An overview of the music therapy professional recognition in the EU

This article documents the development of the professional recognition of music therapy in the EU. First, a brief history of the origins of modern music therapy in Europe is presented, followed by more detailed analysis of the establishment of training courses and professional associations across Europe. Second, the stages in the professionalization process according to Ridder, Lerner and Suvini (2015) are discussed. Third, the importance of the European Music Therapy Confederation in promoting music therapy recognition in the EU is highlighted.

Nurture and play for foster families with young children : Foster-parents’ reflections on attachment-focused group intervention

An insecure attachment history puts foster children at risk for many kinds of difficulties, which may include psychopathology. Nurture and Play (NaP) for foster families–intervention for children aged one to five years of age aims to help the new attachment relationship between foster parents and their young children develop in a secure direction. The aim of this study is to gain deeper understanding on how foster parents use their mentalization skills to reflect the different meanings of the NaP for foster families–intervention. A stimulated recall method was chosen to correspond to these research targets. It was revealed that parents’ reflections were evidently focused on the child, the i…

A Single-Case, Mixed Methods Study Exploring the Role of Music Listening in Vibroacoustic Treatment

Chronic pain is a widespread issue accompanied commonly by depression and anxiety. Chronic pain has been shown to alter brain processing within the emotional and reward circuits, pointing towards a possible link between pain and comorbid mood disorders. Pain relief may be achieved by alleviating depressive and anxious symptoms. Relaxation is important for pain relief and eliciting relaxation through music listening is shown to relieve pain, depression, anxiety, and discomfort among others. In addition to auditory stimuli, Vibroacoustic treatment – the tactile application of low frequency sinusoidal sound vibration, plus music listening and therapeutic interaction – has been shown to be bene…

Individual music therapy for depression: randomised controlled trial

BackgroundMusic therapy has previously been found to be effective in the treatment of depression but the studies have been methodologically insufficient and lacking in clarity about the clinical model employed.AimsTo determine the efficacy of music therapy added to standard care compared with standard care only in the treatment of depression among working-age people.MethodParticipants (n= 79) with an ICD–10 diagnosis of depression were randomised to receive individual music therapy plus standard care (20 bi-weekly sessions) or standard care only, and followed up at baseline, at 3 months (after intervention) and at 6 months. Clinical measures included depression, anxiety, general functioning…

Music Therapy for Depression Enhanced With Listening Homework and Slow Paced Breathing: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction: There is evidence from earlier trials for the efficacy of music therapy in the treatment of depression among working-age people. Starting therapy sessions with relaxation and revisiting therapeutic themes outside therapy have been deemed promising for outcome enhancement. However, previous music therapy trials have not investigated this issue.Objective: To investigate the efficacy of two enhancers, resonance frequency breathing (RFB) and listening homework (LH), when combined with an established music therapy model (trial registration number ISRCTN11618310).Methods: In a 2 × 2 factorial randomised controlled trial, working-age individuals with depression were allocated into gr…

Psychotherapeutically Oriented Vibroacoustic Therapy for Functional Neurological Disorder: A Pilot Study

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) affects a significant number of people worldwide. Previously referred to as conversion disorder, FND is a disorder of the communication between mind and body resulting in the experience of neurological symptoms incompatible with neurological or medical diagnoses. FND patients account for a notable portion of neurologists' patients, and yet these patients are still considered some of the most difficult to diagnose and treat. This pilot case study utilized a psychotherapeutically oriented approach to vibroacoustic therapy and active music therapy methodology in the therapy process of a patient diagnosed with FND. The treatment protocol used in this study…

Vibroacoustic treatment for chronic pain and mood disorders in a specialized healthcare setting

Much of what we know about vibroacoustic treatment and its efficacy has been published in case reports. Recent clinical trials have increased awareness and understanding of this treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease or Fibromyalgia Syndrome. There are no standardized protocols for using vibroacoustic treatment although research has focused on using 40Hz. The rehabilitation unit of [blinded] Central Hospital in [blinded] has used vibroacoustic treatment for more than two decades as part of specialized healthcare in the [blinded] healthcare district. Patient responses have been recorded using Visual Analog Scales showing positive outcomes on several measures including pain and mood. T…

Theoretical Perspectives and Therapeutic Approaches in Music Therapy with Families

Music therapists have described the importance of working collaboratively with family members in various populations throughout the history of the profession. Despite the growing amount of literature, not enough is known regarding the scope of theoretical perspectives and therapeutic approaches that guide family centered music therapy. The aim of this international survey study was to better understand the professional perspectives and approaches of music therapists who work with families around the world. This article presents the results of the survey where a total of 125 responses were analysed. Participants’ responses indicated that music therapy with families is well established as an …

Exploring the use of Vibroacoustic treatment for managing chronic pain and comorbid mood disorders : A mixed methods study

Introduction: Chronic pain is a worldwide issue with common comorbidities of depression and anxiety, altogether inhibiting one’s personal relationships and capability to work. Music has long been used as a means to improve pain and mood, and the tactile application of music has shown promising and beneficial results for the treatment of both psychological and physical symptoms. VA treatment uses low frequency sinusoidal sound vibration (20-120Hz) supported by client-preferred music listening and therapeutic interaction. Methods: Using mixed methods, this study addresses the addition of a self-care VA intervention to maintain the effects of practitioner-led VA treatments and to increase pati…

Promoting emotional skills in early adolescents with mental health conditions in music therapy : a content analysis of focus group interviews

Introduction: Music therapy is actively used with early adolescents in relation to their emotional skill development. Yet, the conceptualization of emotional skills is typically not systematically addressed in therapeutic practice. This study examined music therapists’ views on the progress of emotional skills when working with early adoles-cents with mental health conditions. The study also explored what kind of methods the therapists use with the target group, and the applicability of a previously pub-lished conceptual model. Method: We conducted a deductive-inductive content analysis of transcripts from four focus group interviews among 13 professional music therapists. Results: The ther…

Finland : country report on professional recognition of music therapy

Anxiety reduction with music and tempo synchronization on magnetic resonance imaging patients

Anxiety and claustrophobic reactions in MRI examinations cause unintentional movements, and such motion artifacts lead to interpretation problems. Furthermore, requested anesthesia makes the process costly. A total of 60 outpatients were examined in the Diagnostic Centre of Pécs, Hungary, to test whether synchronizing recorded music to the gradient pulsation of the MRI device can improve the sedative effect of the music. The patients were assigned to three groups: a nonmusic (control), an original tempo (random) and a synchronized music (synchronous) group. Results showed a significantly decreased state anxiety level after the MRI examination in the random and synchronous groups as compared…

Literature Review of Early Childhood Music Therapy Between 1990-2012

The article examines music therapy literature from 1990 to 2012 focusing on children aged 0 to 5-years old. The literature includes clinical descriptions, research articles, chapters in books, peer reviewed electronic publications, and peer reviewed journals. Altogether 125 different texts were found which fulfilled the criteria for inclusion. Simple quantitative analysis gave guidelines for deeper, comparative qualitative analysis. According to the data the older children were more often written about than younger children. Historically the dominance from individual work has been shifting to dyadic/family work. The active methods were most commonly singing and playing with instruments. Chi…

The effect of improvisational music therapy on the treatment of depression: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract Background Music therapy is frequently offered to individuals suffering from depression. Despite the lack of research into the effects of music therapy on this population, anecdotal evidence suggests that the results are rather promising. The aim of this study is to examine whether improvisational, psychodynamically orientated music therapy in an individual setting helps reduce symptoms of depression and improve other health-related outcomes. In particular, attention will be given to mediator agents, such as musical expression and interaction in the sessions, as well as to the explanatory potential of EEG recordings in investigating emotion related music perception of individuals w…

Vibroacoustic treatment to improve functioning and ability to work: a multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain rehabilitation

Purpose: To study the use of Vibroacoustic treatment and an added self-care intervention for improving the functioning and ability to work of patients with chronic pain and potential comorbid depressive and anxious symptoms.Materials and methods: A mixed methods study with four single cases. Participants received bi-weekly Vibroacoustic practitioner-led treatment sessions for five weeks, followed by a one-month washout period without treatments. Then, participants conducted four self-care vibroacoustic sessions per week for five weeks, followed by another month-long washout period. Participants kept diaries of their experiences during this time. Quantitative scales included the World Health…

Professional Competences of Music Therapists Working in Post-stroke Rehabilitation

The aim of this qualitative study is to gain more insight into the skills and knowledge that music therapists feel they need, in order to work successfully with people who have had an acute stroke. For this purpose, six music therapists were interviewed about their own particular specialist education. Another interview topic for them was to recount their subjective experiences of poststroke rehabilitation work in hospitals and health care units during the course of two projects that they participated in. The first was a project that specifically used music listening during acute stroke rehabilitation; and the second was a project, which used more active music therapy techniques, like drummi…