Marilyn Immoos-Langlois

Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM), Switzerland

Title: Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM): An Integrative Wellness Approach to Supporting Emotional Self-Regulation

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Biography

Dr. Marilyn Immoos-Langlois is a psychologist, composer, and developer of Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM), an evidence-informed wellness approach integrating diaphragmatic breathing, grounded attention, and original music to support emotional self-regulation and well-being. She earned a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Innsbruck and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Vienna, complemented by advanced musical studies at the New England Conservatory and the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
During an analytical music therapy internship at the Psychiatric University Hospital Basel, she began developing resonance-based methods integrating breath, voice, imagery, and embodied attention, later refined through the Center for the Psychology of Voice in Zurich.
After postdoctoral training at California State University, Sacramento, she served for more than two decades as a Senior Psychologist Specialist with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, working extensively with individuals with substance use disorders. There, MBM was developed and incorporated as a complementary wellness resource alongside individual and group psychotherapy to support emotional self-regulation and engagement in treatment. Although MBM is neither psychotherapy nor addiction treatment, it has demonstrated value as an adjunctive self-regulation approach within multidisciplinary recovery settings. Dr. Immoos-Langlois presents internationally on MBM's conceptual foundations and applications in behavioral health and wellness.

Abstract

Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM): An Integrative Wellness Approach to Supporting Emotional Self-Regulation

Mindful Breathing with Music (MBM) is a structured, secular wellness approach designed to support nervous system regulation, relaxation, and emotional self-regulation. It integrates gentle diaphragmatic breathing, grounded awareness, and original piano music composed specifically to facilitate a calming, non-demanding experience. MBM is neither psychotherapy nor a medical treatment. Rather, it is intended as an evidence-informed, non-pathologizing wellness resource that may complement broader mental health promotion, recovery support, and preventive well-being initiatives. Because many individuals recovering from substance use disorders experience fluctuations in physiological and emotional arousal that may increase vulnerability to craving and relapse, MBM may serve as a practical self-regulation resource alongside established treatment and recovery programs.
MBM emerged through a cumulative, practice-based developmental process spanning several decades. Its origins lie in psychiatric and therapeutic work during the late 1980s, where breath, voice, resonance, and guided imagery were used to promote grounding, emotional safety, and self-regulation. Initially referred to as Resonance Therapy, these regulatory principles were subsequently refined through application in therapeutic, educational, performance, leadership, and wellness settings. Over time, the essential elements were distilled into a structured, accessible approach suitable for everyday use while remaining informed by established psychological and psychophysiological principles.
This presentation describes the conceptual development of MBM, outlines its principal components, and discusses its potential contribution as a complementary wellness resource within multidisciplinary approaches to addiction recovery and behavioral health