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Do you hear the people sing--
singing the song of angry men?It is the music of a people
who will not be slaves again.
--From the musical "Les Miserables"
No, this isn't the anthem of a group of anti-managed care psychiatrists who were releasing their frustrations musically at APA's annual meeting in San Diego in May. It was one of a number of crowd-pleasing tunes in a singalong led by Ed Siegel, M.D., in the annual meeting workshop "Music in the Lives of Four Psychiatrists."
The psychiatrists who performed at the session were pianist Siegel, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD); pianist John Feighner, M.D., director of the Feighner Institute; trumpeter Dominick Addario, M.D., a geriatric and forensic psychiatrist; and Stephen Shuchter, M.D., clinical director of UCSD's outpatient psychiatry clinic, who, during his off hours, gives fresh life to Elvis Presley.
At the start of the workshop, Siegel told the audience that not only would they be entertained by the musical performances they were about to hear, but also they would be reminded of the amazing powers that music has to transform feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
Music, he pointed out, was used by the earliest physicians in ancient Greece and Egypt, and it predates talking and medication as a therapy for mental disorders.
Today, Siegel said, group singing could be medicine for our culture. It imparts a sense of joy, enthusiasm, and camaraderie among people who come together to enjoy the musical experience.
His points were thoroughly proved during the singalong. In a textbook example of self-selection, the people who attended this workshop obviously loved music. In fact, it was clear that the audience would have gladly sung for another hour or two had the meeting room not already been scheduled for another session. At one point Siegel exclaimed, "This is a workshop! There are rules--we've got to have some discussion!" As the crowd politely but firmly disagreed with him ("No, we don't!"), he obligingly sat down at the piano again and led the audience in yet another tune.
Siegel, who has directed community singalongs for 10 years, ended the workshop by having everyone stand and sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
"I've found a key to play it in so that each one of you will sound good," he assured the audience, as they gamely plunged in with Addario adding a touch of brass on his trumpet.
Now about those anti-managed care psychiatrists. . . .Maybe all they really need to do is harness the power of music and belt out a few verses of "The Impossible Dream." Just ask APA President-elect Rodrigo Mu¤oz, M.D.
--C.F.B.
(Psychiatric News, July 4, 1997)