Is your child showing signs of depression? Music therapy could help them deal!

Zee Media Bureau

London: The power of music is undeniably unmatched. Various studies have confirmed highly effective results when it comes to the healing properties of music.

It not only has an impact on humans, but on animals too, which many researches have shown as well.

Now, according to a new study, music may help children and adolescents overcome the behavioural and emotional effects of depression.

Just like most of us resort to music when we are feeling low to help uplift our mood, the new study suggests that this can actually help young kids deal with depression.

The researchers involved 251 children and young people for the study and found that children and young persons, aged 8-16 years, who received music therapy had significantly improved self-esteem and significantly reduced depression compared with those who received treatment without music therapy.

The study published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry also found that young people aged 13 and over who received music therapy had improved communicative and interactive skills, compared to those who received usual care options alone. Music therapy also improved social functioning over time in all age groups.

"This study is hugely significant in terms of determining effective treatments for children and young people with behavioural problems and mental health needs," said Sam Porter, Professor at the Bournemouth University, Britain.

"The findings contained in our report should be considered by healthcare providers and commissioners when making decisions about the sort of care for young people that they wish to support," he said.

"Music therapy has often been used with children and young people with particular mental health needs, but this is the first time its effectiveness has been shown by a definitive randomised controlled trail in a clinical setting," said Ciara Reilly, Chief Executive of Every Day Harmony.

(With IANS inputs)