Music therapy reduces depression

A new study has found that music therapy can significantly reduce depression in children and teenagers.

It was carried out in a joint venture by Queen’s University, Belfast and the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust over a three-year period. It involved 251 participants who were receiving treatment for emotional and behavioural issues.

They were split into two groups, with one receiving traditional therapy and the other having music therapy on top of the usual care.

The findings show those who received music therapy displayed an increase in self-esteem and reduced depressive symptoms. Results also revealed an improvement in communication and interactive skills for those who received the additional treatment.

Ciara Reilly, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust says: “The findings are dramatic and underscore the need for music therapy to be made available as a mainstream treatment option.

“For a long time we have relied on anecdotal evidence and small-scale research findings about how well music therapy works. Now we have robust clinical evidence to show its beneficial effects.”

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.