What is Songwriting for Wellness?
Songwriting for Wellness provides guided songwriting workshops designed to support mental health, resilience, and self-expression.
Our programs are used across a range of settings, including work with seniors, partnerships with community, healthcare, and mental health organizations, and workshops for the frontline professionals who provide care every day. This includes work with organizations such as CAMH, Camp Erin bereavement camp, and Correctional Services Canada. Whether participants are navigating stress, processing life experiences, or simply looking for a creative outlet, songwriting offers a structured, supportive way to reflect and connect.
No musical background is required. These workshops are designed for beginners and can be adapted to meet the needs of each group.
Why songwriting?
Songwriting gives people a way to organize thoughts, process experiences, and express what can be difficult to say directly. In a group setting, it also creates connection.
Research has shown that expressive writing can support resilience and reduce stress, while shared creative experiences help build confidence and strengthen social bonds.
What makes songwriting unique is that it combines both. Participants are not only reflecting on their experiences, they are shaping them into something meaningful they can share.
What we do
We design and deliver songwriting workshops as a practical tool for wellness.
Our programs include:
- Workshops for healthcare professionals, social workers, and frontline staff
- Programs for seniors, including legacy-based songwriting
- Partnerships with community, healthcare, and mental health organizations
- Custom workshops tailored to specific communities and needs
Each session introduces simple songwriting techniques and guides participants through the process of creating lyrics and, often, a collaborative group song.
The focus is not on performance or musical skill. It is on expression, reflection, and creating something that feels true.
Our approach
Our workshops are intentionally structured to balance creativity with support.
Participants are guided step-by-step through the songwriting process, with clear tools they can use during and beyond the workshop. Sessions are designed to be accessible, flexible, and responsive to the group.
We understand that different groups require different approaches. Working with seniors, healthcare professionals, or individuals processing difficult experiences each calls for a different tone, pace, and level of support. Our facilitation is grounded in meeting people where they are.
Our background
Songwriting for Wellness was developed through years of experience using songwriting across educational, community, and healthcare settings.
Murray Foster is a Juno-nominated songwriter, producer, and performer with credits on multiple gold and platinum recordings. He is best known for his work with Moxy Früvous and Great Big Sea, and has spent decades performing internationally and collaborating with artists across genres.
In addition to his work as a professional songwriter, Murray has taught songwriting at institutions including Toronto Songwriting School and Seneca College and has worked extensively with community-based programs such as the Lullaby Project and the Lyrics & Legacies Project with Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall, as well as partnerships with CAMH, helping participants process emotion and personal experience through songwriting.
Through this work, it became clear that songwriting could serve not only as a creative practice, but as a meaningful tool for processing life experiences, building connection, and supporting well-being.
Songwriting for Wellness builds on that foundation.