It’s a July evening on the Asbury Park boardwalk, and a song is drifting along the boards, bass first and then a voice. Behind it, Convention Hall is being restored to reopen as a year-round performing arts center. Someone leaning on the railing knows every word. They’ve spent the week scrolling outpatient programs on their phone, and a thought arrives, half as a joke. Maybe treatment could include the thing that has always gotten them through.
It can. Music-assisted treatment is Recovery Unplugged’s take on music therapy for addiction. We bring songs, lyrics and simple instruments into therapy, because a lot of people have always reached for a song when life got heavy.
Live music is already part of life here. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) found that 30.3% of New Jersey adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances in 2022, so a therapy session that starts with a song starts on familiar ground.
What Music-Assisted Treatment Actually Involves (Less Performing Than You’d Think)
A session often starts with a song someone chose. The group listens, and then people talk about what it brought up. That might be a parent’s car on the Garden State Parkway, the summer before things got bad, or a lyric that says what nobody in the room has managed to say out loud.
From there, a session can include:
- Listening to songs that match a feeling, then unpacking why
- Lyric work, such as pulling the line that fits where you are this week or rewriting a chorus so it tells your story
- Hand drums and other simple percussion, with no training needed
- Writing your own lyrics, a verse, sometimes a full song
- Building a personal playlist that becomes a soundtrack for your recovery
Instead of being asked how you’re feeling, you might be asked to play the song you’ve had on repeat all week. For a lot of people, that question is easier to answer honestly.
Music in recovery sits alongside counseling and group therapy. It never replaces them. You can read about our music-assisted treatment program or see how we use music in rehab across our locations.
Who It’s For (Hint: You Don’t Need to Play Anything)
It’s for anyone who likes music, whether or not you play. The person who only sings in the car belongs here, and so does the one who hasn’t touched a guitar since high school.
Plenty of New Jerseyans make their living in the arts, too. The same NEA profile found that arts and cultural production employed 148,377 workers in New Jersey in 2023. Some people who come to us work in that world. Others just have strong opinions about Springsteen.
If you’re looking into this for someone you love, you might worry it will feel like a gimmick to them. For many people, it ends up being the part that gets them talking. To talk it through, ask our New Jersey team how music would fit your plan.
What Your First Week in New Jersey Looks Like
It starts with a phone call. Our admissions team is available 24/7. They’ll ask about what you’re using, your history, your home and your work, and answer your questions without pressure.
Next, you choose a level of care, meaning how much support you get day to day. In New Jersey, the options are:
- An in-person intensive outpatient program (IOP), where you come in for treatment and still keep up with work, school or family
- Virtual IOP, which is drug and alcohol treatment online, from home
- A partial hospitalization program (PHP) with supportive housing, meaning treatment during the day and a supportive place to live while you’re in the program
If you’re weighing those, read how outpatient treatment works at Recovery Unplugged. Our team will help you choose.
On day one, you’ll meet your care team and the people in your group. If your mental health has been taking a hit too, say so early. We treat mental health alongside substance use, so it can be part of your plan.
In your first music session, it’s fine to just listen. Opening up usually comes with time, often because someone else’s song hit close to home.
By the end of the week, group time, one-on-one sessions and music start to feel like a routine. If you come in person, at the end of the day you go home, or back to supportive housing if you’re in PHP.
Families don’t have to wait on the sidelines. Our free weekly virtual family meetings let loved ones join in from the first week. To see where we are and how the programs fit together, visit our New Jersey drug and alcohol rehab page.
Why Music Therapy for Addiction Has Research Behind It
Adding music therapy to regular treatment probably eases cravings and gives motivation for treatment a modest lift. That comes from a 2022 review by Cochrane, an independent group that pools medical research. The review looked at 21 trials with 1,984 people. In the trials that measured them, music therapy led to a meaningful drop in craving and a smaller boost in motivation for treatment, and the reviewers rated the evidence for those two results as moderate certainty. Most of the trials took place in short-term inpatient programs. The review found no clear effect on depression, anxiety, or how long people stayed in treatment.
Music can also work against you. A systematic review by Silverman and colleagues in Musicae Scientiae found that music can trigger alcohol and substance craving. The song from every party you went to can pull you somewhere you don’t want to go. So in treatment, you’ll sort your songs into the ones that steady you and the ones that pull you back. For a deeper look at the studies, see our Austin article on music therapy for addiction and the evidence behind it.
Life after the program, with the volume back up
Getting sober doesn’t mean giving up live shows, and sober concerts just take a little planning. In Newark, you could catch a show at Newark Symphony Hall, which the City of Newark has owned since 1964. In Camden, Camden County hosts free summer concerts at Wiggins Waterfront Park. In New Brunswick, Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts presents about 200 live events a year, all open to the public. Going with someone from your recovery circle helps, and so does knowing your exit plan before the opener starts.
You don’t lose your people when the program ends. Our lifetime alumni program has weekly virtual meetings and monthly in-person events, so you can keep music and recovery in your life alongside the people you met in treatment. To hear more, ask our New Jersey team about the alumni program.
Questions to Ask Any Program About Music
- Is music part of the core schedule, or an occasional extra?
- Do I need to play anything?
- Is it available in IOP and virtual IOP?
- How does it connect to the rest of my treatment?
- What support is there after the program ends?
- Can my family be involved?
What Recovery Unplugged’s New Jersey Program Looks Like
In New Jersey, music-assisted treatment runs through our care, and we treat mental health and substance use together. You can come in person for IOP, do virtual IOP from home, or choose PHP with supportive housing. When treatment ends, you’re still part of the community through our lifetime alumni program. Your family is welcome too, at our free weekly virtual family meetings. You’ll find more in our New Jersey articles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does music therapy for addiction actually work? A 2022 Cochrane review found that music therapy added to standard care likely reduces craving and modestly improves motivation for treatment. It didn’t show a clear effect on depression, anxiety, or how long people stayed in treatment.
What is music-assisted treatment? It’s what we call bringing music into your treatment: listening, lyric work, simple instruments, writing, and personal playlists.
Do I need musical experience to take part? No. If you like music, you’re qualified, and nobody has to perform.
Is music part of outpatient treatment in New Jersey? Yes. Our admissions team can walk you through how music fits into IOP, virtual IOP and PHP. You can also read more about our outpatient treatment options.
What if certain songs make me want to drink or use? It happens, and a systematic review found that various types of music can induce alcohol and substance craving. Part of the work is noticing which songs pull you backward and building a playlist that helps you move forward.
Can I go to concerts in early recovery? Many people do, with a plan. Bring a sober friend, eat beforehand, and decide ahead of time when you’ll leave. Your therapist can help you judge when you’re ready.
Back on the Boardwalk
Picture next July in Asbury Park. A song drifts past Convention Hall, maybe one from the playlist you built in treatment, and you stay for all of it with a clear head. Later, you remember every minute of the drive home.
If music has always been how you get through things, it can be part of how you get through this too, and our New Jersey team would love to show you what that looks like. Whenever you’re ready, you can talk with our New Jersey team.
