Research
Summaries of music therapy research
As part of our commitment to providing evidence-based care, The Harrison Center’s music therapists regularly review summarize important music therapy research relevant to our patients. Please let us know if you have an article or topic you’d like to see summarized here!
How has COVID-19 impacted the field of music therapy?
COVID-19 and Music Therapists’ Employment, Service Delivery, Perceived Stress, and Hope: A Descriptive Study
Amidst rapid societal shifts, researchers from Colorado State University examined changes to the field of music therapy associated with the COVID-19 period…
Can music therapy be used to treat co-morbid disorders?
Music Therapy to Regulate Arousal and Attention in Patients with Substance Use Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Feasibility Study
A collaborative effort of researchers from ArtEZ University of the Arts, VU University, and Tactus Addiction Care in the Netherlands, examined impacts of a recently developed music therapy protocol on attention and arousal regulation in individuals with both substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)…
Where does technology fit into music therapy?
A Humanistic Understanding of the Use of Digital Technology in Therapeutic Songwriting
As digital technology continues to alter the way we create and consume music, research from Montclair State University has delved into how its role in therapeutic songwriting can help adolescents to feel a sense of autonomy, express emotions, share personal experiences, and develop a sense of self.
Can Music Do Harm?
It’s…Complicated: A Theoretical model of music-induced harm.
As research has identified music’s ability to foster beneficial emotional, motor, sensory, cognitive, and social experiences, it has equally identified potential for music to do harm in these areas…
How can music therapy improve attention?
Assessing the Impact of Music Therapy on Sensory Gating and Attention in Children with Autism: A Pilot and Feasibility Study
In an effort to progress understanding of physiological responses to music intervention, researchers from Colorado State University examined the impact of a music therapy protocol on sensory processing and attention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)….
Why is Telemusictherapy Important?
The Connected Music Therapy Teleintervention Approach (CoMTTA) and Its Application to Family-Centered Programs for Young Children with Hearing Loss
An article from the Australian Journal of Music Therapy highlights how telemusictherapy has helped increase access to music therapy services and foster interpersonal connections between children and family members/caregivers…
Is telemusictherapy new to COVID-19?
Collaborative Music Therapy via Remote Video Technology to Reduce a Veteran’s Symptoms of Severe, Chronic PTSD
In a case study of a veteran with diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), researchers found collaborative telemusictherapy services to be an effective treatment component…
What Other Populations Can Music Therapy Serve? – Adolescents
The Resilience Songwriting Program for Adolescent Bereavement: A Mixed Methods Exploratory Study
In highlighting prior research on health and safety risks of unmanaged grief symptoms, as well as that on benefits of general music therapy for grief reduction, researchers from Drexel University made a case for exploring the impacts of specific music therapy intervention on adolescent bereavement…
What Other Populations Can Music Therapy Serve? – Parkinson’s Disease
Rhythmic Priming Across Effector Systems: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Parkinson’s Disease Patients
Researchers from the Music and Health Science Research Collaboratory at the University of Toronto and the Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University investigated effects of rhythmic priming, or preparation of a primary task with presentation of a separate, prior rhythmic task, on the gait of patients with Parkinson’s disease…
More than the Music
The Therapeutic Relationship as Predictor of Change in Music Therapy with Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
In a study of children with ASD, researchers from The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre in Norway found that quality of the therapeutic relationship between music therapists and children they work with was associated with social skill development…
