The effect of improvisational music therapy on the treatment of depression: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background. Music therapy is frequently offered to individuals suffering from depression. Despite the lack of research into the effects of music therapy on this population, anecdotal evidence suggests that the results are rather promising. The aim of this study is to examine whether improvisational, psychodynamically orientated music therapy in an individual setting helps reduce symptoms of depression and improve other health-related outcomes. In particular, attention will be given to mediator agents, such as musical expression and interaction in the sessions, as well as to the explanatory potential of EEG recordings in investigating emotion related music perception of individuals with depression. Methods. 85 adults (18–50 years of age) with depression (ICD-10: F 32 or F33) will be randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition. All participants will receive standard care, but the experimental group will be offered biweekly sessions of improvisational music therapy over a period of 3 months. A blind assessor will measure outcomes before testing, after 3 months, and after 6 months. Discussion. This study aims to fill a gap in knowledge as to whether active (improvisational) music therapy applied to people with depression improves their condition. For the first time in this context, the mediating processes, such as changes in musical expression and interaction during the course of therapy, will be objectively investigated, and it is expected that the results will provide new insights into these processes. Furthermore, the findings are expected to reveal whether music related emotional experiences, as measured by EEG, can be utilized in assessing a depressive client's improvement in the therapy. The size and the comprehensiveness of the study are sufficient for generalizing its findings to clinical practice as well as to further music therapy research. Trial registration. ISRCTN84185937peerReviewe

Music Therapy as a Part of Drug Rehabilitation: from Adhering to Treatment to Integrating the Levels of Experience

The author makes suggestions about how to integrate music therapy practices into drug rehabilitation programs. Information is based on the author\u27s research, which involved interviewing four experienced Finnish music therapists who have worked in drug rehabilitation for many years. The discussion focuses on the use of music therapy in the acute (detoxification) phase and the follow-up phase

Emotions in motion - Tunteet Liikkeessä (TuLi)

Depression is a highly prevalent mood disorder which impairs a person’s social skills and quality of life, and affects their ability to recognise and express emotions. Here, we describe the first study to investigate how depression affects expression of emotions perceived in music through spontaneous, expressive body movement. Central to this study is the use of a Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) intervention. Specifically, we investigate how depression and possible co-morbid anxiety affect a person’s ability to express emotions perceived in music through spontaneous movement, regulate their emotions through music and music related movement, and whether DMT can improve these skills in depressed patients. We predict that the DMT intervention will increase the variety of movement characteristics exhibited, including movement dynamics, movement range, and movement-based interaction. Participants (aged 18-60 years), including 30 clinically depressed patients and 30 non-depressed controls, will be tested throughout Spring 2012. Depressed participants will receive 20 sessions of group DMT, and measurements, including psychometric questionnaires (depression, anxiety, alexithymia, emotion regulation, life satisfaction and mood) and motion capture/video data (solo movement improvisations with music, and movement interaction with music), will be taken before and after the intervention. For the controls, measurements will be taken only once. Here, we describe the project, and report on its current status

Improvisaatiopohjainen yksilömusiikkiterapia masennuksen hoidossa : kontrolloitu, satunnainen tutkimus

Masennus on yleinen sairaus, joka vaikuttaa ihmisen elämään laaja-alaisesti, heikentäen muun muassa yksilön sosiaalisia taitoja ja vaikeuttaen kykyä tunnistaa ja ilmaista tunteita. Masennukseen liitetään myös vaikeudet ilmaista ja säädellä negatiivisia tunteita kuten vihaa. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin kliiniseen improvisaatioon perustuvan lyhytkestoisen musiikkiterapia-intervention lisäarvoa Käypä hoidon mukaiseen masennuksen hoitoon (engl. standard care, jatkossa Se) lisättynä verrattuna pelkkään se hoitoon. Psykiatriset arviot toteutettiin sekä koe- että kontrolliryhmille lähtötilanteessa ennen satunnaistamista, sekä kolmen kuukauden (musiikkiterapiaintervention jälkeen) ja kuuden kuukauden kuluttua uudestaan. Tutkimus osoitti, että musiikkiterapian ja se:n yhdistelmä vähensi masennus- ja ahdistusoireita sekä paransi yleistä toimintakykyä merkittävästi enemmän kuin pelkkä se.peerReviewe