Musical interaction in music therapy for depression treatment

Abstract
Music therapy is efficacious for the treatment of depression. Compared to other psychotherapeutic forms, it allows for the emergence of various modes of mutual interaction, thus enabling multiple channels for emotional expression and fostering therapeutic alliance. Although musical interaction patterns between client and therapist have been regarded as predictors of therapeutic outcome in depression, this has not yet been systematically investigated. We aim to address this gap by analyzing the possible linkage between musical interaction features and changes in depression score. In a clinical trial, digital piano improvisations from 58 Finnish clients and their therapists were recorded over 12 sessions of music therapy lasting 6 weeks. Subsequently, a variety of symbolic features describing pitch, rhythm, duration, and velocity were extracted from the improvisations. We observed a number of relationships between client–therapist interaction and clinical improvement. Clients with largest improvements displayed higher overall interaction, particularly more musical interaction in the middle of the therapy process than in the beginning and end. In contrast, clients with lower depression change score exhibited overall lower interaction and yielded other temporal profiles of interaction. The association between clinical improvement and an inverted U-shaped curve of musical interaction is discussed in the light of process-outcome literature.
Main Authors
Format
Articles Research article
Published
2022
Series
Subjects
Publication in research information system
Publisher
SAGE Publications
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202204192291Use this for linking
Review status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0305-7356
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356221084368
Language
English
Published in
Psychology of Music
Citation
  • Hartmann, M., Mavrolampados, A., Toiviainen, P., Saarikallio, S., Foubert, K., Brabant, O., Snape, N., Ala-Ruona, E., Gold, C., & Erkkilä, J. (2022). Musical interaction in music therapy for depression treatment. Psychology of Music, 51(1), 33-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356221084368
License
CC BY 4.0Open Access
Funder(s)
Research Council of Finland
Research Council of Finland
Research Council of Finland
Research Council of Finland
Research Council of Finland
Funding program(s)
Centre of Excellence, AoF
Postdoctoral Researcher, AoF
Academy Project, AoF
Academy Project, AoF
Academy Project, AoF
Huippuyksikkörahoitus, SA
Tutkijatohtori, SA
Akatemiahanke, SA
Akatemiahanke, SA
Akatemiahanke, SA
Research Council of Finland
Additional information about funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Academy of Finland (Project Numbers: 298678, 314651, 316912, 332331, and 346210).
Copyright© 2022 the Authors

Share