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Mental Health Professionals
Strengthen young people’s mental health through singing
Children’s mental health services are under pressure, and many young people wait too long for support. Sing Up Foundation produces, promotes and creates opportunities for children and young people to improve wellbeing through singing - offering mental health professionals a credible, preventative approach that sits alongside clinical care.
Evidence-led insights into how singing supports wellbeing, regulation and belonging
If you work with children and young people, you’re likely seeing the same patterns again and again. Demand continues to rise. Needs are more complex. Waiting lists are long. Thresholds are high. Too often, support arrives late – when distress has already escalated into crisis.
Many professionals tell us the same thing:
“I know what good support looks like, but the system doesn’t always allow me to provide it early enough, or consistently enough”
At Sing Up Foundation, we work alongside researchers, educators and practitioners to explore a simple but often overlooked question: how can collective, creative experiences support young people’s mental health before things reach breaking point?
We understand the pressures you’re under
Mental health professionals working with children and young people are balancing competing demands every day:
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Managing risk and safeguarding alongside limited capacity
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Supporting children while they wait for specialist services
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Working across fragmented systems – health, education and community
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Holding professional values in systems that prioritise crisis over prevention
This can create real moral and emotional strain. Especially when you’re left “holding” children and families with few meaningful options to offer in the meantime.
"With 50% of mental health problems established by the age of 14 and 75% by the age of 24, it's critical to focus on prevention by working with young people. The benefits of singing, especially in groups, are wide-ranging with extensive research supporting the physiological, social, psychological and behavioural benefits."
Where singing fits - and why it matters
Singing doesn’t replace clinical intervention, assessment or treatment. But a growing body of research shows that group singing can support key protective factors linked to mental health and wellbeing, including:
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Emotional regulation and co-regulation
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Social connection and belonging
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Reduced stress and improved mood
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Confidence, agency and voice
For children and young people, singing offers something many systems struggle to provide: a non-stigmatising, accessible, relational experience that supports wellbeing without requiring diagnosis.
For professionals, this matters because it creates credible early-intervention and preventative options that sit alongside clinical care, rather than competing with it.
Explore our resources
Some of our recent resources & research
How Sing Up Foundation supports your work
Sing Up Foundation is supporting mental health professionals with evidence and advice around the ways that singing can support children & young people's mental health.
With research demonstrating that the impact of singing on mental health goes much deeper than songs to reflect moods, our resources are designed to help you stay up to date with the latest research and effective practice, so that you can plan what might work in your setting/s.
Download our free guide
Singing for Mental Health - A Guide for Professionals Working with Young People
An evidence-led guide for mental health professionals exploring how singing can support regulation, belonging and wellbeing in young people, alongside ethical signposting, boundaries and practical guidance.
Explore more
Here are some more resources you might be interested in. Remember that Sing Up Members can Bookmark pages and access the document library.
Courses
A curated set of courses for all our leaders and practitioners.
CPD opportunities coming soon!
Why not connect with SUF and we'll let you know when the next course is available?
Professional development
Sing Up Foundation is here to support your professional journey. We provide professional development courses and tools as well as live sessions and ongoing support to help you maximise your efforts and continue to stay at the edge of the latest methods and techniques.
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News
Podcast
Young Sessions: Music as Medicine
Lewisham Music, Afiya Lucombe-Davis, Toni-Ann Gurdon, Mimi Mxnroe, H-Jay
Young Sessions: Finding your Flow
Lewisham Music, Afiya Lucombe-Davis, Toni-Ann Gurdon, LifeofKwasi, Ziggy, Marley, Chris MA
Voices of Change: tackling racism and cultural barriers in and through music
Luqman Ali and Natasha Hendry
The Science and Soul of Singing: Why we need music more than ever
Dr Daisy Fancourt and Howard Goodall CBE
