Cygnet Hospital Wyke, on Huddersfield Road, provides an acute service for men suffering with their mental health.
The hospital has recently taken part in a programme called ‘Music 2 Empower’ to provide sessions for its service users.
For service user Jake Mayor, 24, the initiative has been life-changing and music is proving pivotal to his ongoing recovery journey.
He said: “This has given me something to live for.
“I want to live for my music and hopefully inspire people with what I have to share.
“I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with when I first arrived. But I feel I’ve come out of it the other end.
“The music group is just amazing. There’s not a day where there’s no music being played on the ward.”
Jake added: “I believe that music is the heart of recovery. It brings out something in me that I can’t really explain.
“It’s the thing that takes away all my problems, all of my feelings. I just zone out into the music.”
Cygnet Health Care launched the ‘Music 2 Empower’ initiative in 2019 and has since rolled out the programme across its hospitals.
Jake’s Occupational Therapist, Tahiya Begum, explains the difference she has noticed in him through music.
She said: “When Jake first came onto the ward, he was very unwell and on enhanced observations. He was a very different person to who he is now.
“With our music groups, you get to see a completely different side to our service users. It takes them back to how life was before coming into hospital.
“Music 2 Empower has changed Jake’s life. This is his first real exposure to music. Jokes used to be his coping mechanism, but now it is music. He struggles to express himself and talk about his past, now he communicates through music.”
Sebastian Forest, Cygnet Health Care Occupational Therapist, added: “When Jake first came to the music group he was distracted, but obviously very passionate. It was difficult to have a meaningful conversation with him.
“Over the weeks he kept coming back, getting more involved and taking an active role. It was lovely to see him get better and better and more passionate about music. He would go away from the classes in a great mood.”
