“I've Got the Music in Me”. Music Therapy for Adolescents Aged 13-18 with Emotional Difficulties: An Open Clinical Study.

In this open clinical study, where we examine whether, and if so, how music therapy as an adjunct treatment can be beneficial for adolescents with various emotional difficulties.

Twenty adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, diagnosed with emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety, were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic in Oslo South. The music therapy program consisted of ten individual sessions, one session per week over ten weeks. The sessions included individually warm-up exercises, a main part involving musical collaboration, primarily through the reproduction of popular music, and homework between sessions, including listening tasks and the development of a listening playlist.

Adolescents experiencing emotional difficulties often do not adhere to conventional treatment methods. This study is significant as it highlights the necessity for innovative therapeutic approaches to effectively engage this population.

Background:

Worldwide, emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety contribute to illness and impaired functioning among adolescents, often resulting in diminished quality of life and fewer healthy years. Current treatments, including various psychotherapeutic approaches and potential adjunctive psychotropic medications, demonstrate only moderate effectiveness. In Norway, more than half of the adolescents referred to specialized healthcare services do so due to symptoms of depression.

Several controlled intervention studies demonstrate a positive effect of music therapy on adults with depressive disorders, leading to symptom relief and improved daily functioning. However, there are few studies on music therapy in the adolescent group.

We carried out a pilot study from fall 2021 to June 2022, involving five adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, which established the groundwork for the recruitment processes and music therapy protocols in this PhD study.

Method and Design:

This is an open clinical study examining music therapy as an adjunct treatment, without a control group. Participants completed questionnaires assessing various symptom burdens (regarding depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidality, emotion regulation, quality of life, and relationship to music) at three time points (baseline, immediately after, and three months after completing music therapy).

After the music therapy sessions, interviews with participants were conducted to explore their experiences with the music therapy service. This was repeated during a follow-up at 3 months. Data from both the quantitative and qualitative aspects were analyzed and discussed after the data collection was finished.

Research Question:

Can music therapy, when used as an adjunct treatment, enhance mental health outcomes for adolescents aged 13–18 with emotional difficulties? This question will be explored in three articles.

Status: 

Data collection was completed in May 2025, and article 1 is in progress. The PhD candidate period is halfway completed, with approximately two years remaining. The study started in 2022 and will continue until summer 2027. 

Contact:

Anne M. Myhre  
Professor, MD, PhD, Project Manager at OUS
uxmyan@ous-hf.no  

Merete Holme
PhD Candidate at Centre for Research in Music and Health, Norwegian Academy of Music (NMH) 
mereteho@nmh.no
+47 95033408