In this section

Disconnection is a common thread

Adaptations for specific populations

Case Study: Then the Dream Started to be More

Case Study: Blue Cabin's 'Sing Our Story'

Intersectionality

The Demands this places on practice

Disconnection as a common thread

As we know, mental health challenges manifest across different populations and circumstances, but one common thread woven through many struggles is disconnection. Disconnection from self, from others, from community, from education and learning, from hope, even from reality – any, or a combination. It’s not these populations or circumstances themselves that create disconnection, but the mental health challenges that can arise when young people face disadvantage, exclusion, or environments that don’t work for them. And these challenges can both cause and be caused by disconnection, so it can become a self-reinforcing cycle.

We believe that this framing helps us to see what unites those diverse groups who might benefit from singing focused on mental health and wellbeing:

• Neurodivergent children (autism, ADHD, sensory processing differences)

• Refugee and displaced children

• Children in care / care-experienced young people

• Children with anxiety and depression

• Young people in alternative provision / excluded from mainstream education

• Those facing socioeconomic disadvantage

• LGBTQIA+ young people

• Young people experiencing bereavement or family breakdown

• Children facing racial and cultural barriers

This isn’t an exhaustive or definitive list, but helps to show the breadth and scale of the mental health problem, and the importance of understanding elements of disconnection which can arise from mental health – whatever its causes – and how to address them.

We all live in different environments with complex dynamics. For some of these groups there will be positives in their circumstances. But the destructive power of mental ill-health to impact these positive elements, and potentially trap negative elements within the individual, means we need approaches which tackle the mental ill-health at source.

Where mental health is disrupted, we believe that what these young people may share is a feeling of ‘other’, or being outside of wider society’s perception of ‘normal’ behaviour or feelings, or of navigating systems that feel confusing or hostile. They might have come to believe that their voice doesn’t matter, have broken trust with adults, and have limited agency over their circumstances.

Adaptations for specific populations

The beauty, and the challenge, of singing is its adaptability to suit specific contexts, and the breadth of contributors to disconnection for young people require the singing to be delivered in a highly flexible way. Adaptations might include:

For Neurodivergent Young People:

• Sensory considerations: volume, acoustics, lighting, physical environment

• Predictability and structure– clear routines, visual timetables

• Processing time may be needed

• Some may find group singing overwhelming; others thrive in it

• Avoiding assumptions – neurodivergent experiences are diverse

• Agency and choice are particularly important – letting individuals find their own way in

• Identity-first language is preferred by many in the autistic community (i.e. ‘autistic person’ not ‘person with autism’) – but follow individual preference

• For neurodivergent young people who may struggle with flexibility, the neurotypical practitioner must be the flexible one.

For Refugee and Displaced Young People:

• Trauma-informed practice is essential

• The music space may be the only place where their culture is valued

• Songs in home languages can be powerful – connection to identity and heritage

• But don’t assume – some may want to leave painful associations behind

• Building trust takes time; consistency of practitioner matters

• Clear structure is highly valued when life outside the session is chaotic

• Performance opportunities can restore a sense of pride and visibility

• Choir as a new family – stable relationships in unstable circumstances

For Care-Experienced Young People:

• Consistency is important – e.g. where possible the same staff team, carrying out what you promise

• High sensitivity to rejection and broken trust

• They may test boundaries as a way of checking safety

• Deep feelings of shame, grief, and loss are common – feeling that ‘I am not enough’

• Identity exploration on their own terms is important but needs to be carefully supported

• Transitions and endings need careful handling – short-term projects can feel like another abandonment

• Success may look different – attendance itself may be a victory

• Blue Cabin’s Creative Life Story work shows the power of arts-based approaches to identity

For Young People with Anxiety and Depression:

• Singing can help regulate the nervous system – the prolonged exhalation required naturally taps into the body’s calming response

• Pushing too hard can increase anxiety

• Choice about participation level is essential

• Some may find group contexts initially overwhelming – individual work can be a pathway in

• Singing can work in two ways for these young people: as relief (a break from rumination and intrusive thoughts through present-moment focus) or as processing (a safe container to explore difficult feelings)

• Watch for signs of withdrawal or distress; a skilled practitioner reads the room

• The demands of singing – listening, producing, adjusting simultaneously – can interrupt negative thought cycles by anchoring attention in the here and now

For Young People Facing Racial and Cultural Barriers:

• Lack of representation in music systems can cause alienation and discomfort

• Cultural safety goes deeper than surface representation – as Rap Club/Spit Game founder Benjamin Turner says, “the thing which will make them feel safe isn’t that their colour is reflected, it’s that their culture is reflected”

• Singing can help alleviate the ‘weathering’ effect of chronic exposure to discrimination, but only if the singing space genuinely recognises diversity of cultures

• Practitioners need cultural competence, awareness of power dynamics and humility about knowledge gaps

• Repertoire, styles, language all matter – not just who’s in the room

Case Study: Then the Dream Started to be More

In 2024 Sing Up Foundation commissioned the University of Limerick to investigate the impact of singing with displaced young people. The resulting report, Then the Dream Started to be More, explores practice with refugee children and unaccompanied minors, offering critical insights into how vocal

work supports those navigating the trauma of displacement.

The research highlights that for young people living in ‘liminal’ spaces – caught between a lost past and an uncertain future – singing offers a unique anchor. It acts as a bridge, allowing participants to honour their cultural heritage (connecting to the past) while building new communities (connecting to the present) and growing confidence (imagining a future).

Crucially, the report emphasises that this work goes beyond simple inclusion. It requires highly skilled, culturally competent facilitation that prioritises agency. When facilitators create a genuinely safe space, singing becomes a non-verbal language of belonging, enabling young people to express complex emotions that words cannot capture. As the report concludes, this creative space helps 'connect memories of the past with the ability to imagine a future,’ moving participants from a state of survival to one of possibility.

Case Study: Blue Cabin’s ‘Sing Our Story’

Blue Cabin’s Creative Life Story work reimagines how care-experienced children understand their past. Traditionally, life story work is a task by social workers to compile a factual book of a child’s history. Blue Cabin transforms this into a dynamic, therapeutic process, pairing professional artists and pastoral staff with young people to explore their stories through creativity rather than just paperwork.

A powerful example of this in action is the Sing Our Story programme (delivered with Groundswell Arts), which pairs musicians with foster families to co-create bespoke songs. For children navigating the fractured reality of the care system, this musical approach serves as a unique ‘safe container’ for their history. The songwriting process facilitates non-verbal bonding and ‘attunement’ between child and carer, allowing them to build trust without the pressure of direct conversation.

Crucially, the song itself becomes a portable ‘audio memory box.’ Unlike physical files or possessions which can be lost during moves, a song travels with the child, providing a permanent, rhythmic anchor of identity that can be replayed in any future setting. An evaluation by Coram found that this creative approach significantly strengthens relationships between children and carers, restoring agency to the young person. As one participant summarised, the programme ‘made me realise my worth’ – demonstrating that for those with complex histories, music provides a vital passport to belonging.

Intersectionality – the vital caveat to these adaptations

Many young people hold multiple marginalised identities, and research consistently demonstrates that intersecting disadvantage compounds mental health challenges.

So single axis thinking (e.g. ‘this is a programme for refugees’) may miss essential needs. Practitioners repeatedly talk about seeing the whole person, not which category they most easily fit into.

The demands this places on practice

What emerges from looking across these populations is the sheer range of what practitioners need to navigate: sensory environments, cultural competence, trauma histories, identity, trust, language, power dynamics. No single practitioner can be expert in all of this, but what unites effective practice across these contexts is a combination of musical skill, mental health awareness and relational capacity. We explore what this means for the workforce, and the conditions they need, in the next section.