuse or not feel like going to group,” one client said. “This is the first group that I have not missed a single one.”

Music therapist Dvorak said experience shows music can be a powerful emotional tool.

“A lot of people have shared how music has helped them get through a really difficult time in their life,” Dvorak said. “In some cases it might save a life, because someone might have been considering harming themselves and they heard a song that let them know they weren’t alone in what they were going through in their life.”

For at least one client, that was the case. Music offered a reason to live.

“Music saved my life,” the client said. “I had decided to kill myself one day and then that song came on the radio, ‘Somewhere I Belong,’ by Linkin Park. Listening to that song saved my life. The singer knew what I was going through.”

Jeff Burkhead is the communications coordinator for the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. He can be reached at jburkhead@bertnash.org.