What the HELL is Music Therapy?

By Sam Perez

What the HELL is Music Therapy?

High levels of stress in college students is increasing, causing anxiety and sometimes psychological break downs. This problem is occurring in many universities for example, at our UTRGV campus in Edinburg, Tx. From my personal experience college is a different level of education, it is more challenging and makes the student study and be timely with their homework. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people to drop out because of the high levels of stress from these responsibilities. My solution for this problem is to try to implement music therapy sessions through schools for students to fall back on and use to relax if they feel overwhelmed with work. I believe this would help stress levels decrease in the college level environment and decrease the use antidepressants and drugs for students who feel stressed. How will music therapy help college student stress levels decrease?

According to a group of psychiatric majors in the article “The effects of music therapy on the interaction of self and emotions- A interim analysis”. They believed that people with mental disorders needed music therapy to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. The psychiatrist also mentioned that people with mental disorders used music more intensively than people with a healthy mind. These Individuals also conducted a study where they treated people with mental disorders with music therapy and another group without music therapy. The outcome of this investigation was the individuals treated with MT (music therapy) had improved anxiety levels and depression greatly, and people who weren't treated with this therapy improved but not as much as the other group. This analysis on music therapy helped these individuals with mental disorders realize that pills weren't the best solution for this issue. I disagree with this article written by Gebhardt, Stefan that people with mental disorder will give the best results for music therapy because, I have found through research papers that people with mental disorder are not the only ones who go through high levels of stress. For instance, I had a friend who was about to lose her house and was experiencing one of the most stressful situations of her life because she had no money. This is why I mentioned that people don’t always have the most stressful situations. My friend got a job which helped her with paying off all her debt but was still stressed out every time she got a bill. This period had a toll on her conscience because of how stressed she was. My friend attended several therapy sessions which were useless, until she decided to try music therapy that produced effective results to lower her stress. As a result, I acquired an interest in music therapy and started to investigate ways that it has helped people.

An article by Seung-Yun, Eunhye song, and Seul-Ki-Kim named “effects of oriental medicine music therapy in an ovarian cancer patient with-so-Eum-type Constitution: a case report”, these individuals where trying to find therapeutic interventions for people going through chemotherapy. They describe in their report that music therapy has worked for people who had cerebral damage. This therapy would help their mind (brain) recover quicker. This information inspired the use of music therapy on cancer patients. In this case, they tried their theory with an individual going through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. This individual was stressing out greatly over what chemo was doing to her body, because she was experiencing swelling and pain, and this made it hard for her to go through normal everyday life. She received treatment at a university hospital in Guangdong, Seoul, Korea. The patient was treated with music therapy where they documented the process and checked her anxiety levels, blood pressure, brain activity, and checked vital organs. This experiment was done twice a day for four weeks. The changes in the patient where noticed on the third week during the fifth session, where she reported feeling better and motivated for life tasks. Overall, they found that “the patient demonstrated stability in a psychological perspective” (page 50). They also mentioned the patient's body color, satisfaction, and anxiety had improved since the beginning of the study. Giving them the conclusion, that music therapy has the ability to give patients a more relaxing and healing environment while going through this intense treatment. I agree with this type of research on music therapy used on cancer patients, because they go through a great deal of stress in chemotherapy. From my personal experience, my mother had blood cancer and she was in a lot of pain and agony. My mom would sing all night to think of something else besides the pain and stress caused by it. Seeing her suffer caused a great deal of pain for us. When she would sing to us when she wasn’t feeling that bad, she would make us feel better. Overall, I learned later that my mom was using music therapy to calm us down and relieve herself from some of the stress. This was also another reason for me to study this type of therapy and implement it in a college environment.

In this article written by Pao-Yuan Wu, Mei-Lin Huang, Wen-Ping Lee, Chi Wang, Whei-Mei Shih named “effects of music listening on anxiety and physiological responses patients undergoing awake Craniotomy”. This article mentions music therapy would relax patients while under local anesthesia for a craniotomy, “a surgical operation in which a bone flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the Brain”, which was performed to remove a tumor. In the research, they gave the patients their choice of a music experimental group for the pre and post-operative, while the other group was just observed. The group being observed showed no difference in both pre and post-operative changes in anxiety levels, heart rate, respiratory rate, etc., while the experimental group experienced a great difference. Before hearing music, they were anxious and were negative going through the surgery. While in surgery their preferred music was played and their anxiety levels, heart rate, and respiratory rates went down a great deal compared to the other group. These patients felt more relaxed giving the surgeon the ability to perform with less worry of complications like blood pressure and respiratory rates, etc. These researchers concluded that the music therapy used during these types of surgery were successful. This gave them insight that the power of a simple type of therapy would help greatly.

In the article named “The Arts in Psychotherapy volume 50September 2016, pages 23-33 named Toward a queer music therapy: The implications of queer theory of radically inclusive music therapy" (Candice L. Bain, 24), it is mentioned how music therapy should acknowledge the queer Community because of the great things it does to heal the people outside the LGBT. The writers also found that in the last 15 years there have been no studies on music therapy in the LGBT community. This research has slowly been revealing how with LGBT patients they must be more careful and slowly make them find their identity and not discourage them. In the research it also mentioned how LGBT adolescents found peace in their differences and communicated through music (page 28, section 3.5). They brought upon this study because many LGBT adolescents cannot find a solution using conventional therapy. This article is unique and different. The music also helped them develop character (page 27, section 3.1). Overall, this study showed that people that went through music therapy were less likely to end up in a mental health institution, and also found that many of the LGBT individuals where less depressed. I agree with this article that the LGBT community should also be able to have music therapy disposable for them because it is hard for an LGBT individual to be in this judgmental world. I had a friend who was always stressed out about how to show himself to the world because he was gay, and his parents didn’t know. My friend was also very anxious about people finding out his secret. To calm down. my friend would listen to music that he like which helped with his stress and anxiety. This was the only way he could relax while being out with other friends or when he would go out with his parents. Therefore, introducing music therapy to college individuals to improve their lives slowly and help them deal with stress is important.

In these articles, they did not mention individuals in a stressful college level environment. This type of environment is filled with constant work, requires the ability to be responsible for your own work, and be aware when to study or get tutoring. The research was done on people only in one type of stressful situation or problem, when there are many others that music therapy could fix. For my research I will observe college students doing work in a non-musical environment and write down their actions in this environment. I will then observe the same student and apply music while the students are doing a different work sheet and observe them like the previous session. I will, then, document the participant’s actions and feelings, as well as the differences or similarities in these two tests. After the two tests I will ask the students how they felt in both environments. 1.) “Did you feel more relaxed with music? Why?” 2.) “How was your experience doing work with and without music?” 3.) “Did you feel less stressed with music?” These will be observations made in a college environment. I believe the best results will come from their natural state. This research will help me find the answer to if music therapy can and will help college students under high levels of stress.

Experiment MT (music therapy)

A combination of 5 students, all which were observed with and without music, where given a random essay prompt. Each student had 1 hour to finish an essay that had to be at least ¾ of a page long. I will address them as student 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. This experiments location was in a UTRGV medium sized classroom with many small windows. The lights were bright and had arranged desks. The students where all prompted to sit in the front section of the class. Both sessions where done from 3pm to 4pm on separate days. The first day was February 25, 2019, and the day was bright and beautiful. The second day was February 26, 2019 and, the weather outside was different this time, the sun was not out and it was a little fresh outside. I gave the students 10 minutes to introduce themselves to each other.

Session 1: Without Music

Essay topic: What is your goal in life?

Student one: From the beginning of class this student already showed great deals of stress and worry. While doing the essay she was tapping the floor constantly, nonstop. She would also click her pen at least every five minutes. From this observation I also noticed she started stressing over a single problem, which was putting the essay together. Her tapping of the feet and clicking became more often. When the student had finished her essay, she was a little less anxious.

Student one reaction: I believe this student showed up nervous because she already had other things to do, like homework. Or perhaps she was stressed over a test she was about to take or waiting for the result of a test. This student looked like she cared a lot about keeping an A+ in her classes. This student was already stressed with some college work. I believe that she was less anxious at the end because she had finished the essay and had some time to do her other work and get ahead.

Student two: This student was more relaxed and seemed confident. When I told them the instructions, he got a twitch. During the writing of the essay he looked at his phone at least 5 times in this hour. I also observed that he would slide his hand side to side for the entire time he was writing his essay.

Student two reaction: The calmness of this student I believe meant he was already ahead on his work, and he was just participating. For this student, when he was informed of the work and got the twitch, I believe this is because the student does not like being under pressure which caused him to twitch. When he kept looking at his phone, and it was obvious that he was waiting for a result or an important message. Sliding his hands side to side showed that he did not care if he finished.

Student three: This student was loud, an open book, anxious, and never calm. When he started to write the essay, he started to show signs of stress. For example, he kept popping his knuckles during the hour of the session. He also moved around in his seat and tapped his feet.

Student three reaction: this student was loud either because he wanted attention or it’s just the way he talks. While watching him pop his knuckles, I was wondering if it was a stress sign or a bad habit. Then I realized it was because he was nervous because at the end of the session, he completely stopped popping his knuckles. In another instance he was also moving around a lot and tapping his feet. I think he was doing this because either he needed to get somewhere quickly after the session or he was just not used to sitting for that long. With these signs I knew he was a student who wanted to look like he was doing outstanding in everything but, this student was greatly stressed.

Student four: This student was constantly biting his pen cap, and he also shook his legs a couple times during this hour of the writing.

Student four reaction: This student, as I mentioned in my observation, was biting his pen cap constantly. I believed he was nervous because he was thinking too much, and he was dealing with the stress by chewing on something. This is very common when a student is nervous

Student five: While observing this student I noticed he was sweating when the class was cold. This student was also shaking.

Student five reaction: This student was sweating in a cold environment, which is a primary sign of nervousness or stress build up. The student was also shaking which gave me the impression he was feeling cold, but then I asked if he was okay and he said “yes”. I believe the student was under pressure already, and I added more by presenting him with this essay to write in an hour.

In this first session, I noticed an environment full of anxiety and nervousness. This is the type of environment college students are in. The class had bright with lights and they were all just waiting to be told what they were going to do. They didn't know what was going to happen, if the essay was going to be graded, if it was going to count for a subject, how long it would take, or what the due date was. I could tell as soon as they came in, they were tense, nervous, and had anxiety. Student one, was stressed and when it came to write the essay he would tap and click his pen constantly. Student two did not show a much as student one, but he also gave signs of anxiety by twitching, but when he came in he was still and relaxed. Student three came in confident speaking his mind with no care in the world, however when he started writing the essay, he popped his knuckles through the whole essay. This individual was also squirming in his seat. Student four was biting on his pen cap and shaking his legs during the hour session. Student five was anxious, it showed in the way that he was sweating in a cold class and was also shaking. This was a confusing way for the body to have acted. In this first session, I observed a great deal of anxiety and nervousness in an environment with no music, mimicking working in a normal college class.

Session two:1 hour long

February 26,2019

Essay topic: who is your inspiration?

Type of music: piano, cello, guitar, and violin music

Student one: This student entered the class a little nervous again. While writing the essay this time around, with the music playing, there was less taping on the floor and the clicking of the pen stopped completely. She was also writing with the flow of the music. I observed her to be less nervous.

Student one reaction: She was more relaxed when she came in, I believe, because the symphonies of the piano music calmed her down. This student seemed less stressed because she had stopped clicking her pen constantly, and this gave the impression that the stress from school was lighter on her for the time being. She looked to be in a stress-free manner. This showed me that music can calm or lower stress in a student.

Student two: When he came in the twitch from the previous session was there still, but 30 minutes in to the session the twitch went away. One thing I noticed was that he was shaking his leg to the beat of the music. He also tapped his pen on the table twice, which gave me the idea he was relaxed because in session one he was more still. The stress was flowing out.

Student two reaction: I mentioned in the other session that the twitch he had was because of high stress levels. When he was listening to music for 30 minutes, he started relaxing making the twitch go away. I believe that after this session he will use music as a type of therapy to help him to relax and lower his stress levels.

Student three: Music had no effect on this student. He was still popping knuckles, started shaking his leg, biting his pen cap, and tapping the floor. Then, 36 minutes into the session he was quiet. He had finished the essay and did not say a word, but he stayed still and listened to the music while relaxing. When I saw this, it amazed me he was relieving stress while in this session.

Student three reaction: This student was the hardest to observe because he showed the same signs as if he was still stressed or he had a bad habit of popping his knuckles. But then I noticed he was really stressed because when he finished, he did the most unusual thing he had done in the two sessions. He was quiet and relaxed. I believe this individual was obnoxious, and that’s the way he coped with his stress; by being loud and aggressive.

Student four: He demonstrated more relaxation and was concentrated on his essay. He never looked around the way he did in session one. This student was tapping his feet to the music from the beginning. He could now think straight, and he seemed was less stressed.

Student four reaction: The type of music I played during this session has helped many people lower their stress levels. This proved the student relaxed himself so much that he started tapping his feet to the music. I got the impression that this student was less stressed, because he was concentrating with the music and was not looking around frantically to see if everyone was finished.

Student five: This student was sweating in the beginning, but 6 minutes into the session he stopped sweating. He started scratching his head and tapping his fingers as if playing the piano. The student stopped shaking which showed signs of less anxiety.

Student five reaction: This student had come in from a stressful day, and he was not ready to do work for the day. After I told them about the essay, I started playing the music and it appeared relax him, causing his sweating and shaking to stopped and gave him the ability to concentrate.

In Session two, the students were writing while listening to piano, violin, cello, and guitar music. In this session, students had to write about who their inspiration was. When students came in and heard the music and it created different vibe for them. Student one was less nervous than the previous session. While writing, this student was tapping the pen less and 10 minutes later came into a deep relaxation. Her flow of writing matched with the music as well. Student two had the same twitch since he knew we were going to have another session. 30 minutes into the session the students twitching had stopped, and he looked relaxed and less anxious. Student three was still popping his knuckles, started shaking his leg, biting his pen cap, and tapping his feet on the floor. However, 36 minutes into the session the student was calm and relaxed. He had finished before the time of the session was over, and I expected him to be loud or just get up and leave. Surprisingly, this student remained quiet and just sat back and stayed listening to the music. Student four was very relaxed with the music and was more concentrated and timelier with writing the essay. This individual was showing signs of relaxation in the way that he looked less lost and was also still. Student five was sweating in the beginning lightly, but after being in the session for about 6 minutes the sweating had stopped. This student was less anxious as he was not sweating or shaking during the session. My overall observation was that all the students were more relaxed with music while working and felt less pressure and had more ideas as well. The students had a general reduction to their stress levels while working in this session with music.

Questions after going through both sessions

Questions

1) Did you feel relaxed with the music playing? Why?

2) How was your experience doing work without music?

3) Did you feel less stressed with music?

Student one

Yes, I felt relaxed, the environment with music was soothing.

I do work with music all the time it helps me relax and think.

Yes, I felt relaxed like if the stress had just come out.

Explanation: Question one she mentions she was relaxed, and when asked why she said it was soothing, I believe this student likes an environment relieved of stress where she could relax and concentrate. She was relaxed because the music that was playing gave out soothing sounds which can help the individual alleviate stress. This student has previously worked while listening to music, and that’s why she was relaxed. I believe this student was so stressed about school she had forgotten how soothing music is to the mind.

Student two

Yes, because when I listen to music it stops my twitch (one I observed).

This is the first time I've tried doing work with music in college and it felt good.

I felt a little less stressed from school it made me forget all about it.

Explanation: I wanted to know about the student, so I asked some questions not mentioned in the research. He said he had been listening to music since he was in high school because it helps him lower his stress levels which take away the twitch, which he is insecure about. But ever since he started college he stopped because he hasn’t had time. He was proving to me that music therapy, if implemented in college environments, can help greatly.

Student three

yes, but the only thing was I didn’t really like the music you played; I like to listen to rap

I have always done homework with music since I was in high school it helps me relax and focus on my work.

I still felt stressed but after a while I was slowly relaxing an I just fell into another world of peace

Explanation: This student liked other music to relax him but was still helping him release stress even if this was not his preferred music. This student had mention to me that music for him was a way to just lay back and release his anxiety from school and just let himself go even if it's just for one hour. I believe this individuals stress was lowered greatly after a while, because during the session he eventually just laid back and went into deep relaxation.

Student four

yes, I have always enjoyed music since the passing of my father it helped me through a lot.

like how I told you in the past question since the passing of my dad it helped relive depression and stress.

yes, the music relaxed me so much I started to let myself go (the tapping of his feet).

Explanation: This student was the individual that I saw had the strongest emotional connection to music. He used music to help with his depression. I believe he tried to use music to relieve his stress because it helped him go through one of the hardest points of his life. These answers from student four were eye opening on how music has the power to do many things to help individuals. This student was not as stressed from the first session, and session two was the time where he was fully relaxed.

Student five

no, it was just the type of music wasn’t for me.

this experience was nice I don’t usually do work like this I have only tried it when its quiet.

yes, I felt less stressed and I think I'm going to start doing work with some of my music.

Explanation: This student also did not like the type of music that was played, but still felt less stressed when in the session and was able to concentrate instead of worrying about the work, he was enjoying doing it. I believe this student has found a new way to relieve stress while doing work. This individual firsthand experience on doing work made him think how useful music is for dealing with stress and anxiety. I believe that this student has been given another way to relieve himself instead of just panicking and causing stress.

In conclusion, I found that from these five individuals were relaxed with music on while doing their work. I found that some students need to be exposed to music therapy or have some type of experience with music to relax them. The one student I felt that really used music therapy in a deep manner was student four; he used it for his depression and found that he felt more relaxed in school with music. All these students showed me a little bit of the college community and I would like to keep on with this research to gain more information on music therapy. The results above show that the student was relaxed in session two with music, meanwhile, in session one they were all nervous and stressed with work from their normal everyday classes.

Therefore, after examining my research question: Does music therapy help college student’s stress levels? In my overall research, I found that this research can be continued into having a large-scale experiment that would better test my theory that music therapy can lower college student stress levels. To better understand my theory, I would need more resources and months of experiments and observations. This type of therapy has been in the dark for far too long. Music therapy has been healing cancer patients, people with mental disorder, and craniotomy patients. If this therapy has done so much why not try and find how it would help decrease the stress levels of college students. I would like for you, the reader, of this research to test it out yourself. I want you to try going one day without listening to your favorite music and then the next day listen to music all day and see how music helps you go through a college day.

Works Cited

Gebhardt, Stefan; Dammann, Ilka; Loescher, Klaus; Wehmeier, Peter M.; Vedder, Helmut; Von Georgi, Richard. "The Effects of Music Therapy on the Interaction of the Self and Emotions — An Interim Analysis." (2018) vol. 41 61-66. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2018.08.014

Lee, Seung-Hyun; Song, Eunhye ; Kim, Seul-K. "Effects of Oriental Medicine Music Therapy in an Ovarian Cancer Patient with So-Eum Type Constitution: A Case Report." Integrative Medicine Research (2015) Vol. 4(1), pp. 48-52. DOI: 10.1016/j.imr.2014.12.002

Wu, Pao-Yuan; Huang, Mei-Lin; Lee, Wen-Ping; Wang, Chi; Shih, Whei-Mei. "Effects of Music Listening on Anxiety and Physiological Responses in Patients Undergoing Awake Craniotomy." Complementary Therapies in Medicine, June 2017, Vol.32, pp.56-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2017.03.007

Bain, Candice L.; Grzanka, Patrick R. ; Crowe, Barbara J. “Toward a queer music therapy: The implications of queer theory for radically inclusive music therapy" The Arts in Psychotherapy, September 2016, Vol.50, pp.22-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2016.03.004