Browsing by Subject "music psychology"

Objectives. In the modern times, music and music therapy have emerged as versatile forms of treatment and rehabilitation. Music is also common means of regulating emotions by humans. Problems with emotion regulation can predict and maintain various psychopathological phenomena. The objective of this literary review was to examine if music and music therapy can be beneficial concerning emotion regulation and its possible problems. Methods. Articles for this review were searched in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Ultimately, nine articles addressing connection between music and emotion regulation were selected. These articles consisted of interventions and studies concerning beneficial use of music in respect of emotion regulation. Results and conclusions. The research evidence finds that music and music therapy can be used diversely in emotion regulation and the focusing interventions. The effects of the interventions were mostly significant, improving one or several aspects of emotion regulation, such as emotion awareness and confidence in regulating one’s emotions. It was also observed that music can be used as a beneficial or detrimental means of regulating one’s emotions. This should be taken into consideration when designing music therapy focused treatment, for example. The studies selected for this review were vastly different concerning their methods, and it was difficult to create a more detailed image of the potential for music and music therapy to support emotion regulation. However, the field of research in question is still young and this review gives encouraging evidence for the future of music and music therapy in emotion regulation.