Title : Leveraging music affordances across the recovery continuum: A roadmap for integrating neuroarts into addiction care
Abstract:
Recovery from substance use disorders is a dynamic, lifelong process characterized by evolving biological, psychological, social, and existential needs. While growing evidence demonstrates music's capacity to influence emotional regulation, stress response, motivation, social connection, and quality of life, music-based approaches remain fragmented across healthcare, behavioral health, community organizations, and public health systems. This presentation introduces a practical roadmap for integrating music affordances across the recovery continuum, positioning music as an evidence-informed health resource that complements existing models of addiction care.
Grounded in neuroarts, music therapy, public health, and recovery-oriented systems of care, the roadmap is built on the premise that music offers different health affordances depending on where an individual is in their recovery journey. Rather than viewing music as a single intervention, the roadmap demonstrates how musical experiences can be intentionally aligned with evolving recovery needs. During treatment and stabilization, music can support therapeutic engagement, nervous system regulation, emotional processing, coping, and craving management alongside evidence-based care. During community reintegration, music can foster identity reconstruction, purpose, agency, social connection, and recovery capital. During long-term recovery, participation in music through community programming and creative practice can strengthen wellbeing, reduce isolation, and support sustained recovery.
The roadmap further identifies the cross-sector partnerships necessary to activate these affordances, bringing together healthcare providers, behavioral health professionals, peer recovery organizations, community arts organizations, public health agencies, researchers, educators, and individuals with lived experience. By shifting the conversation from isolated interventions to intentionally matching music affordances with changing recovery needs, this approach creates opportunities for more coordinated, person-centered, and accessible systems of care.
Participants will leave with a practical implementation roadmap for integrating music across the recovery continuum and strategies for translating emerging neuroarts evidence into scalable addiction care and public health practice.
