Can Music Help With Mental Health Issues?

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, March 7, 2025…

• It’s a common belief that music soothes the soul. But some researchers and healthcare companies say it can be used to heal the mind, and maybe the body.
• Lawmakers should hit the brakes on one of Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature programs for cleaning up homeless encampments. That’s according to a report out this week from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. 
• Governor Gavin Newsom surprised many people this week when he chose to speak out against transgender women and girls in sports on his new podcast called “This is Gavin Newsom.”

Could Doctors Prescribe Music To Treat  Mental Health Issues?

It’s a common belief that music soothes the soul. But some researchers and healthcare companies say it can be used to heal the mind — and maybe the body.

Several popular apps claim to help relieve anxiety through music, meditations and mindfulness. A company in Los Angeles takes that idea further: It’s seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration to prescribe music treatments for specific mental health conditions, such as generalized anxiety disorder.

A recent study out of UC Irvine found that listening mindfully to improvisational jazz was linked to a decrease in pain and anxiety for some patients. Sean Young, lead author of the study, told LAist that just as doctors prescribe opioids for chronic pain, “you could imagine that prescribing something like jazz or certain sounds might be in the future of what we can do in helping patients with pain or other kinds of clinical, mental, behavioral health issues.”

Sona Labs, an L.A.-based company that bills itself as “music as medicine,” is seeking FDA approval for its music treatment so that mental health professionals can prescribe them for conditions like generalized anxiety disorder. Sona’s founder, Neal Sarin, said music compositions created with the company’s proprietary technique have been shown in tests to increase alpha waves in listeners’ brains.

Report: California Should Pause Funding For One Of Newsom’s Key Programs To Clear Encampments

Lawmakers should hit the brakes on one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature programs for cleaning up homeless encampments, according to a report out Wednesday from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO).

The LAO found lawmakers lack the basic information needed to assess how well the effort — called Encampment Resolution Funding Program — is working and should hold off on further investment until it’s given “compelling evidence that program goals are being met.”

Newsom and legislators rolled out the competitive grant in 2021 to help local governments address “specific, persistent encampments” with the aim of moving people into permanent housing or temporary shelter until long-term housing becomes available. The state invested $900 million in the program since its launch, according to the report.

Gavin Newsom Shocks LGBTQ Allies With Criticism Of Transgender Athletes

Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports this week — a notable change in his position that thrust the Democratic governor into the center of a national maelstrom. It was unclear whether he will act on his new position as Republicans urged him to follow conservative states in banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports.

The comments came on the first episode of Newsom’s new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” on which the governor has said he plans to interview political figures he disagrees with about the major issues of the day. In a chummy conversation with Charlie Kirk, the Donald Trump-aligned conservative activist, Newsom repeatedly conceded to criticisms of a transgender high school track athlete who recently won a regional meet.

Allies were angered by Newsom’s comments, which break with the mainstream Democratic Party position supporting transgender athletes, with some arguing that he was abandoning transgender youth at the same time they face a wave of laws nationwide rolling back their rights.

“In this moment of crisis, they need leaders who will unequivocally fight for them,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said in a lengthy statement. “Instead of standing strong, the Governor has added to the heartbreak and fear caused by the relentless barrage of hate from the Trump Administration.”