Inter-rater Agreement in Classifying Music According to a Guided Imagery and Music Taxonomy.

Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is a range of therapeutic practices in which clients listen to music selected by a trained practitioner with the aim of gaining cognitive insight through evoked imagery that may be beneficial in working through various inner experiences, pain, or trauma. It is crucial to this process that the chosen music is tailored to the client's therapeutic goals and receptiveness. Wärja and Bonde [(2014). Music as co-therapist: Towards a taxonomy of music in therapeutic Music and Imagery work. Music and Medicine, 6(2), 16-27.] developed a taxonomy consisting of nine categories of musical-psychological characteristics and constructs (e.g., tempo, instrumentation, and mood) aligning with various therapeutic contexts (e.g., supporting and exploring) for helping GIM practitioners select appropriate music; however, its reliability has never before been assessed. In this paper, we present a listening study carried out with 63 GIM therapists and trainees, in order to measure the inter-rater agreement in (1) classifying 10 randomly selected pieces from 30 into one or more categories of the Wärja and Bonde [(2014). Music as co-therapist: Towards a taxonomy of music in therapeutic Music and Imagery work. Music and Medicine, 6(2), 16-27.] taxonomy, and (2) identifying for each piece heard one or more adjectives from the Hevner mood wheel that best characterize it. Our results indicate participants who utilized all categories but with slight to fair overall agreement; however, largely moderate agreement was reported for less musically complex pieces as well as across all pieces when considering only the three primary categories. Our findings not only support the continued use of the taxonomy and mood for helping select GIM music but also suggest the possible need for clearer descriptions in its subcategories and further training of practitioners who employ it in practice.

Engagement with arts and culture activities in the Danish general population: Longitudinal associations with new onset or persistent depression and mental wellbeing.

OBJECTIVES: International literature suggests that arts and culture activities may benefit mental health, however, such survey studies conducted in the Danish population are scarce. Further, studies have investigated the associated risk for incident depression, but not for persistent depression. The objective of the current prospective study was to assess associations of engagement in arts and culture activities with incident/persistent depression and also mental wellbeing among Danish adults in the general population. DESIGN: Observational prospective study. METHODS: Data stem from a Danish nationally representative panel study of 5000 adults (aged 15+ years) conducted in 2019 and 2020, which was linked to Danish register data. An exposure variable was constructed for frequency of attending concerts, theatres, museums, and cinemas. Validated scales were used to assess the presence of depression (PHQ-8) and levels of mental wellbeing (SWEMWBS). Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the risk of incident depression (among participants free of depression at baseline), as well as the risk of persistent depression (among participants with depression at baseline), while multinomial logistic regression was used to assess odds for moderate and high mental wellbeing (low as base outcome) while adjusting for baseline values. RESULT: In terms of incident depression, quarterly engagement in arts and culture activities (compared to never) was associated with an OR of .43 (95%CI .23-.80), while 8 times or more was associated with an OR of .53 (.29-.97). In terms of persistent depression, quarterly engagement was associated with an OR of .30 (.10-.90), while 8 times per year or more was associated with an OR of .26 (.07-.92). Similar to the patterns for incident/persistent depression, associations with moderate mental wellbeing showed higher odds for quarterly engagement and 8 times per year or more. Quarterly engagement was also associated with higher odds for high mental wellbeing but did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the involvement of the cultural and creative sectors in health strategies. Mental health promotion initiatives as well as arts and culture sectors may encourage the general public to engage in arts and culture activities with frequencies of at least once per quarter.

Music programming for psilocybin-assisted therapy: Guided Imagery and Music-informed perspectives.

The psychedelic drug psilocybin has been successfully explored as a novel treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders. Administration of psilocybin requires careful attention to psychological support and the setting in which the drug is administered. The use of music to support the acute psychoactive effects of psilocybin is recommended in current guidelines, but descriptions of how to compile music programs for the 4-6 h long sessions are still scarce. This article describes the procedural steps and considerations behind the curation of a new music program, the Copenhagen Music Program, tailored to the intensity profile of a medium/high dose psilocybin. The method of Guided Imagery and Music is presented as a music therapeutic framework for choosing and sequencing music in music programming and the Taxonomi of Therapeutic Music is presented as a rating tool to evaluate the music-psychological intensity of music pieces. Practical examples of how to organize the process of music programming are provided along with a full description of the Copenhagen Music Program and its structure. The aim of the article is to inspire others in their endeavours to create music programs for psychedelic interventions, while proposing that an informed music choice may support the therapeutic dynamics during acute effects of psilocybin.

Music Therapy vs. Music Listening for Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: Randomized, Controlled, Assessor- and Patient-Blinded Trial.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of music therapy for negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Randomized, participant- and assessor-blinded, multicenter, controlled trial including patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to ICD-10 with predominantly negative symptoms, between 18 and 65 years. Participants were randomized to 25 successive weekly individual sessions (excluding holidays, including cancellation by the participant) of either music therapy conducted by trained music therapists, or music listening together with a social care worker. The primary outcome was reduction in negative symptoms as measured by The Positive and negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative subscale total score, assessed by a blinded rater, utilizing mixed-effects model analysis. Results: In total, 57 participants were randomized; 39 completed the study's initial 15 weeks, and 30 completed follow-up at 25 weeks. On the primary outcome of PANSS negative subscale, no significant difference was observed between groups with a coefficient of -0.24 (95% CI -1.76 to 1.27, P = 0.754) in the intention to treat analysis, and -0.98 (95% CI -5.06 to 3.09, P = 0.625) when only analyzing completers. Both interventions showed significant reduction from baseline to 25 weeks on PANSS negative subscale. On secondary outcomes, no between group differences were observed in The Brief Negative Symptom Scale, WHOQOL-Bref (Quality of Life), The Helping Alliance Questionnaire and The Global Assessment of Functioning in the intention to treat or completers populations utilizing Mixed Effects Models. Conclusion: No difference between groups randomized to music therapy vs. musical listening was observed resulting in no clear recommendation for which intervention to use as the first choice for treatment of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and predominantly having negative symptoms. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02942459.

An Arts on Prescription Programme: Perspectives of the Cultural Institutions.

Research on Arts on Prescription (AoP) programmes are on the increase and the participants' positive mental health outcomes are well-documented. However, there is insufficient research that considers the participating cultural institutions' perspectives. A qualitative focus group interview was conducted with the participating culture institutions in an AoP project in Denmark. Representatives from seven cultural institutions participated in the interview. The data was transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clark's (Qual Res Psychol 3(77):77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa , 2006) thematic approach. The cultural institutions were positive about the interdisciplinary collaboration with the Center for Mental Health and benefited from working with groups of people with mental health problems. They considered the collaboration to have encouraged skills development by working with groups that they did not regularly engaged with. If cultural institutions are to engage with the mental health wellbeing agenda then policy-driven initiatives can support collaborations that involve groups of people with mental health problems.

Music Therapy as Treatment of Negative Symptoms for Adult Patients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia-Study Protocol for a Randomized, Controlled and Blinded Study.

Background: Three Cochrane reviews show that music therapy has a positive effect on schizophrenia concerning general functioning and positive/negative symptoms. This study aims to replicate these results in the Danish health system, a requirement for recommendation in guidelines from the Danish National Board of Health. Methods: The study is a randomized, controlled multi-site study, with a blinded design, aiming to include 90 participants who are 18⁻65 years in age, diagnosed according to ICD-10 with a schizophrenia diagnosis. The participants are randomized to one of two different music therapy activities for 25 weekly sessions. The study interventions are added to standard care. Outcome measures are rated at baseline, after 15 sessions and post therapy. A qualitative interview is performed as a one month follow up at the end of study. The primary intended outcome is a reduction in negative symptoms. The secondary intended outcome is progression in quality of life, alliance and psychosocial functioning. Results: As this study is still running, the results are not yet available. Conclusion: The study will investigate the direct effects of music therapy on negative symptoms as part of schizophrenia in a blinded, randomized trial. If proven effective, music therapy can be added to the small treatment armamentarium of effective therapies for negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

An Explorative Study of Qualities in Interactive Processes with Children and Their Parents in Music Therapy during and after Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an established treatment for severe disorders of the pediatric hematopoietic system. However, there is a need for supportive interventions due to physiological and psychological strain. Music therapy is used in health care to help patients through difficult experiences and enable well-being. Our previous randomized studies showed significantly reduced heart rates four to eight hours after intervention as well as increased health-related quality of life. Methods: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the participants' and parents' own experiences of the interactive processes during the music therapy intervention. Six families were included. The data collection used collaborative research interviews. An independent psychologist facilitated the interviews with the children, the parents, and the music therapist and also performed the analysis. Results: Three main themes emerged: experiences of competency and recognition of self, interactive affect regulation as change potential, and importance of the therapeutic relationship. Conclusions: For the participants, music therapy developed into a significant and helpful experience, an important ingredient in coping with and managing the treatment period at the hospital.

[Participation in art and cultural activities has a positive effect on somatic illnesses].

The increasing international research into the use of arts and cultural activities in clinical contexts documents a number of beneficial effects in relation to many illness and diagnoses. A systematic review has identified a large number of studies documenting that art, culture and creative activities can have a positive effect on both mental and physical health. In this article, selected results are presented with the purpose of drawing attention to the possibilities for non-pharmacological methods, which are increasingly available, also in Denmark.

Associations between daily musicking and health: Results from a nationwide survey in Denmark.

AIMS: To examine the associations between singing/playing musical instruments daily and various outcomes such as health-related quality of life and health behaviour. METHODS: Data originates from the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey 2013. The survey was based on a random sample of 25,000 adult Danes (response rate: 57%). Besides standard health-related questions the survey included eight specific music questions, based on a review of the sparse literature on music and health. On the same basis, 'daily musicking' was defined as normally singing/playing musical instruments at least 1 h/day. RESULTS: Both musically active men and women were more likely to report good self-rated health than individuals that were not active musically. However, the results also indicated that musically active women were less likely to report poor physical and mental health than women who were not active musically, while this pattern was not found among men. CONCLUSIONS: Gender seems to play an important role in the association between musicking and health, but more research is needed to understand these differences and the underlying mechanisms. In addition, longitudinal studies are warranted to examine the causal effects of musicking.