Music therapy in generalized anxiety disorder

摘要

This study proposes music therapy as a novel approach in clinical psychiatry for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is one of the most common and incapacitating mental disorders. In this study, we present the results of a pilot intervention with patients under clinical control and receiving pharmacotherapy. Music therapy was used to decrease the symptomatology of this disorder following a structured protocol. The pilot study group consisted of seven patients with no comorbidities. The patients were characterized by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria and were diagnosticated by psychiatrists at National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente Muniz. The researchers programmed 12 x 2 h sessions for this group of patients. A pre-test/post-test design using the Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory was used. The Wilcoxon statistical test for related groups in global scores demonstrated a significant reduction after the intervention. The results demonstrate that music therapy was effective in reducing anxiety and depression levels in GAD patients. Additional studies are required to corroborate these pilot data. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.