Toward the development of telehealth music therapy for mental health of young people in Japan

In Japan, over 20,000 people commit suicide every year, yet not many people use mental health services. Young people are known to be at risk for their mental health. However, they also hesitate to seek help for their mental health. Telehealth mental health treatments have been found to be effective and advantageous in terms of its accessibility, privacy, and cost-effectiveness. To date, telehealth music therapy has only been reported in case studies or case reports. The purpose of this study was to review the literature to create a telehealth music therapy protocol for young Japanese people with low mood. The author conducted an integrative review to create a protocol for young people with low mood, employing the Carroll and Nuro (2002) framework for psychotherapy intervention development to determine the key components required. The search included APA Psycinfo, CINAHL, and PubMed but due to the scarcity of literature on music therapy and telemedicine for low mood, the search was expanded to music therapy and depression, and telemedicine and depression. A total of 46 articles were identified across three related searches. Results of the integrative review were formulated into the key criteria, and supplemented with the author’s knowledge and strategic thinking to create an introductory, or gateway telehealth music therapy protocol. The protocol consists of one enrollment/orientation session and three music therapy sessions. The three sessions include experiences of (a) mindful music listening and playlist creation, (b) music listening (singing) and discussion, and (c) songwriting, all of which utilize Geipel’s (2019) three formations of music experiences-sensory, emotional and interpersonal. Given that depression (and low mood within it) is a disease of emotional regulation (Geipel, 2019), the music experience itself is the first active ingredient of the protocol to bring emotional regulation. As the participant will likely be a first-time user of music therapy service, rapport is another active ingredient. Other procedural elements are (a) orientation, (b) gradual introduction of introspection, (c) music experience followed by discussion, and (d) therapist presence during music listening. It is intended that the accessibility of this gateway program may overcome known barriers to mental health help-seeking for young people in Japan. Future research will include feasibility and piloting of the protocol.