Stories and Songs from our Music Therapy Retreats
Formerly Music Therapy of the Rockies, Music Therapy Retreats provides evidence-based music therapy to support veterans and others with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
We offer music therapy retreats at no cost to participants, helping them achieve mental wellness through music. Our retreats include goal setting, mindfulness exercises, songwriting with professional musicians, and adapted guitar lessons.
This approach helps attendees identify triggers, learn self-regulation, and reinterpret their experiences.
Each veteran at the Retreat receives a Breedlove Guitar, which they use to develop both mental and physical skills through music.
About Stephanie Rasbach and “I’m Too Young”
I was in the Army and worked as a combat medic and surgical tech. I joined the military because I created a situation I didn’t like and thought the military would be my escape. That didn’t work, because no matter where you go, there you are.
As a young child, I grew up in foster care. When I was 11, we went back with my mom, and I felt like I was moving in with a stranger. I felt so alone all the time. I was always looking for a place to fit in and belong.
In the military, they tell you you’ll have a family that will have your back…which is kind of true, but it ended up feeling like a big dysfunctional family. I had some good experiences and some bad experiences in the military, and I ended up getting a rating for PTSD as a result.
I didn’t grow up going to church but always believed God existed – but I didn’t know how to have a relationship with Him. In my faith journey, I struggled to understand why God didn’t care enough to stop the bad things I experienced in my childhood and in the military from happening.
I got tired of fighting and running, and as I began to deal with my issues, I began to realize He had been there with me all along. I had never been alone. When I was crying, He was crying with me.
Today, I’m a behavioral analyst and therapist with many difficult cases that others don’t want to take. I know all my experiences prepared me for them.
I started learning guitar a few months before the retreat. Since the retreat, I’ve been learning more about songwriting and have joined groups and participated in co-writes – not just to heal but also to write worship songs.
I want everyone to know that even if they think they’re alone, they’re really not. God is right there waiting if you’ll let Him in. He is waiting with arms wide open, ready to welcome you home.
Listen to a preview of Stephanie Rasbach song with Nicole Serrano here:
Support Mental Wellness for Veterans
Music Therapy Retreats has served more than 100 veterans and people suffering from PTSD at retreats in Tennessee, Colorado, Maryland, and beyond.
With just a $100 donation, you can receive this song — along with two full albums that give you an inside look at our retreats. The stories and songs compiled here highlight their experiences.
Listen to memories unfold, as the retreat attendee’s experiences are explored and captured in song.