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Rehabilitation Psychology |© 2000 by the Educational Publishing Foundation | |
|August 2000 Vol. 45, No. 3, 274-283 |For personal use only--not for distribution. |


Effect of Music Therapy on Mood and Social Interaction Among Individuals With Acute Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke
Sangeetha Nayak
Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research andEducation Corporation
Barbara L. Wheeler
Department of Music Montclair State University
Samuel C. Shiflett
Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation
Sandra Agostinelli
Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation
ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of music therapy techniques as an aid in improving mood and social interactionafter traumatic brain injury or stroke. Design: Eighteen individuals with traumatic brain injury or stroke were assigned either standard rehabilitation alone or standard rehabilitation along with music therapy (3 treatments per week for up to 10 treatments). Measures: Pretreatment and posttreatment assessments of participant self-rating of mood, family ratings of mood and social interaction, andtherapist rating of mood and participation in therapy. Results: There was a significant improvement in family members' assessment of participants' social interaction in the music therapy group relative to the control group. The staff rated participants in the music therapy group as more actively involved and cooperative in therapy than those in the control group. There was a trend suggesting thatself-ratings and family ratings of mood showed greater improvement in the music group than in the control group. Conclusions: Results lend preliminary support to the efficacy of music therapy as a complementary therapy for social functioning and participation in rehabilitation with a trend toward improvement in mood during acute rehabilitation.
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A large body of research supports theeffectiveness of music therapy within many areas of physical, cognitive, communicative, social, and emotional rehabilitation ( Standley & Prickett, 1994 ). The emotional sequelae that frequently accompany both stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) can interfere with an individual's reentry into the community and ability to obtain maximum benefit from rehabilitation. Although there has been little researchconducted on the social and emotional benefits of music and music therapy for individuals with stroke or TBI, research with a variety of populations has shown that music therapy is associated with a decrease in depression ( Hanser & Thompson, 1994 ), improved mood ( Thaut, 1989 ), and a reduction in state anxiety ( McKinney, 1990 ). Music therapy has also been shown to improve various aspects ofsocial interaction in adults with and without disabilities, including those with emotional problems ( Cassity, 1976 ) and Alzheimer's disease ( Pollack & Namazi, 1992 ) and their caregivers ( Clair & Ebberts, 1997 ).
The precise mechanisms underlying these influences are not fully understood ( Behrens, 1988 ; Hodges, 1980 ), but there are several theories in the literature regarding possiblereasons for the impact of music on altering emotions and behavior. Because music is laden with emotional associations and memories, it provides an effective medium for evoking emotional responses ( MacRae, 1992 ). Furthermore, the rhythm in music can structure behavior by simultaneously influencing emotions directly and altering physiological functioning such as heart rate, muscle tone, bloodpressure, and respiration ( Steckler, 1998 ). Finally, music therapy sessions provide a comfortable, nonthreatening milieu in which to encourage successful interaction among patients and between the patient and therapist. Although reports suggest that music therapy may be useful in changing mood and improving social skills, there is a paucity of well-controlled research on TBI or stroke. In a study of...