Short-term music therapy treatment for adolescents with depression: a pilot study

Music therapy holds promising potential to support adolescents with depression mastering developmental tasks as well as improving emotion regulation. The objective of the present pilot study was to assess the feasibility, acceptance and potential effectiveness of a theory driven music therapy treatm...

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Main Authors: Geipel, Josephine (Author) , Koenig, Julian (Author) , Hillecke, Thomas (Author) , Resch, Franz (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: February 2022
In: The arts in psychotherapy
Year: 2022, Volume: 77, Pages: 1-11
ISSN:1873-5878
DOI:10.1016/j.aip.2021.101874
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101874
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197455621001192
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Author Notes:Josephine Geipel, Julian Koenig, Thomas K. Hillecke, Franz Resch
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Summary:Music therapy holds promising potential to support adolescents with depression mastering developmental tasks as well as improving emotion regulation. The objective of the present pilot study was to assess the feasibility, acceptance and potential effectiveness of a theory driven music therapy treatment plan for youth with depression. The treatment aimed to reduce severity of depression and to improve emotion regulation and health related quality of life. Hair cortisol concentration served as an additional biological marker for bodily stress. In an outpatient center, adolescents with depression received 12 single sessions of music therapy. A prospective, single-arm repeated-measures design (pre-, post-, follow-up) was used to examine acceptance, feasibility, and outcome measures. Nine adolescents were included in analyses. The music therapy treatment plan seems to be feasible and well accepted by adolescents. The results of analyses indicate improvements regarding depressive symptoms, positive coping with difficult emotions and health-related quality of life in included patients. The beneficial effects were not shown to be fully sustained in the follow-up. The results suggest that music therapy caused no harm and might have contributed to the improvement of clinical outcomes in the mildly to moderately adolescents with depression. Several recommendations for future trials in this field are reported.
Item Description:Available online 29 November 20
Gesehen am 05.10.2022
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1873-5878
DOI:10.1016/j.aip.2021.101874