It appears children suffering from depression may find relief through music therapy. A joint effort between the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust and Queen's University Belfast, funded by the Big Lottery fund, resulted in a study that shows promising results for such techniques.
"Children who received music therapy had significantly improved self-esteem and significantly reduced depression compared with those who received treatment without music therapy," the university said in a statement. The study took place between March 2011 and May 2014 and looked at 251 children with emotional or behavioral problems.
The group was split in half, and half were given traditional therapy, while the other half were given music therapy. They report children who received music therapy showed higher self-esteem and lower depression by the end of the study. The authors hope their results, presented at a conference this week at the university, will encourage mental health institutions and professionals to consider music therapy as a viable treatment option.