Why We Think Music Matters in Recovery

A SCARS Institute Scam Victim Recovery Insight

Music is a profoundly underutilized tool in the recovery toolkit for scam victims, operating on neurological, psychological, and emotional levels that traditional talk therapy alone cannot always reach.

The experience of being scammed, particularly in a romance scam or investment fraud, is a deep psychological betrayal trauma that shatters trust, induces profound shame, and often hijacks a victim’s very identity. Scammers are master manipulators who frequently co-opt music as a tool of control, creating a shared playlist or a “special song” to manufacture intimacy and accelerate bonding. This musical manipulation tethers the victim to the scam emotionally, making certain songs toxic triggers after the scam ends that can instantly induce anxiety, grief, and flashbacks. The recovery process, therefore, must include a deliberate act of reclaiming this sonic territory.

Reintroducing music is not about passive listening; it is an active process of re-authoring one’s emotional landscape. The first step is often creating a “recovery playlist” that serves as an antidote to the manipulative soundtrack of the scam. This is an exercise in agency. By consciously selecting songs that are empowering, resilient, or simply joyful, the victim begins to overwrite the fraudulent neural pathways. Music has a unique ability to bypass the brain’s analytical, prefrontal cortex, the part stuck in a loop of “how could I have been so stupid?”, and communicate directly with the limbic system. A powerful anthem can instill a feeling of strength when words fail. A beautiful, complex classical piece can provide a sense of order and peace when a victim’s world feels chaotic. This isn’t just a distraction; it’s a form of neurological repatterning.

SCARS Institute Music is available on our YouTube channel and in our private Survivors’ Community.

Furthermore, music can serve as a powerful educational and validating tool. The lyrical content of many songs explores themes of betrayal, resilience, and healing. Hearing an artist articulate feelings of being wronged but not broken can be incredibly validating. It tells the victim they are not alone in their experience. Genres like the blues are literally built on a foundation of hardship and overcoming adversity. Exploring the stories behind the music, why a songwriter wrote a particular song, and the historical context of a genre can shift the victim’s focus from their personal shame to a broader, more universal human experience of struggle and survival. This intellectual engagement with the music creates a healthy distance, allowing them to process their emotions as an observer of art rather than a prisoner of their trauma.

Perhaps most importantly, music reintroduces joy and the capacity for pleasure back into a life that has been stripped of it. Trauma recovery is exhausting, painful work. Constantly dwelling on the “hard truth” can lead to burnout and despair. Music provides a crucial escape valve. Putting on a funk or disco, or EDM record and dancing for three minutes is a somatic cathartic experience, reminding the body that it can feel something other than fear and tension. It’s a small, achievable win. Singing along at the top of one’s lungs to a favorite pop song is a release of pent-up emotion and a reclamation of voice. These moments of fun are not frivolous; they are essential. They are proof that a life beyond the scam is not only possible but can be filled with lightness and laughter. In this way, music becomes more than just a recovery technique; it becomes the soundtrack to a new, self-authored chapter of freedom and resilience.

Prof. Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.
February 2026