Music therapy for anxiety disorders in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the effectiveness of music therapy for adolescents and young adults with anxiety disorders. Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed in performing this systematic review. Studies published in the last 25 years from September 1997 to September 2022 were identified through the use of the Medline, PsycInfo, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, using the keywords: music* AND anxi*. Two authors independently conducted a focused analysis and reached a final consensus on six studies that met the specific selection criteria and passed the study quality checks. Results: All six studies included showed significant improvement as measured by anxiety symptom severity measures for adolescents and young adults receiving music therapy. Conclusion: While music therapy has shown to be promising as a stand-alone or adjunctive treatment for anxiety disorders in adolescents and young adults, more research is needed to establish music therapy as an effective treatment.