Music Therapy for Depression and Other Psychiatric Disorders
Music therapy is a non-invasive and successful approach for improving mental health and emotional well-being. It’s often utilized in hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities.
Music therapies are a group of therapeutic interventions that utilize musical sounds and rhythms to achieve behavioral or emotional change. These techniques work on the idea that musical elements can help clients express themselves, learn new skills, improve their quality of life and social functioning.
Music therapy has been studied to treat a wide range of psychiatric disorders. These include depression, anxiety, PTSD, autism, ADHD, psychosis and dementia.
Music therapy consists of various methods and can be classified by their mode of intervention, number of sessions and duration. Methods may include improvisation (creating spontaneous or pre-composed music), listening, recreating and composing [6].
Improvising is a form of music making whereby the client creates their own melody by using instruments, vocalization or movement in response to musical stimuli. This form of exploration can be highly stimulating or soothing depending on how relaxed you are afterward.
Improvising can be seen as the ‘via regia’ to the unconscious and is intended to promote contact, communication and emotional expression. It may also be employed to elicit certain body responses, memories or fantasies.
Most Machine Translation studies employ a blend of approaches. Six studies utilized a more structured form of MT, while four other investigations employed a more flexible process-oriented method.
Music therapy utilizes two primary approaches: receptive mode and active mode. Each has a distinct impact on an individual’s mood, behavior and cognitive capability.
During therapy, the therapist may ask questions about the client’s experience with music. She may also strive to help the client make sense of it or reframe her interpretations.
These kinds of questions can help the client gain self-awareness and become more receptive to music. Receptive methods may be especially helpful for people who struggle with creating their own art or are not particularly expressive.
Some studies have reported positive effects of music therapy on depression, anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms. While these changes may be temporary, they are significant nonetheless and in some cases may last for an extended period.
Studies on PTSD patients revealed that music therapy, when combined with anti-depressants, had better outcomes than medication alone. Furthermore, research on schizophrenia patients revealed the beneficial effects of music therapy in improving negative symptoms such as depression and anxiety.
Music has the ability to help you unwind, elevate your mood and reduce stress. Additionally, it may aid in managing pain and improving sleep quality.
It is imperative to seek professional, licensed, and experienced help if you are considering music therapy for yourself or someone else. Furthermore, do your due diligence before beginning any therapy regimen.
