Musical interaction in music therapy for depression treatment
Year of publication
2022
Authors
Hartmann, Martin; Mavrolampados, Anastasios; Toiviainen, Petri; Saarikallio, Suvi; Foubert, Katrien; Brabant, Olivier; Snape, Nerdinga; Ala-Ruona, Esa; Gold, Christian; Erkkilä, Jaakko
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.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Journal
Article type
Original article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A1 Journal article (refereed), original researchPublication channel information
Journal
Publisher
Volume
51
Issue
1
Pages
33-50
ISSN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
3
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
Yes
Open access of publication channel
Partially open publication channel
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Psychology; Theatre, dance, music, other performing arts
Keywords
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Publication country
United Kingdom
Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
Yes
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1177/03057356221084368
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes