Music therapy changes lives. Give more New Yorkers access to it.

New York has the chance to lead the nation in recognizing a fundamental truth: True healing often starts with a chord or two, a bit of rhythm, and a voice rising to meet a melody. We've seen firsthand through our work together — a partnership between the nonprofit Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and The Joel Foundation — that creative arts therapy has transformed the lives of countless New Yorkers.

We are profoundly moved knowing that children with autism can find their first expressive breakthroughs through drums or song, that older adults with dementia can come back to themselves through familiar melodies, and that trauma survivors can use songwriting to process feelings and reclaim their agency.

One of us is a clinical music therapy practitioner, while the other is married to the iconic New Yorker and musician Billy Joel, so this work is deeply personal. Using music to process grief, express joy and to heal has defined Billy's career and been a touchstone for our entire family, just as it has been for the Conservatory's clients. Music has the unique ability to light up the brain in ways beyond the grasp of traditional talk therapy.

Now, with one signature, Gov. Kathy Hochul can help thousands of New Yorkers gain access to effective, clinical music-based care. A bill before her would require commercial health insurers to cover psychotherapy services provided by licensed creative arts therapists, including art, music, dance/movement and drama therapists. These master's degree-trained mental health clinicians use the creative process in a therapeutic relationship to help people communicate, process emotions and build the skills they need to thrive. They are state-licensed, rigorously trained and already deeply embedded in New York's behavioral health landscape.

In building the Conservatory's music therapy program — the largest in the state, serving more than 2,700 people each week in New York City — we have seen the extraordinary power of music at work. It sings out in the voice of Oluyemi Vilmar, who as a young child only spoke through sign language. After coming to the Conservatory in 2003, Olu developed the skills and confidence to express himself verbally through singing in sessions with his music therapist. This fall, as we announced the launch of our national Music Therapy Institute, Olu, now 33, spoke aloud and enthusiastically to a room full of strangers about music therapy's transformative role in his life.

When our institute opens in 2026, we will double our capacity to serve New Yorkers. But currently too many of them cannot access these proven therapies because their insurers treat the services as a luxury, denying coverage for work they classify as "nontraditional."

Signing this bill would bring New York's LCATs into the same insurance framework that governs other licensed forms of psychotherapy. It would help families start treatment earlier and, over time, reduce costs associated with crisis care and hospitalization. Most importantly, it would give New Yorkers more ways to get mental health treatment — especially those who struggle with talk-based approaches.

New York prides itself on innovation — in health care, the arts and public policy. This bill would further the state's leadership role in all three areas, while bolstering a vital workforce and the well-being of thousands of families.

Gov. Hochul has an opportunity to close a deeply unfair gap in our behavioral health system and expand access to care. She should seize it.

This guest essay reflects the views of Alexis Roderick Joel, who is co-chair of The Joel Foundation, founded by her husband Billy Joel, and Toby Williams, director of the Music Therapy Program at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.