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Thursday January 29 Music Therapy Lifts Mood NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Music psychotherapy, in which people are encouraged to associate mental images with classical music, can improve mood and reduce stress, according to a new study. After six sessions of guided imagery and music (GIM) therapy held over a 12-week period, 14 healthy adult volunteers, aged 23 to 45, showed improved scores on tests of overall mood, and reported feeling less fatigue and depression. The patients' blood levels of the steroid hormone cortisol -- which becomes elevated under stress -- also fell, say researchers at the University of Miami in Florida. But Dr. Philip M. McCabe, senior study author and professor of psychology, points out that none of the study participants were placed under stress and that all were healthy, without physical or psychiatric problems. "So it's not appropriate to say from the findings that guided imagery music therapy reduces depression; these weren't depressed people. That it improves mood is probably a more accurate statement," he says. In the GIM therapy sessions, volunteers listened to specific, pre-selected sequences of classical music, including portions from the music of Respighi, Ravel, Bach, and Brahms. To encourage introspection while listening, they were asked to identify one to three areas of concern in their lives. They then shared and discussed with the therapist the spontaneous images that came to mind during the music selections. At 13 weeks into the study, test scores on mood disturbance, fatigue, and depression were significantly decreased, compared with pre-GIM therapy test scores. Cortisol levels also were significantly decreased. The changes persisted at a follow-up six weeks later. However, no significant changes in test scores or cortisol levels were found among 14 volunteers who did not undergo GIM therapy. "A short series of GIM sessions may positively affect mood and reduce cortisol levels in healthy adults," the researchers state, adding that "such changes in hormonal regulation may have health implications for chronically stressed people." SOURCE: Health Psychology (1997;16:390-400) Judith Richards [log in to unmask]