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Music as Central Mechanism for Music Therapy in Mental Health

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Arts Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Abstract

This chapter reviews recent literature of evidence-based music therapy interventions in mental health and suggests that the results of the most current research should inform music therapists how to carry out their music therapy treatment. Articles should for example not be older than 10 years due to the rapid development of treatment relevant to psychiatry. To ensure that input from such recent research outcomes provide an evidence-based music therapy treatment for a client, it firstly should match the unique cultural context of the individual client. Secondly it should be informed by developments in neuroscience and music-psychology. A client benefits most from the music therapy treatment if the music therapist is aware of the working mechanisms of music and how to trigger these mechanisms in their therapy. Rather than placing the therapeutic relation at the core of the treatment, the musical mechanisms that drive the neurologic reactions and trigger mental, social, and emotional development of the client should be at the center of the treatment interventions of the music therapist. This could allow clients with mental health issues to benefit most from music therapy treatment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    BRECVEMA stands for Brainstem reflex, Rhythmical entrainment, Evaluative conditioning, Contagion, Visual imagery, Episodic memory, Musical expectancy, and Aesthetic Judgement (see [32]).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Music Therapy Department, ArtEZ University of the Arts, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Laurien Hakvoort

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  1. Laurien Hakvoort
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Correspondence to Laurien Hakvoort .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences/DIMSC, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Umberto Volpe

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Hakvoort, L. (2021). Music as Central Mechanism for Music Therapy in Mental Health. In: Volpe, U. (eds) Arts Therapies in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76208-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76208-7_8

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