Music helps treatment of depression
Music therapy alongside standard treatment is effective in helping people with depression, especially those who cannot express their thoughts or feelings.
A Finnish study shows that depression sufferers who were actively engaged in music therapy in addition to standard therapies showed a greater improvement than those who received only conventional treatment.
The findings are based on research by a team of scientists at the University of Jyvaskyl, which involved 79 patients aged between 18 and 50.
All the participants received standard counseling and appropriate medication while 33 of them took part in 20 sessions of music therapy.
During music sessions, the patients played drums or instruments such as marimba and xylophones under the supervision of a trained music therapist.
After three months, the first group demonstrated greater improvement and showed fewer symptoms of depression or anxiety than those who had only standard treatment, says the report published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Music therapy uses non-verbal communication and may help patients express their emotions, feeling, and thoughts that they cannot easily share with a therapist, the study hypothesizes.
"Music therapy has specific qualities that allow people to express themselves and interact in a non-verbal way -- even in situations when they cannot find the words to describe their inner experiences," said lead author Professor Christian Gold.
Therefore, music therapy can be effectively used to improve treatment of depression, at least in the short term, the researchers concluded.
"Our trial has shown that music therapy, when added to standard care, helps people to improve their levels of depression and anxiety," Gold added.
Source: presstv.ir
