“When it seemed I had lost everything, there was a little light...Something began touching chords and emotions deep inside me"-Simon Pipe: How Musical Creativity can facilitate a healing Sense of Belonging within the Spiritual Community of the AA 12 Steps

This presentation explores what spiritual communities can learn from the spiritual path of the “AA 12 Steps”, when complemented with creative relational therapies such as music and art to cultivate a deep sense of belonging. This path involves the recovery of one’s authentic self in relationship with one’s “higher power.” Healing occurs through the unfolding of a spiritual journey that enables the person in addiction to rewrite their narrative and experience spiritual freedom. They transition from isolation to a sense of belonging in community. Musical creativity as a spiritual practice gives voice to this journey. Our examples come from the lyrics and music of clients of The Substance Abuse Foundation (Caribbean), showing how integrating art and musical creativity into this journey is a powerful, therapeutic tool for self-expression, trauma processing, and building new connections within a new identity.