Last Updated:
July 22nd, 2025
Sound Therapy | Addiction Treatment Therapies
Have you ever noticed how certain songs or calming sounds can instantly lift your mood or ease your anxieties? That is the core idea behind sound therapy for addiction, a gentle yet powerful therapy that uses music and sound to heal emotional wounds and soothe your mind. Sound therapy stimulates your brain’s natural healing mechanisms, helping you regain emotional control and mental clarity. As part of addiction treatment, sound therapy’s innovative approach can provide a comforting, stabilising influence both during rehab and your new sober life.
What is sound therapy for addiction?
Sound therapy, known sometimes as sound healing or vibrational therapy, is a powerful yet gentle technique that uses sound to restore your emotional balance and inner harmony. By harnessing different instruments, vibrations, tones or voices, sound therapists create soothing soundscapes that naturally engage your brain’s healing pathways and release “feel-good chemicals” like serotonin and dopamine. These effects can lower stress hormones like cortisol, lessen physical tension and budge any emotional blockages to recovery.
How sound therapy promotes relaxation and healing in addiction recovery
Sound therapy can take many forms but in rehab programmes, it often follows the Cooper Sax Model set out by the British Academy of Sound Therapy. This splits the sound therapy process into the “5 Rs” which help you relax and heal:
1. Responsibility
The first step begins with you accepting your role in the healing journey. This is important because sound therapy for addiction requires active participation to unlock its full potential.
2. Resonance
During this stage, you pay close attention to how different sounds affect you personally. Some sounds might soothe and comfort you, while others might gently reveal emotional issues that need attention.
3. Resistance
During resistance, you safely explore any emotional challenges that arise during the therapy session. This is a big breakthrough point with the sounds gently allowing you to uncover and acknowledge hidden or suppressed emotions.
4. Release
This critically important stage allows you to naturally let go of emotional burdens, stress and internal tension. It is a bit like taking a deep, cleansing breath that can leave you physically and mentally refreshed.
5. Reflect
Finally, reflection is about taking the time to process and internalise your experience. It helps you sustain the clarity and peace gained, enriching your daily life.
What are the benefits of sound therapy in addiction recovery?
Sound therapy can profoundly influence your recovery, providing emotional relief, mental clarity and overall healing in several meaningful ways:
Reduced stress and anxiety
Soothing sounds like soft music or singing bowls help your nervous system switch into rest mode, calming your mind and easing the anxious thoughts that often lead to relapse.
Emotional healing
Sound therapy can help unlock deep emotions without needing to talk. You might feel sadness, anger or even joy rise to the surface and that’s a good thing! It means your body is finally letting go of old emotional pain that has been fuelling addiction.
A clearer mind
After a sound therapy session, many people feel like their minds are clearer. This helps with making decisions, staying focused on your recovery and thinking through tough situations.
Heightened self-awareness
You will start to notice how certain feelings or situations affect your urges to use. This kind of insight is powerful as it helps you catch those moments early and make different choices.
How to incorporate sound therapy into addiction treatment plans
There are lots of ways you can experience sound therapy, all of which have their own unique power. Here are three of the most popular that many people find helpful in recovery:
Gong bath therapy
Gong bath therapy is a bit like being wrapped in calming sound waves. You will lie down comfortably while your therapist gently strikes large gongs, creating deep, rich vibrations. These can wash away stress and anxiety and can really help when you’re feeling overwhelmed or facing strong cravings during recovery.
Music therapy
Music can lift you up, calm you down or even say the things you don’t know how to put into words. In music therapy, you will use music in different ways, like tapping on a drum, writing a short tune or just closing your eyes and listening. It is a gentle way to work through tough emotions and learn how to handle cravings or hard moments without turning to substances.
Sound bowl therapy
Sound bowls produce beautiful, calming tones when gently struck or circled. The sounds vibrate gently through your body, helping you feel more balanced, emotionally settled and centred. This newfound peace can make even the toughest moments in recovery feel more manageable.
How can sound therapy be used in combination with other therapies?
Sound therapy is great on its own but it really shines when paired with other approaches to addiction recovery. Here is how it fits with some popular rehab therapies:
Group therapy
Sound therapy creates a special environment of emotional openness and trust, which works perfectly in group therapy sessions. Sharing the experience with others helps build strong bonds and can often lead to more genuine conversations during talking therapy.
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
CBT is about changing the way you think and react to things. Sound therapy helps set the stage by making you feel more relaxed and emotionally stable. This calm, focused mindset means you can really get the most out of your CBT sessions and helps you apply new skills more effectively in everyday life.
Mindfulness therapy
Sound therapy and mindfulness naturally go hand-in-hand, as both techniques focus on calming your mind and creating emotional clarity. The peaceful, meditative state induced by sound therapy helps you dive deeper into mindfulness practices, making it easier to handle stress, cravings and challenging emotions.
How can sound therapy help prevent relapse?
Sound therapy is one of the most practical relapse prevention tools you can take with you into everyday life. It’s low-cost, non-invasive and is incredibly effective at helping you manage the moments that may push you towards using again.
You can continue sound therapy in several ways. One of the easiest is to build it into your routine with guided sound meditations available online. Apps like Insight Timer, Calm and YouTube channels dedicated to sound healing offer gongs, singing bowls, rain sounds and more. Try listening first thing in the morning if you wake up anxious or in the evening if cravings creep in when you’re tired and stressed.
You can also continue to participate in professional sound therapy sessions. Your rehab centre may provide it during aftercare or you may be able to join in a group session locally. By making sound therapy part of your recovery toolkit, you give yourself an empowering way to manage stress and emotional overload, helping reduce the risk of relapse significantly.
How to get started with sound therapy for addiction recovery
Successful addiction recovery is all about finding the tools that speak to you. If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or disconnected, addiction treatment with sound therapy
could be exactly what you need. Contact Addiction Helper today and we will help you find a trusted rehab near you that offers sound therapy as part of a holistic treatment plan.
Our compassionate team are ready and available to take your call, and guide you towards lasting the lasting addiction recovery you deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
(Click here to see works cited)
- The British Academy of Sound Therapy. “What Is The BAST Method of Sound Therapy?” The British Academy of Sound Therapy, 19 February 2019, https://britishacademyofsoundtherapy.com/bast-method/. Accessed 28 May 2025.
- Goldsby, Tamara L et al. “Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study.” Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine vol. 22,3 (2017): 401-406. doi:10.1177/2156587216668109/. Accessed 28 May 2025.
- UK Rehab. “Holistic Therapy | Rehab Therapies and Models.” UK Rehab, https://www.uk-rehab.com/rehab-therapies/holistic-therapy/. Accessed 28 May 2025.
