Efficacy of emotion-regulating improvisational music therapy to reduce depressive symptoms in young adult students: A multiple-case study design

A Systematic Review of Music-Based Interventions to Improve Treatment Engagement and Mental Health Outcomes for Adolescents and Young Adults

Mental health disorders and suicidality are rising among adolescents and young adults (A-YA) while rates of treatment engagement remain notoriously low. Emerging research supports the potential of music-based interventions to improve mental health, but their efficacy remains unclear for A-YA. This systematic review evaluates the evidence on music-based psychosocial interventions to improve engagement in treatment and/or mental health outcomes among A-YA. This review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Twenty-six studies were extracted. There was heterogeneity of designs, populations, measures, and outcomes. A typology of music-based interventions emerged, which is characterized by combinations of three broad categories: 1) Somatosensory, 2) Social-Emotional, and 3) Cognitive-Reflective. Most interventions are Socio-Cognitive and Holistically Integrated (combines all three) followed by Socio-Somatic. All interventions involved Social-Emotional processes. Results indicate that most studies report significant effects for mental health outcomes related to social and emotional improvements and reductions of internalizing symptoms for adolescents. Few studies targeted young adults and effects on engagement were rarely measured. There is a need for more studies that use rigorous methods. This review illuminated a need for interventions that are developmentally and culturally tailored to subgroups. Finally, the field is ripe from more studies that apply experimental therapeutics to conceptualize, operationalize, and test mechanisms of change to improve the understanding of how and for whom music-based interventions work. Recommendations for embedding these innovative strategies into research and practice for A-YA are discussed.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10560-022-00893-x.

Does music induce interbrain synchronization between a non-speaking youth with cerebral palsy (CP), a parent, and a neurologic music therapist? A brief report

Shared emotional experiences during musical activities among musicians can be coupled with brainwave synchronization. For non-speaking individuals with CP, verbal communication may be limited in expressing mutual empathy. Therefore, this case study explored interbrain synchronization among a non-speaking CP (female, 18 yrs), her parent, and a music therapist by measuring their brainwaves simultaneously during four music and four storytelling sessions. In only the youth-parent dyad, we observed a significantly higher level of interbrain synchronization during music rather than story-telling condition. However, in both the youth-parent and youth-therapist dyad, regardless of condition type, significant interbrain synchronization emerged in frontal and temporal lobes in the low-frequency bands, which are associated with socio-emotional responses. Although interbrain synchronization may have been induced by multiple factors (e.g., external stimuli, shared empathetic experiences, and internal physiological rhythms), the music activity setting deserves further study as a potential facilitator of neurophysiological synchrony between youth with CP and caregivers/healthcare providers.

Effect of Group Impromptu Music Therapy on Emotional Regulation and Depressive Symptoms of College Students: A Randomized Controlled Study

Difficulty in emotional regulation is significantly correlated with depression. Depression is a psychological disease that seriously affects the physical and mental health of college students. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop diversified preventive interventions such as group impromptu music therapy (GIMT). The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of GIMT on the improvement of emotional regulation ability and the reduction of depressive symptoms in college students. A 71 college students (36 in the experimental group and 35 in the control group) were recruited to carry out randomized controlled trial was used. The experimental group was intervened by GIMT. After the 4th week of intervention, follow-up and scale measurement were carried out. In the experimental group, emotional regulation difficulty scales (DERS) showed significant difference before and after GIMT, implying the improvement in the emotional regulation. But there was no significant improvement in the control group. In addition, the depressive symptoms of experimental group were relieved. All findings showed that GIMT can effectively improve college students’ emotional regulation and reduce depressive symptoms.

Music Therapy Interventions for Stress Reduction in Adults With Mild Intellectual Disabilities: Perspectives From Clinical Practice

Stress is increasingly being recognized as one of the main factors that is negatively affecting our health, and therefore there is a need to regulate daily stress and prevent long-term stress. This need seems particularly important for adults with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) who have been shown to have more difficulties coping with stress than adults without intellectual disabilities. Hence, the development of music therapy interventions for stress reduction, particularly within populations where needs may be greater, is becoming increasingly important. In order to gain more insight into the practice-based knowledge on how music therapists lower stress levels of their patients with MID during music therapy sessions, we conducted focus group interviews with music therapists working with adults with MID (N = 13) from different countries and clinical institutions in Europe. Results provide an overview of the most-used interventions for stress reduction within and outside of music. Data-analysis resulted in the further specification of therapeutic goals, intervention techniques, the use of musical instruments, and related therapeutic change factors. The main findings indicate that music therapists used little to no receptive (e.g., music listening) interventions for stress reduction, but preferred to use active interventions, which were mainly based on musical improvisation. Results show that three therapy goals for stress relief could be distinguished. The goal of “synchronizing” can be seen as a sub goal because it often precedes working on the other two goals of “tension release” or “direct relaxation,” which can also be seen as two ways of reaching stress reduction in adults with MID through music therapy interventions. Furthermore, the tempo and the dynamics of the music are considered as the most important musical components to reduce stress in adults with MID. Practical implications for stress-reducing music therapy interventions for adults with MID are discussed as well as recommendations for future research.