A cross-cultural randomized pilot trial of western-based and five elements music therapy for psychological well-being

• Published in: Explore (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2023-07, Vol.19 (4), p.571-577
• Main Authors: J, Liao, E, Papathanassoglou, X, Zhang, QN, Li, A, Gupta, F, Lu, Y, Wu, M, Frishkopf
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety - psychology; Anxiety - therapy; Canada; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - therapy; Humans; Music - psychology; Music Therapy; Pilot Projects; Psychological Well-Being
• ISSN: 1550-8307; 1878-7541
• DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2022.11.001

•Music therapy traditions are linked with specific cultural contexts.•We explored whether a Chinese music therapy tradition (Five elements music Therapy: FEMT) could be transferable to a north American context, and if a western art music therapy (WAMT) approach would be effective in a Chinese context.•FEMT and WAMT had comparable favorable effects in both the Chinese and Canadian samples, especially with regard to decreasing stress.•Both WAMT and FEMT had additional perceived benefits including improved coping, decreased anxiety-provoking thoughts and improved of sleep.•We provide preliminary evidence that both western and Chinese music therapy traditions are effective in alleviating stress and anxiety regardless of country or ethnicity. Music therapy and culture are interconnected. It is unclear whether the therapeutic effects of music can be exerted in diverse cultural contexts. Both Western-based and Chinese Five elements music therapy (FEMT) have shown effectiveness in improving the perception of stress, anxiety and depression in their respective cultures. FEMT is a commonly used traditional Chinese Medicine approach; however, it has not been investigated with non-Chinese participants. To investigate the impact of FEMT and of Western-based music therapy on stress and related outcomes and explore cross-cultural comparisons in participants from Chinese and Canadian contexts. This pre-post randomized controlled study was conducted with 35 participants, 23 from Canada and 12 from China. Participants from the two cultural groups were randomly divided into two groups: a FEMT group (n = 20), a western art music therapy (WAMT) group (n = 15). The main outcome was self-rated stress, evaluated by a 10-point numeric rating question. Secondary outcomes included anxiety/depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), pulse rate and qualitative comments. Cross-sectional, pre-post and longitudinal comparisons were pursued. We observed comparable effects of FEMT and WAMT in both the Chinese and Canadian samples. There was a statistically significant decrease in self-rated stress over time, especially after the conclusion of the four-week music therapy intervention (p = 0.001), regardless of type of music therapy, and in both cultural contexts. We observed a statistically significant decrease in anxiety and depression scores in the FEMT group only (p