Mental
Health
IN THEIR SHOES
Mental Health is a vast umbrella that can apply to a multitude of things. Those who suffer from mental health conditions (such as anxiety or depression) can face a large amount of personal and societal issues, making it harder to cope and build themselves up as an individual.
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So how can we help?
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Depression
Depression affects 20% of children and is one of the most frequent mental illnesses found in adults worldwide. There are many methods used to treat depression, the most common being pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical practices such as psychotherapy and aromatherapy but there are other non-pharmaceutical methods such as yoga, meditation, counseling, and music therapy. In children, music therapy proved to increase self-esteem levels and decrease depression levels, causing the patient to become more confident and optimistic about their recovery. Major improvements in perception and interaction skills, lead to more socially active patients who are confident in their ability to interact with others and read body language.
Sharanabasappa Algoodkar, Sunitha G. Impact of Music Therapy in Reducing the Severity of Depression Measured by MADRS among Depression Patients: A Randomized Control Study. IAIM, 2019; 6(1): 41-47. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
Anxiety
Anxiety can be categorized into various types, but at its core, anxiety is a disorder that causes excessive worry in an individual that can affect and interfere with daily activities such as work or relationships (ADAA, 2018). However, music therapy has proven to be an effective treatment option for those with anxiety. The Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), is an assessment where the participant reports their emotional status and signs of anxiety using a collection of 90 different everyday example activities. The higher the accumulated score calculated on an SCL-90 assessment the more severe the diagnosis. The second questionnaire used to assess students was the Social Anxiety Scale (SAS); this Scale assesses anxiety and depression levels by having the participant rate the severity of their symptoms on a scale of 0-10. A score of less than 50 is less severe and a score of 50 or over shows severe levels of anxiety. All patients in this study scored over 50 before participating in this music therapy program, after the completion of the program, scores decreased and the group had an accumulated score of 46.12. The group that attended music therapy sessions including discussions with therapists presented the greatest improvement compared to the groups that only listened to music or continued to take medication. The use of joint participation of both patient and therapist aided with the extensive content of music therapy presents positive effects towards treating mental health and helping reduce and maybe even prevent anxiety.
Shunqin, Y. (2018). Comparative study on the effect of different music therapy on auxiliary treatment of college students' anxiety. Biomedical Research 2018,(Special Issue: S216-S218), S216-S218. Retrieved April 4, 2019. ISSN: 0970-938X.
Working With Patients
Implementing music in patients' lives to help build them up and prepare them for the future
Music has the ability to aid residents in mental institutions in coping with long term mental illnesses. Residents participated in these art programs through the Music and Theater Workshop (MTW), located in a Norwegian mental health hospital as a leisure activity program not intended for therapeutic purposes. This program can last from a span of 9 months to 10 years. Three themes were collectively reflected by all of those who were interviewed: engaging in the moment, reclaiming everyday life, and dreaming of the future.
Suffering from a chronic mental illness can be a demanding and life-controlling experience. However, those who went through the MTW program discussed how it supplied them with a coping mechanism that helped them forget about their hardships and focus on fighting for something meaningful in life. Many participants also discussed how the MTW program provided moments of achievement and enjoyment which could be recalled later to help them if their mental illness flared up again. Many emphasized how the MTW program helped them reach, basic milestones such as completing their education, keeping a job, or engaging in leisurely activities.
Through the MTW program participants explained they could add structure to their life by having a daily or weekly activity. Having a daily activity also gave them the desire to start the day even through tough times. Many participants exclaimed that the MTW program gave their life meaning. The majority of the participants in the MTW program suffer from suicidal thoughts, plans, or attempts and explained that the MTW provided a significant anchor in their life. Participant’s motivation to live and discover life outside of the institution improved and built an increased belief in building a meaningful life outside the mental healthcare system. After participating at MTW doctors placed fewer limitations (allowed the patient to have more freedom) to the patient in unison with the patient believing in fewer limitations for themselves. Participants also expressed plans for future careers such as publishing a book or working professionally with music. Dreams, in general, became more accessible to participants as participants explained after the MTW program they can dream more freely as they now hope for and plan on their own accords instead of what the mental healthcare system claimed was possible for them.
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Ørjasæter, K. B., Davidson, L., Hedlund, M., Bjerkeset, O., & Ness, O. (2018). “I now have a life!” Lived experiences of participation in music and theater in a mental health hospital. Plos One,13(12), 1-15. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209242