Nervous System Regulation: DBT and Music Therapy for Mental Health

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! This year, on the Dynamic Lynks team, we have been diving into continuing education on integrating DBT with Music Therapy to continue supporting our clients with mental health needs. If I had to pick just one of the skills I learned, it would be TIPP! TIPP has been a game changer for me as a human and as a music therapist to support my clients' regulation.

What Is TIPP?

TIPP stands for Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing, & Progressive Muscle Relaxation. By implementing any of these tools, a person can regulate their nervous system in times of heightened distress/intense overwhelm to cope, stay safe, and return to a calmer emotional state. TIPP is a tool to use to quickly regulate, not a long-term solution, as this tool does not address the root of what may have activated a person into a heightened state.

Using TIPP to Support Mental Health

When working with clients as a music therapist, I can show my clients TIPP through psycho-education about the skill. In sessions, we can create a song to remember what the acronym stands for and practice some of the tools. Practicing the tools is important so that when the person is in a time of distress, they can more easily remember, access, and implement these strategies.

1. T: Temperature

   • Temperature changes can regulate our nervous system for a variety of reasons: decreasing or increasing heart rate, or by triggering our "Mammalian Dive Reflex," for example. This is why even just splashing cold water on your face can be helpful.

   • My personal favorite tool for when I am feeling extremely overwhelmed is putting ice packs and even bags of frozen vegetables on my body. I have a very difficult time at the dentist, and having ice packs on my chest and stomach has been so helpful for calming down!

   • Be safe, don't go too extreme with this one, and consult a professional if you have a medical condition that might be affected by temperature changes.

2. I: Intense Exercise

   • When we get in these heightened emotional states, our bodies create a lot of energy (as if we were early humans needing to outrun or physically fight a threat). This tool regulates our nervous systems by using up the extra energy that is created.

   • Going for a run around the block, doing jumping jacks, or lifting weights (if you have them). You can practice these exercises in music therapy sessions as well, for example, by doing jumping jacks to a beat to regulate.

3. P: Paced Breathing

   • Different breathing exercises can help our nervous systems regulate. You can practice these in music therapy sessions with different visuals and Music Assisted Relation techniques!

   • Alternate nostril breathing is one of my personal favorites as a music therapist who is also a certified Yoga instructor.

   • Square breathing is another example that gets us to slow down and control our breath:

     

     
     

4. P: Progressive Muscle Relaxation

   • Progressive Muscle Relaxation is the process of tensing/flexing different muscles, holding, and releasing them.

   • I like to start from the feet, moving up to the face. Tense and release the feet, then the lower legs, upper legs, abs, shoulders, arms, hands, and then the face. At the end, you can even squeeze every muscle at once and then release and breathe.

   • Here is my favorite guitar picking pattern to use when leading a Music Assisted Progressive Muscle relaxation - make those guitar notes higher on the fret board and get dissonant with it to support the tension in the muscles!

Every person is different! It is important to use these tools in a way that feels safe to each individual. I have found that so many people don't know about these skills, so I hope that this blog post was able to show you something really helpful to get through those really hard "melt-down" moments.

We can't wait to see how you incorporate these nervous system regulation tools into your daily life or music therapy practice!

For more songs and resources to support regulation, check out our Relaxation and Regulation Bundles at dynamiclynks.com/shop