Music therapy for depression: a Cochrane Review

Abstract

This article presents a review of studies that assessed the effects of music therapy for depression in people of any age compared with treatment as usual (TAU) and psychological, pharmacological, and/or other therapies. It also compared effects of different forms of music therapy for people of any age with a diagnosis of depression. The review included nine studies involving a total of 421 participants, 411 of whom were included in the meta-analysis examining short-term effects of music therapy for depression. It is concluded that findings s of the present meta-analysis indicate that music therapy provides short-term beneficial effects for people with depression. Music therapy added to TAU seems to improve depressive symptoms compared with TAU alone. Additionally, music therapy plus TAU is not associated with more or fewer adverse events than TAU alone. Music therapy also shows efficacy in decreasing anxiety levels and improving functioning of depressed individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)