Effects Of Music Therapy Interventions Research Articles

Music therapy for supporting informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness pre- and post-bereavement; a mixed-methods systematic review

BackgroundMusic therapy interventions with informal carers of individuals with life-threatening illness at pre- and post-bereavement is an increasingly important clinical area. This systematic review is the first to synthesise and critically evaluate the international evidence associated with music therapy with adult informal carers pre- and post-bereavement. Specifically, the objectives were: i) to describe the characteristics and effectiveness of music therapy interventions which aim to improve health-related outcomes for adult informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness (pre- and post-bereavement), and ii) to describe the experience of music therapy for adult informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness (pre- and post-bereavement).MethodsEligibility: adult informal carers of adults at end of life or bereaved; music therapy interventions for improving health-related outcomes; qualitative; mixed-method; and quantitative studies including comparators of any other intervention; published in English from 1998 onwards. Six databases were searched up to July 2022. A JBI mixed-methods systematic review approach was followed throughout, including quality appraisal, data extraction and a convergent segregated approach to synthesis and integration.ResultsA total of 34 studies were included, published between 2003 and 2022. Most were conducted in North America (n = 13), Australia (n = 10), or Europe (n = 8). No studies were conducted in low- and middle-income countries or in the UK. The majority were qualitative (n = 17), followed by quasi-experimental (n = 8), mixed-methods (n = 7) and two RCTs. The majority focused on carers of individuals with dementia (n = 21) or advanced cancer (n = 7). Seventeen studies were purely quantitative or included a quantitative component. During meta-synthesis, findings were aligned to core outcomes for evaluating bereavement interventions in palliative care and previously identified risk factors for complicated grief. Commonly targeted outcomes in quantitative studies included quality of life and mental wellbeing, showing equivocal effectiveness of music therapy with significant and non-significant results. Twenty-two studies either purely qualitative or with a qualitative component underwent meta synthesis and suggested a diverse range of improved pre- and post-bereavement outcomes for informal carers across all core outcomes, and across all risk and protective factors, including psychological, spiritual, emotional, and social outcomes.ConclusionsQualitative studies provide moderate to strong evidence for improved health-related outcomes for adult informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness pre-bereavement. Limited studies including those bereaved negates conclusions for the bereavement phase. Comparisons and explanations for effectiveness across quantitative and qualitative studies are equivocal, with a high risk of bias and small samples in the limited number of quantitative studies, demonstrating a need for high-quality RCTs.Systematic review pre-registrationPROSPERO [CRD42021244859].

Retracted: Analysis of the Effect of Music Therapy Interventions on College Students with Excessive Anxiety.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1155/2023/3351918.].

Effect of music therapy intervention on anxiety and pain during percutaneous renal biopsy: a randomized controlled trial.

Percutaneous renal biopsy (PRB) may subject patients to emotional distress and pain before and during the biopsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of complementary/non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy (MT) on anxiety, pain and satisfaction in renal patients undergoing PRB. A prospective, single-centre, single-blind, randomized controlled two-arm trial was conducted. Patients ≥18years of age, hospitalized at the Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Unit (Bari, Italy) and scheduled for PRB were screened. Participants were assigned to standard treatment (CG) or to the music therapy (MT) intervention group. Participants in the MT group received standard care and an MT intervention by a certified music therapist qualified in guided imagery and music. The CG patients received the standard of care. MT and CG patients were subjected to identical measurements (pre/post) of the parameters in the State Trait Anxiety Inventory Y1 (STAI-Y1), visual analogue scale for pain (VAS-P) and satisfaction (VAS-S) and heart rate variability. A statistically significant difference in the anxiety scores after PRB between MT and CG patients (STAI-Y1 35.4±6.2 versus 42.9±9.0) was observed. MT also had strong and significant effects on VAS-P compared with CG (5.0±1.4 versus 6.3±1.3, respectively; P<.001) and VAS-S (7.8±1.0 versus 6.0±0.9, respectively; P<.001). Decreased activity of the sympathetic nervous system and increased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system was observed after PRB in the MT group. Our study supports the use of MT to mitigate the psychological anxiety, pain and sympathetic activation associated with PRB.

Effects of music therapy intervention on gait disorders in persons with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review of clinical trials.

Music Therapy (MT) is a unique treatment method for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) that can accelerate their functional recovery. MT has been proven to adjust the gait performance of PwMS in a short period. Its therapeutic effects in gait disorders of PwMS for long-term intervention are also starting to draw interest, but it has yet to be investigated. This review aimed to systematically examine the outcomes of PwMS with gait disorders after receiving MT intervention. A systematic review has been performed using several academic databases with keywords such as music therapy, multiple sclerosis, and gait. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022365668). A total of 405 studies were initially identified. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, twelve studies were finally included. The results showed that all PwMS received MT intervention with different strategies, and ten studies confirmed that gait disorders of PwMS were effectively improved by MT intervention. Most previous studies focused on the transient effects of MT on the gait performance of PwMS. This review bridges gaps in the long-term intervention of MT on gait disorders of PwMS and offers references for therapists to design treatment plans. According to this review, MT intervention has positive therapeutic effects on gait disorders in PwMS.

Terapi Musik terhadap Efikasi Diri pada Pasien Kanker

This study aims to determine music therapy intervention's role in cancer patient's self-efficacy. The research method used was a systematic review of several journals reporting music therapy's effects on cancer patients' self-efficacy. A total of 9 studies met the requirements for consideration, including 9 designs, namely quasi-experimental (3 studies), randomized control trials (2 studies), non-randomized control (1 study), and cross-sectional (1 study). The results showed 671 respondents from the nine studies analyzed in this systematic review. We found the effect of music therapy intervention on cancer patient's self-efficacy. In conclusion, this review provides strong evidence regarding the impact of music therapy, namely increasing self-education. Music therapy intervention can be carried out with active and passive music therapy, which affects patient self-efficacy, especially in cancer patients.&#x0D;  &#x0D; Keywords: Self-Efficacy, Cancer Patients, Music Therapy

Analysis of the Effect of Music Therapy Interventions on College Students with Excessive Anxiety.

In order to explore and analyze the effect of music therapy interventions on college students with excessive anxiety, this paper selected 240 year 2017- to year 2020-enrolled undergraduates from a comprehensive university in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, in Central China as research objects. These college students had been diagnosed as excessive anxiety and were randomly divided into two groups-intervention group and control group-with 120 students in each group. The control group received conventional mental health treatment for college students, while the intervention group received music therapy interventions on this basis with 3 times a week for 24 times. The instruments used in the music therapy include piano, percussion instruments, melodic instruments, and diffuse instruments; the specific implementation of each therapy is divided into five parts: warm-up, rhythm percussion, song singing, instrumental ensemble, and music appreciation. The study results show that before treatment, the excessive anxiety score of college student in the control group was 63-76 with an average score of 72.58 ± 5.27; after treatment, that was 45-64 with an average score of 54.46 ± 6.82; before treatment, the excessive anxiety score of college student in the intervention group was 62-78 with an average score of 72.56 ± 5.51; after treatment, that was 26-44 with an average score of 33.19 ± 5.51. Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the excessive anxiety scores between the two groups of college students (P > 0.05); after treatment, the excessive anxiety scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the reduction degrees in the intervention group were bigger than those in the control group, with statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). Therefore, music therapy interventions can significantly reduce the excessive anxiety of college students; the analysis also shows that factors such as gender, grade, major, origin, repertoire type, therapy type, and anxiety type could affect the effect of music therapy interventions to some certain extent. For example, the effect of music therapy interventions on college students in psychology or related majors is better than that of students in other majors; the effect of receptive music therapy is better than that of creative and improvised music therapy; the effect of music therapy interventions on college students' life event, romantic relationship, and social anxiety is better than that on college students' test and job-hunting anxiety.

Effect of Music Therapy in Relieving the Symptom Experiences and Improving Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: The critical care patients often have unpleasant experiences while facing critical care activities that may impact on physiological and psychological changes. Music therapy is a simple complementary therapy that can promote relaxation, potentially affecting some outcomes for critical care patients. However, a systematic review related to the application of music therapy and the results obtained from music therapy is still limited. AIM: This systematic review aimed to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy interventions in relieving symptom experiences and improving outcomes of critical care patients. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of research articles focused on music therapy in critical care areas using three electronic databases, namely PubMed, CINAHL, and Science Direct. We selected English articles that had a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design and published from 2005 to 2020. PICO format used to search literature; “Adult, Critical Care, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Critically Ill Patients, Intensive Care, Surgical ICU, Cardiac Surgical ICU, Medical-Surgical ICU, Therapy Music, Music Therapy, Pain, Agitation, Stress. Anxiety, Delirium, Mobility, Sleep, Physiological, and Psychological. The risk of bias from 19 articles was evaluated by JBI. Furthermore, we assessed the manner and effect of music therapy on various symptoms. RESULTS: The researchers found 743 articles. After manual review, 19 RCTs (1711 participants) were identified and assessed. Based on the review, it was reported that music with a relaxed rhythm, soft tone, slow rhythm; duration from 15 to 60 min; 60–80 beats/min, and using headphones, has a significant effect on pain, anxiety, stress, delirium, mobilization, sleep quality, sedation levels, and physiological parameters. CONCLUSION: Music therapy has proved effective in reducing symptoms experiences of critical care patients. It is suggested to be used as a viable option in symptoms management of patients in ICU.

The effect of music therapy interventions on fatigue in patients with hematological cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

To systematically synthesize the effect of music therapy interventions applied to patients with hematological cancer on fatigue. The searches were conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost/CINAHL Complete, Science Direct, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Ovid, ProQuest, and Springer Link databases until August 2021 without any year limitation. The review covered the period between 2003 and 2020. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3 software was used in the analysis of meta-analysis data. The meta-analysis was carried out following the PRISMA checklist. Risks of bias were examined by two independent researchers using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Six randomized controlled trials consisting of 279 participants were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The count of music therapy interventions in the included studies ranged between 1 and 8 sessions per participant, each of which was 20 to 45min long. The music therapy interventions applied to patients with hematological cancers were found to be effective in reducing the severity of fatigue (95% Cl = 0.10 ~ 0.57; Hedge's g = 0.03; p = 0.006). The findings of the meta-analysis indicated that music therapy interventions made important and positive contributions to reducing fatigue in patients with hematological cancer. Music therapy interventions are a convenient method to reduce fatigue because they are comfortable and non-invasive. It will be beneficial to increase the awareness of nurses about the implementation of music therapy interventions. It is recommended that music therapy interventions applied to patients with a diagnosis of hematological cancer should be considered interventions that can be used together with other non-pharmacological or pharmacological methods to reduce fatigue.

Effect of Music Therapy Intervention on Physical Functions and Mental Health of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis.

This study aims to investigate the influence of traditional Chinese music on the physical and psychological functions of hospitalized patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). A total of 120 patients with AS admitted to the People's Hospital of Anhui Province between March 2018 and March 2019 were randomly divided into experiment and control groups. The experiment group was a traditional music group composed of 56 patients, namely, 50 males and 6 females. The control group was further divided into a painting group and a routine treatment group with a total of 64 patients, namely, 48 males and 16 females. The physical and psychological functions of each group of patients before and after the intervention were assessed in terms of physical and psychological function dimensions obtained before and after the intervention. After 8 weeks of treatment, the score in terms of physical functions is the highest in the music group (P<0.05), and the difference in eating functions is statistically significant (P<0.001). This finding suggests that the music group is better than the painting group and the routine treatment group (P<0.05). In terms of the score in sexual functions, the following trend is observed: music group>painting group>routine treatment group. The difference in their psychological functions is statistically significant (P<0.001). In terms of the score in psychological functions, the following trend is obtained: music group>painting group>routine treatment group. The three groups significantly differ in their scores in mental tension, negative emotion, positive emotion, cognitive functions, and self-esteem. All of these dimensions show the following pattern: music group>painting group>routine treatment group. Cross-group comparisons between the three groups are also statistically significant (P<0.05). Traditional Chinese music therapy and painting therapy can promote the recovery of patients' physical and psychological functions. Traditional Chinese music intervention therapy is better than painting therapy and routine hospitalization in promoting the recovery of physical and psychological functions of hospitalized patients.

The Effects of Music Therapy Intervention on the Pain and Anxiety Levels of Cancer Patient: A Systematic Review

Cancer constitutes one of illnesses which frequently causes pain and anxiety. The management of cancer pain comprises the pharmacology and non-pharmacology. The pharmacologic management, at some points, fails to provide a complete relief from the pain and instead gives rises to unwanted side-effects on the patients that necessitate the employment of non-pharmacologic management such as music therapy. The purpose of this systematic review is to discover the effects of music therapy on the pain and anxiety levels on the cancer patient. Systematic Review encompasses literature obtained from library research and internet research using search engine such as PubMed, Medline, Proquest, dan Elsevier. The articles comprise the full text journals published between the years of 2009-2016. 87.50% out of 8 articles (1 systematic review) demonstrates that music therapy effectively alleviates the pain to 75.00% and lowers the anxiety level, and 12.50% of insignificant palliative effect in terms of the pain and anxiety. Music therapy is an effective non-pharmacologic therapy to alleviate or relieve the cancer patients of the resultant pain and anxiety.

Effect of music therapy intervention in pain reduction during venepuncture in neonates

Background: Neonates in a neonatal intensive care unit are exposed to a high number of painful procedures. Since repeated and sustained pain can have consequences for the neurological and behavior‐oriented problem in the future. Non‐pharmacological treatment methods are being increasingly discussed with regard to pain prevention and relief during mild or moderate procedures. The aim of this study was to identify effectiveness of music therapy interventions on pain reduction during venipuncture in neonates.Methods: Total of 60 neonates undergoing venepuncture in the postnatal ward was included in this study. They were divided into the music group (n-30) and control group (n-30) by convenient sampling method. The neonates in music group were exposed to pre-recorded lullaby 5 minutes before starting the venepuncture and during the procedure of venepuncture. The NPASS was done 5 minutes before, during and 5 minutes after the procedure.Results: Compared to the control group neonates, music group neonates showed significantly (P &lt;0.05) less pain perception during intravenous needle puncture. The results showed that music group neonates have significantly less score of NPASS than control group neonates (P&lt;0.001) all five domains.Conclusions: Hence for routine painful procedures like venepuncture, music therapy could be helpful in neonates in reducing the pain perception. Further studies are needed to validate our findings in large sample with proper study design in future.

The Effects of Music Therapy Intervention on the Pain and Anxiety Levels of Cancer Patient: A Systematic Review

Cancer constitutes one of illnesses which frequently causes pain and anxiety. The management of cancer pain comprises the pharmacology and non-pharmacology. The pharmacologic management, at some points, fails to provide a complete relief from the pain and instead gives rises to unwanted side-effects on the patients that necessitate the employment of non-pharmacologic management such as music therapy. The purpose of this systematic review is to discover the effects of music therapy on the pain and anxiety levels on the cancer patient. Systematic Review encompasses literature obtained from library research and internet research using search engine such as PubMed, Medline, Proquest, dan Elsevier. The articles comprise the full text journals published between the years of 2009-2016. 87.50% out of 8 articles (1 systematic review) demonstrates that music therapy effectively alleviates the pain to 75.00% and lowers the anxiety level, and 12.50% of insignificant palliative effect in terms of the pain and anxiety. Music therapy is an effective non-pharmacologic therapy to alleviate or relieve the cancer patients of the resultant pain and anxiety.

The Effect of Music Therapy Entrainment on Physiologic Measures of Infants in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit: Single Case Withdrawal Pilot Study.

Although evidence suggests music therapy lowers the heart rate of ill adults undergoing painful procedures and premature infants in the NICU, the effect of music therapy interventions on physiologic response in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) being cared for in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of the music therapy entrainment on physiologic responses of infants with CHD in the CICU. Five infants in the CICU received music therapy entrainment 3-5 times per week for up to 3 weeks. Sessions took place both prior to and after the infant's surgical cardiac repair. Heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturations were recorded every 15 seconds for 20 minutes prior to the intervention (baseline), during the 20-minute music therapy entrainment (intervention), and for 20 minutes after the intervention (return to baseline). Comparisons of baseline to intervention measures were based on means, standard deviations, and derivatives of the signal. Four of 5 infants experienced a decrease in average heart and respiratory rates as well as improvement in the derivative of the heart rate signal. Greater improvements were found when infants were located in the open bay and were receiving sedatives or narcotics. Our findings provide initial evidence that music therapy entrainment may be a valuable intervention to support improved physiologic stability in infants with CHD.

Music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients.

Having cancer may result in extensive emotional, physical and social suffering. Music interventions have been used to alleviate symptoms and treatment side effects in cancer patients. To assess and compare the effects of music therapy and music medicine interventions for psychological and physical outcomes in people with cancer. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2016, Issue 1), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, LILACS, Science Citation Index, CancerLit, CAIRSS, Proquest Digital Dissertations, ClinicalTrials.gov, Current Controlled Trials, the RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, http://www.wfmt.info/Musictherapyworld/ and the National Research Register. We searched all databases, except for the last two, from their inception to January 2016; the other two are no longer functional, so we searched them until their termination date. We handsearched music therapy journals, reviewed reference lists and contacted experts. There was no language restriction. We included all randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials of music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in adult and pediatric patients with cancer. We excluded participants undergoing biopsy and aspiration for diagnostic purposes. Two review authors independently extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias. Where possible, we presented results in meta-analyses using mean differences and standardized mean differences. We used post-test scores. In cases of significant baseline difference, we used change scores. We identified 22 new trials for inclusion in this update. In total, the evidence of this review rests on 52 trials with a total of 3731 participants. We included music therapy interventions offered by trained music therapists, as well as music medicine interventions, which are defined as listening to pre-recorded music, offered by medical staff. We categorized 23 trials as music therapy trials and 29 as music medicine trials.The results suggest that music interventions may have a beneficial effect on anxiety in people with cancer, with a reported average anxiety reduction of 8.54 units (95% confidence interval (CI) -12.04 to -5.05, P < 0.0001) on the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory - State Anxiety (STAI-S) scale (range 20 to 80) and -0.71 standardized units (13 studies, 1028 participants; 95% CI -0.98 to -0.43, P < 0.00001; low quality evidence) on other anxiety scales, a moderate to strong effect. Results also suggested a moderately strong, positive impact on depression (7 studies, 723 participants; standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.40, 95% CI -0.74 to -0.06, P = 0.02; very low quality evidence), but because of the very low quality of the evidence for this outcome, this result needs to be interpreted with caution. We found no support for an effect of music interventions on mood or distress.Music interventions may lead to small reductions in heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure but do not appear to impact oxygen saturation level. We found a large pain-reducing effect (7 studies, 528 participants; SMD: -0.91, 95% CI -1.46 to -0.36, P = 0.001, low quality evidence). In addition, music interventions had a small to moderate treatment effect on fatigue (6 studies, 253 participants; SMD: -0.38, 95% CI -0.72 to -0.04, P = 0.03; low quality evidence), but we did not find strong evidence for improvement in physical functioning.The results suggest a large effect of music interventions on patients' quality of life (QoL), but the results were highly inconsistent across studies, and the pooled effect size for the music medicine and music therapy studies was accompanied by a large confidence interval (SMD: 0.98, 95% CI -0.36 to 2.33, P = 0.15, low quality evidence). A comparison between music therapy and music medicine interventions suggests a moderate effect of music therapy interventions for patients' quality of life (QoL) (3 studies, 132 participants; SMD: 0.42, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.78, P = 0.02; very low quality evidence), but we found no evidence of an effect for music medicine interventions. A comparison between music therapy and music medicine studies was also possible for anxiety, depression and mood, but we found no difference between the two types of interventions for these outcomes.The results of single studies suggest that music listening may reduce the need for anesthetics and analgesics as well as decrease recovery time and duration of hospitalization, but more research is needed for these outcomes.We could not draw any conclusions regarding the effect of music interventions on immunologic functioning, coping, resilience or communication outcomes because either we could not pool the results of the studies that included these outcomes or we could only identify one trial. For spiritual well-being, we found no evidence of an effect in adolescents or young adults, and we could not draw any conclusions in adults.The majority of studies included in this review update presented a high risk of bias, and therefore the quality of evidence is low. This systematic review indicates that music interventions may have beneficial effects on anxiety, pain, fatigue and QoL in people with cancer. Furthermore, music may have a small effect on heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. Most trials were at high risk of bias and, therefore, these results need to be interpreted with caution.

Music therapy to promote psychological and physiological relaxation in palliative care patients: protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundMusic therapy is one of the most frequently used complementary therapies in different palliative care settings. Despite its long tradition and high acceptance by other health-care professionals, evidence on the effectiveness of music therapy interventions for terminally ill patients is rare. Recent reviews and health-care reports consistently point out the need of music therapists to provide an evidence-based rationale for their clinical treatments in this field. Therefore, the present study evaluates the psychological and physiological response of palliative care patients to a standardized music therapy relaxation intervention in a randomized controlled trial.Methods/designA sample of 84 participants from a palliative care unit in Heidelberg is randomized to either two sessions of music therapy or two sessions of a verbal relaxation exercise, each lasting 30 minutes. The music therapy sessions consist of live played monochord music and a vocal improvisation, the control group uses a prerecorded excerpt from the mindfulness-based stress reduction program containing no musical elements. Outcome measures include self-report data on subjective relaxation, well-being, pain intensity, and quality of life, as well as continuous recording of heart rate variability and blood volume pulse as indicators of autonomous nervous system functioning.DiscussionTo our knowledge, this study is the first clinical trial in Europe and one of very few randomized controlled trials worldwide to systematically examine the effects of music therapy in palliative care.Trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register – DRKS00006137

Music therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder.

The central impairments of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affect social interaction and communication. Music therapy uses musical experiences and the relationships that develop through them to enable communication and expression, thus attempting to address some of the core problems of people with ASD. The present version of this review on music therapy for ASD is an update of the original Cochrane review published in 2006. To assess the effects of music therapy for individuals with ASD. We searched the following databases in July 2013: CENTRAL, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, ASSIA, Sociological Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts International. We also checked the reference lists of relevant studies and contacted investigators in person. All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials comparing music therapy or music therapy added to standard care to 'placebo' therapy, no treatment, or standard care for individuals with ASD were considered for inclusion. Two authors independently selected studies, assessed risk of bias, and extracted data from all included studies. We calculated the pooled standardised mean difference (SMD) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for continuous outcomes to allow the combination data from different scales and to facilitate the interpretation of effect sizes. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic. In cases of statistical heterogeneity within outcome subgroups, we examined clients' age, intensity of therapy (number and frequency of therapy sessions), and treatment approach as possible sources of heterogeneity. We included 10 studies (165 participants) that examined the short- and medium-term effect of music therapy interventions (one week to seven months) for children with ASD. Music was superior to 'placebo' therapy or standard care with respect to the primary outcomes social interaction within the therapy context (SMD 1.06, 95% CI 0.02 to 2.10, 1 RCT, n = 10); generalised social interaction outside of the therapy context (SMD 0.71, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.25, 3 RCTs, n = 57, moderate quality evidence), non-verbal communicative skills within the therapy context (SMD 0.57, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.85, 3 RCTs, n = 30), verbal communicative skills (SMD 0.33, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.49, 6 RCTs, n = 139), initiating behaviour (SMD 0.73, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.11, 3 RCTs, n = 22, moderate quality evidence), and social-emotional reciprocity (SMD 2.28, 95% CI 0.73 to 3.83, 1 RCT, n = 10, low quality evidence). There was no statistically significant difference in non-verbal communicative skills outside of the therapy context (SMD 0.48, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.98, 3 RCTs, n = 57, low quality evidence). Music therapy was also superior to 'placebo' therapy or standard care in secondary outcome areas, including social adaptation (SMD 0.41, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.60, 4 RCTs, n = 26), joy (SMD 0.96, 95% CI 0.04 to 1.88, 1 RCT, n = 10), and quality of parent-child relationships (SMD 0.82, 95% CI 0.13 to 1.52, 2 RCTs, n = 33, moderate quality evidence). None of the included studies reported any adverse effects. The small sample sizes of the studies limit the methodological strength of these findings. The findings of this updated review provide evidence that music therapy may help children with ASD to improve their skills in primary outcome areas that constitute the core of the condition including social interaction, verbal communication, initiating behaviour, and social-emotional reciprocity. Music therapy may also help to enhance non-verbal communication skills within the therapy context. Furthermore, in secondary outcome areas, music therapy may contribute to increasing social adaptation skills in children with ASD and to promoting the quality of parent-child relationships. In contrast to the studies included in an earlier version of this review published in 2006, the new studies included in this update enhanced the applicability of findings to clinical practice. More research using larger samples and generalised outcome measures is needed to corroborate these findings and to examine whether the effects of music therapy are enduring. When applying the results of this review to practice, it is important to note that the application of music therapy requires specialised academic and clinical training.

“The Opposite of Treatment”: A qualitative study of how patients diagnosed with psychosis experience music therapy

Previous research studies regarding music therapy and severe mental illness have mainly adopted quantitative methodologies in order to study the effectiveness of music therapy interventions. Studies that have explored service users’ experiences of participation in music therapy are small in number, and almost nonexistent in the field of psychosis. This study aimed to explore how mental health patients with a diagnosis of psychosis experienced participation in music therapy, in general, and more specifically how they experienced music therapy in relation to their current mental state and life situation. Nine inpatients with psychosis were interviewed using a semi-structured interview focusing on the participants’ experiences of music therapy in individual sessions, groups, and performances. Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis, four super-ordinate themes central to the participants’ experiences were found: freedom, contact, well-being, and symptom reduction. Based on the findings, mental health recovery, positive mental health, and agency are proposed as constituting a better framework for music therapy in mental healthcare than a primary focus on symptom remission and functional improvement.

Music therapy services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a survey of clinical practices and training needs.

Over the past decade, the definitions, diagnoses, prevalence rates, theories about the causes, evidence-based treatment options, and practice guidelines pertaining to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have undergone numerous changes. While several recent studies evaluate the effects of music therapy interventions for individuals with ASD, no current review reflects the latest music therapy practices and trends. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of music therapy practices for serving clients with ASD, the implementation of national ASD standards and guidelines, the awareness of recent developments, and training needs of music therapists. Professional members of the American Music Therapy Association who are working with individuals with ASD served as the sample for this national cross-sectional survey study (N = 328). A 45-item online questionnaire was designed and distributed through email and social media. Participants accessed the online survey through SurveyMonkey®. Findings suggest music therapy practices and services for individuals with ASD have shifted and now reflect a slightly higher percentage of caseload, a broader age range of clients, and a trend to serve clients in home and community settings. Most therapeutic processes align with recommended practices for ASD and incorporate several of the recognized evidence-based practices. Less understood or recognized are inclusion practices and latest developments in the field of ASD. Music therapists have a solid understanding of providing services for individuals with ASD, but would benefit from advanced online training and improved information dissemination to stay current with the rapidly changing aspects pertinent to this population.

A Comparison of the Effects of Music Therapy Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, Anger, and Stress on Alcohol-Dependent Clients: A Pilot Study

A Comparison of the Effects of Music Therapy Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, Anger, and Stress on Alcohol-Dependent Clients: A Pilot Study

A Comparison of the Effects of Music Therapy Interventions on Depression, Anxiety, Anger, and Stress on Alcohol-Dependent Clients: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate and short-term effects of 3 different types of music therapy interven- tions on the levels of depression, anxiety, anger, and stress in clients with alcohol dependence. Thirty-six male clients participated in 30-minute music therapy sessions twice a week over a period of 6 weeks. The music therapy program was comprised of singing, music listening, and playing instruments. Each activity was conducted for 2 weeks and for 4 sessions. A repeated measures pretest–posttest design was used. An analysis of variance indicated no statistically significant differences in the effects of the 3 types of music therapy interventions on the levels of depression, anxiety, anger, and stress; however, participants’ scores in depression, anxiety, anger, and stress were significantly reduced after participating in the music therapy sessions. In the singing activity, significant differences in depression and stress levels were found between participant-selected songs and therapist-selected songs.