An uplifting result of music therapy. (Alan Zale for The New York Times)Many people find that music lifts their spirits. Now new research shows that music therapy — either listening to or creating music with a specially trained therapist — can be a useful treatment for depression.
The finding that music therapy offers a real clinical benefit to depression sufferers comes from a review by the Cochrane Collaboration, a not-for-profit group that reviews health care issues. Although there aren’t many credible studies of music therapy for depression, the reviewers found five randomized trials that studied the effects of music therapy. Some studies looked at the effects of providing music therapy to patients who were receiving drug treatment for depression. Others compared music therapy to traditional talk therapy. In four out of five of the trials, music therapy worked better at easing depression symptoms than therapies that did not employ music, the researchers found.
“The current studies indicate that music therapy may be able to improve mood and has low drop-out rates,” said lead author Anna Maratos, an arts therapist for the National Health Service in London. “While the evidence came from a few small studies, it suggests that this is an area that is well worth further investigation….We need to find out which forms have greatest effect.”
Ms. Maratos notes that music therapy might be particularly useful for adolescents who may reject a traditional form of counseling. Some older patients also may not be comfortable talking about their feelings, “but do tend to express themselves through song,” she said.
“I think we can be reasonably confident that music therapy has an effect,” Ms. Maratos said. “Music therapy is often used where more conventional therapies are not as likely to be as accepted or tolerated.”
There are two main types of music therapy. Sometimes, a therapist will listen to music with a patient and talk about the feelings or memories that it evokes. In another form, the therapist is a skilled musician and will improvise music with the patient. If the patient doesn’t play an instrument, he or she might be given a simple percussion instrument and the therapist will play along.
Other studies have shown a benefit from music therapy in the treatment for autism, dementia, learning disabilities, strokes and pain management during labor and birth. The problem, Ms. Maratos notes, is that there isn’t very much high-quality research. “It doesn’t easily attract serious research funding,” she said. “It’s difficult to do high-quality, large-scale trials.”
Click here to listen to a podcast about music therapy with the study author.
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From 1 to 25 of 75 Comments
I’m surprised that music is not routinely used as a therapy for depression, but am encouraged to see that it is being used by some therapists. It has worked amazingly well for me. I have episodic depression and have tried anti-depression medications, which have too many undesirable side effects for me. I think there are some powerful tools,like music therapy, to counter depression that have been overlooked because of the availability of medications.
When I was diagnosed with cancer I had frequent bouts of sadness and depression–it goes with the territory–and found that music helped me to cope. I listened to recordings of Beethoven’s piano sonatas while recuperating from cancer surgery and felt every emotion from A to Z musically expressed in a way that words could not capture. What a great comfort!
— TimI would highly recommend reading Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. He has many incredible stories about the use of music to help people with all sorts of neurological and psychological issues.
— JanetIf only it were that simple to treat depression.
— MARK KLEIN, M.D.I bet there’ll be an huge increase in practitioners offering this therapy and asking insurance companies to pay for it.
It would be nice if someone would do a study calculating the cost of unproven treatments, supplements, etc to not JUST health insurance, but to individuals who choose to pay for these things out of their own pockets.
I bet we waste incredible amounts of money on these worthless items. Why do I care? This wasted money could be going to pay for health insurance premiums, taking pressure off business and government.
— jackMusic therapy definitely helps. The kind of music used is also important. Inappropriate music may have adverse effect.
— Kevin ShumI have suffered from major recurrent depression and manic depression since the early 1980s, but wasn’t diagnosed until 1990 and didn’t receive quality treatment (including a full history with my family that dated the symptoms back to the early 80s) until 1992.
I have often wondered how I survived those first 7 to 8 years with only one suicide attempt and no treatment. I think I understand now ~ in those years music was the center of my life in school and outside of school. Several hours of every day were spent in rehearsal or practicing on my own. I always knew I had a support system within the music department, but it never occurred to me that the music was helping as well. My music, whether the concertos I worked through on my own, any of the youth symphonies I played in or the high school band, provided me with an outlet for pain and torment I experienced but never quite understood.
— J.From personal experience, the more I’ve gotten into music throughout my life, the happier I’ve been. I think that exploring for more music, and becoming more enthusiastic about what I like has also helped. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain! Listen to what makes you happy. I listen to a blend of 70’s/80’s punk, power metal, classic rock, classical, blues, and jazz, and no-one ever agrees with me %100 (or even 75%) on the music I like, but I don’t care. What I listen to is good! (imho).
— DanI think we readers/responders are struggling with the distinction between helpful experiences and medical treatment. Of course, it is not a clear dichotomy either; the two categories must overlap. Music has certainly saved my life more than once, and my well being every day of my life since about 1960. I would never pay someone to help me find therapeutic music experiences; but I can imagine that te guidance might be useful to someone in dire need and with less acquaintance.
— B BarthI am surprised that it is news that music has therapeutic value. Haven’t all cultures throughout history known this? There are too many anecdotal examples to list…but it’s good that it’s being studied. There are experiments underway measuring the effects of Gandharva-Veda, the ancient science of music from India, on the physiology functioning. Some results available at
http://www.mum.edu/gandharva/health
Sincerely
— Donald SosinD. Sosin
Music makes an impact on all of us. How many times have you left a stressful situation jumped in your car to drive home and turn on the radio? It offers us comfort. It is very relaxing. It helps us wind down. Working with people with mental illness for the past 23 years I have found music offers them a way to slow down their thoughts. Often schizophrenics will use headphones to help drown out their auditory hallucinations. The problem is there is a difference between shall we say flutes,classical jazz, and heavy metal or rap. One is relaxing the other is loud and thunderous. Anything in addition to medication and therapy can help. Listening or creating music is very warm and it helps creates “safe enviroments”. It allows to relax and move on………..to open up and talk. Yes, music is a helpful experiance. It contributes to the balance of your mind, body and spirit!
— ChristieContact the American Music Therapy Association for more information about music therapy. http://www.musictherapy.org
— LindaI’ve found that music has helped me feel less depressed, particularly when I do modern dance to it. I love many kinds of music, including rock, alternative, classical, rap/rock, folk, and fusion music like jazz/rock. I hope the number of music therapists increases and I would love to work with one of these therapists in the future.
Judy
— JudyMusic is good for your mood?
Who knew?
— riniI was just reading a biography on Albert Einstein, and I was particularly interested in his choice of music. Whenever he felt down, he would use Mozart’s music to help him cheer up. He would play beautiful music on his violin whenever he needed to “chill out” from all that hard thinking. He didn’t like Beethoven, Brahms, Bach or Wagner. Mozart alone had the mathematical precision combined with emotional undertones that worked for his psyche. It would be interesting to do a study to see which personalities resonated with which types of music!
Molly Roberts, MD, MS
LightHearted Medicine
http://www.LightHeartedMedicine.com
Member, Board of Trustees
— Molly Roberts, MD, MSAmerican Holistic Medical Association
http://www.HolisticMedicine.org
Sometimes, you just gotta sing the blues.
— DannyGreat music, like great art, is a glimpse of heaven right here on earth. I’m always recommending it to everyone in lieu of television, which to my mind is just the opposite.
— Mike ConradMy 22 year old daugher is severely mentally handicapped.She resides at a “facility”.The “facility” is an ‘agent’ of the state of Missouri..meaning..certain minimal criteria for receiving state funds..medicaid.Music therapy…Art Therapy…in my dreams for her.Only the very wealthy can afford to have their loved one in a facility where “luxuries” such as music therapy,art therapy,ect are available.How to obtain such wonderful therapy when your family is an everyday middle class family….the beauty in life helps us lift our head,to look up….but this beauty is not available to the majority of mentally ill without a family who’s pockets are deep. I take noteof the web site for music therapy…I’ll check it out…I never give up for my daughter.
— sharon placeMusic IS helpful for pain management. I’ve taken my iPod to listen to during minor medical procedures–root canals, a biopsy–and cranking the music up loudly while listening to it carefully distracted me from the pain. Since I was having two root canals resulting from an old childhood injury, I needed a long piece of music. I played Bruckner’s 9th symphony. Afterwards the dentist said he had never had a patient react so calmly to a root canal.
— CarolDoes it work the other way?
— KLWestI find most music to be mood-lifting, but one particular set of songs (strangely enough, Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life), sends me straight down a path of sadness, apathy, and general moodiness. The songs have no bad associations for me, and I love Stevie Wonder–but I simply cannot listen to that CD without feeling miserable.
This is another odd example of science lagging behind common knowledge. It’s something that individual people have known for years–and yet it needs a study to become legit. It’s good news though! It makes me happy when personal beliefs–like the fact that there should be more sunlight and plants in nursing homes–finally show some promise of becoming mainstream.
— AlisonMs. Parker-Pope, thank you for posting this thought provoking conclusion from Cochrane on your blog. I will pursue reading the original article!
In response to post #3, I did not get the impression this was a simplistic solution. The way I interpret the result of this review, which requires further investigation, it that it raises the consideration that this may be an effective therapy for some patients. Could it replace medication, be used in conjunction with medication, as maintenance for milder forms of depression or for patients refractory to medication are some initial questions that come to my mind which I would love answered.
Depression can be difficult to treat for some patients. Undesirable side effects can lead patients to discontinue their medication. If this can consistently offer relief (proven via vigorous research) for some patients who continue to struggle with depression I am all for it.
I happened to be interested in integrative medicine and am applying to psychiatry residency as we speak.
— Sonya 4th year medical studentHillside Hospital in Glen Oaks NY had art therapy as well as music and dance therapy as part of “the milieu
therapy model” way back in 1961.
So what else is new?.
Does not J.S. Bach or Duke Ellington or Celia Cruz soothe the soul?
— Mr.radiotubeI double majored in music and psychology in college and it was the happiest time of my life. I have always thought it was skipping class and partying that I enjoyed most, but maybe it was the academics. I think I’ll write a song about this article for my parents.
— JerryI am surprised that no one has yet quoted the following phrase which was coined by William Congreve in a 17th century play (The Mourning Bride):”Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast”
The character goes on to bemoan the fact that he is unfortunately immune to music’s charms, but the phrase has come down through the century’s as quoted above.
— ireneI added the earlier post on Einstein’s musical tastes, but I thought throw in one more comment on this topic.
A few years ago, my elderly father needed surgery, but his blood pressure was too high and the surgeon didn’t want to risk a heart attack on the operating table. He was given one more chance to see if his blood pressure would come down or they woud have to scrap this much needed surgery.
Over the weekend, I taught him some meditation techniques and used the same music with each practice. When they rechecked his blood pressure, he was listening to the music I gave him and his blood pressure was perfect.
They went ahead with the surgery and he had those headphones on throughout pre-op, the surgery itself, and in recovery. When I came in the next morning, there was a cardiologist by his bedside. My first reaction was, “Oh no, here we go. What’s wrong with his heart?”
The cardiologist then told me that he was called in because my father’s blood pressure had consistently been so low! They thought it was highly unusual for him and they wanted to check and make sure he was OK! Music rocks!
Molly Roberts, MD, MS
LightHearted Medicine
http://www.LightHeartedMedicine.com
Member, Board of Trustees
— Molly Roberts, MD, MSAmerican Holistic Medical Association
http://www.HolisticMedicine.org