Occupational Therapy Assistant Transforming Emotions into Music

Where Occupational Therapy Meets Music

Noah Perales believes that some of the most meaningful conversations begin with music. For him, music has always been a source of healing, perspective, and self-expression. He recognized that many individuals, particularly adolescents and young adults, struggle to express emotions through traditional talk-based therapy approaches. Rather than accepting those limitations, Noah asked a different question: What if creating music could become the occupation that helps people better understand themselves? That question, along with Noah’s background in occupational therapy and music production, led to the creation of Regulation Beats®, an innovative program that uses music production to help clients develop emotional regulation, communication, executive functioning, and coping skills.

Music production provides a concrete way for clients to externalize emotions, make choices, solve problems, and reflect on their experiences. Rather than asking clients to talk about difficult emotions, Regulation Beats invites them to produce and analyze music. Clients write lyrics, select sounds, play instruments, record audio, and create personalized songs while exploring concepts such as emotion identification, mindfulness, communication, collaboration, empathy, executive functioning, and sensory regulation. Regulation Beats is a versatile program that can be used with clients of all ages, across a variety of diagnoses and abilities, and in clinical or nonclinical settings. It is appropriate for anyone who is seeking to rehabilitate or optimize their mental health.

“For me, music has tamed emotional pain, introduced new perspective, and provided a sense of understanding and control for my mind… The overall purpose of Regulation Beats® is to support individuals, families, and caregivers with understanding, identifying, and influencing emotional experiences so they may make better decisions and engage in a more meaningful life.”

Noah Perales

Innovation Award Winner

Creating a New Rhythm for Therapy

Many of the clients participating in Regulation Beats have aged out of traditional emotional regulation programs or struggle to engage in talk-based therapy. By using music production as the therapeutic occupation, Noah creates an environment where clients feel comfortable exploring emotions, building relationships, and practicing new coping strategies in ways that feel natural and personally meaningful.

Before the first Regulation Beats session, the client’s goals are identified. Goals may include increasing frequency of emotion-based expression, increasing vocabulary related to emotion-based topics, increasing independent usage of regulation strategies, building flexibility and engagement in non-preferred activities, or strengthening adaptive responses to support more successful participation in daily activities. Sessions are designed for each client’s specific needs and goals, but a typical session involves the client answering questions about their physiology, psychology, and behavior, then working with Noah to transcribe the answers into music that sounds like the client’s emotional state. Once the song or beat has been created, the client answers a series of reflective questions, the emotional state is identified, and regulation strategies for functionally influencing the emotional state are defined. By the end of the session, the client has the song they created and the skills and knowledge to continue skill development outside of therapy. Through this process, emotional regulation becomes something clients can practice, hear, shape, and share.

For Noah’s clients, music is more than a creative outlet; it is a pathway to greater confidence, emotional regulation, and participation in everyday life. Families have witnessed the impact firsthand:

“[My son] has improved his ability to identify his feelings, to know if he is regulated or not, and ways to regulate his feelings. Noah helped us understand [my son] better and gave us ways we can better support him. We really appreciate all Noah’s support and help.”

Flor

Client’s parent

“I think the ability to produce something creatively and problem solve while also learning regulation skills has made it an exciting experience for our son. He respects [Noah’s] approach and appreciates his relationship with [Noah], which is definitely not always a given for him when working with different adults. It’s also allowed our family to have a better kind of understanding of dysregulation and pragmatic communication.”

Sarah

Client’s parent

Building the Future of Occupational Therapy

From the beginning, Regulation Beats has been grounded in occupational therapy principles, client feedback, and emerging research. Noah continues exploring new ways that occupational therapy can embrace creativity, technology, and evidence-based innovation to better serve people with diverse cognitive, behavioral, and emotional needs. He has presented his work at a TEDx conference in Chattanooga and collaborated with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s occupational therapy doctoral program and Siskin Children’s Institute on a research project about music production and emotion regulation skills. Currently, Noah is working on a new project, in partnership with a wearable assistive technology company, to research the benefits of a vest that vibrates to music for emotion regulation and occupational engagement.

By transforming the creative process into therapeutic intervention, Noah has created an approach that feels engaging, relevant, and empowering for clients across the lifespan. His work demonstrates that innovation does not always require reinventing the profession; it sometimes begins by seeing familiar occupations in entirely new ways. Through Regulation Beats, Noah is helping people find their voice, strengthen emotional regulation skills, and participate more fully in the lives they want to live.