Scream Therapy Podcast: Exploring the Link Between Punk Rock and Mental Health

It was quite awesome to have a chat on the Scream Therapy Podcast where host Jason Schreurs and his guests explore the link between punk rock and mental health. We discussed trauma in general and how punk rock and the punk scene can help some people to process their personal and communal trauma. I also shared my experience of having punk rock as my first therapy modality.

In addition, we also discussed in a more general way how the energy of all music can provide a safe haven, an escape, and/or a healing mechanism. We addressed how a major driver of trauma recovery and trauma resilience comes from being in community, and how the punk scene offers this type of communal support.

I have found that the sound, impact, pace, physicality, lyricism and vibration of punk rock provide a full package for expression and processing. It was great to be able to speak to my own truth that punk rock can be an adaptive mechanism for survival, grounding resiliency and even thriving.

https://soundcloud.com/screamtherapy/episode-21-dr-stephen-dansiger-on-trauma-therapy-for-punks

Host Jason Schreurs talks to clinical psychologist Dr. Stephen Dansiger about trauma and how punk rock and the punk scene can help to process it. Stephen is a specialist in trauma and addiction treatment, as well as EMDR therapy. From his experience in the New York punk scene in the late '70s, he knows firsthand that punk rock is a form of therapy.