Music-Based Social Skills Therapy Begins at Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center... "MIND Program" Clinical Manual Published

The research team led by Professor Chun Geuna of Severance Hospital has published the clinical manual for the music-based social skills training program for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, titled the "MIND Program" (Hakjisa).

According to Yonsei University Health System on March 17, the book's lead author is Professor Chun Geuna, a leading authority in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, and Suga of BTS (real name Min Yoon-gi) also participated as a co-author.

The connection between the two dates back to the fall of 2024. Suga, who has consistently shown interest in child and adolescent mental health issues, found common ground with Professor Chun Geuna regarding the need for mid- to long-term therapeutic support for children with autism spectrum disorder. This led them to collaborate on developing a music-based therapeutic program.

With Suga’s personal sponsorship and donation of talent, the Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center opened at Severance Hospital in September 2025, with Professor Chun Geuna serving as its inaugural director and beginning full-scale operation of the program.

Suga actively contributed ideas from the planning stage and participated directly as a music volunteer instructor in the pilot program, closely observing the children's progress. In the preface to the manual, Professor Chun stated, "His participation stemmed from his sensitivity as an artist who understands the power of music better than anyone, as well as his sincerity in empathizing with and sharing responsibility for the socially marginalized." She added, "This book cannot be discussed without mentioning Min Yoon-gi’s name, and his contribution was crucial to bringing this program to fruition."

Existing social skills training programs are often designed based on assumptions of linguistic comprehension and cognitive abilities, which limits their applicability for children with lower developmental levels.

The MIND (Music-Interaction-Network-Diversity) Program was developed in response to these concerns. Through choosing instruments and participating in ensemble activities, children naturally learn to listen to others, wait, and coordinate with peers. Even children who were unable to express emotions or thoughts verbally actively participated in instrumental activities, showing noticeable changes in their interactions with peers. The MIND Program aims to establish itself as a new clinical model that addresses the limitations of conventional social skills training.

The program consists of a total of 12 sessions. It begins with basic interaction experiences and expands step by step to emotional recognition, information exchange, and ultimately a collaborative music project. Intervention methods for problem situations based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are also included, allowing the manual to be used immediately in clinical settings.

A pre- and post-assessment conducted on seven children and adolescents who participated in the pilot program confirmed significant improvements in overall social adaptation skills, ability to recognize nonverbal cues, and motivation for social participation.

The effectiveness of the program was vividly demonstrated on December 9, 2025, on the main stage of Yonsei University’s grand auditorium. The "Severance Mind Band," consisting of children from the first cohort of the MIND Program, held their inaugural concert, performing in front of a packed audience of 1,600. Playing and singing various songs—including "To You, To Me" by Bicycle Riding Landscape—this performance showed that the therapeutic program could lead to both social independence and artistic growth for the children. At the time, Professor Chun remarked, "Through practicing for the Mind Band concert, the children developed patience and learned to coordinate and wait for others."

Professor Chun Geuna, the lead author, stated, "I hope this manual enables professionals and therapists at home and abroad to share the program’s philosophy and specific procedures and apply them in real clinical settings." She continued, "Various studies have already shown that collective experiences through music promote the formation of social relationships and emotional development. The MIND Program is one of the first attempts to concretize this for the clinical field and could have significant international relevance."

Going forward, the research team plans to broaden the target group for the program and scientifically verify its clinical effectiveness.

The "MIND Program" will be available for pre-order through online bookstores starting March 17.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.