Numerous studies have demonstrated that music therapy significantly reduces anxiety across a wide range of clinical settings. These settings include patients with cancer, heart disease, individuals undergoing medical or dental procedures, those on mechanical ventilation, on dialysis, pregnant women, as well as people with psychiatric diagnoses. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive analysis that examines the consistency of effects across different intervention formats, clinical contexts, and study designs.
Previous meta-analyses have demonstrated the effectiveness of music therapy in reducing anxiety across various clinical populations. These studies often focused on specific contexts, populations, or types of interventions and did not consistently account for anxiety as a broad outcome measure. Anxiety symptoms are not exclusive to anxiety disorders; they are pervasive across many mental health conditions and are frequently experienced in medical and procedural settings.
Toward a More Holistic Understanding
This work, published in eClinicalMedicine, aims to fill gaps and opportunities in the existing meta-analytic literature on music therapy and anxiety.
The researchers addressed the limitations described above by conducting a comprehensive systematic review and a multilevel meta-analysis, including both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials (CCTs).
By incorporating non-randomized studies, typically conducted in clinically representative settings, the research enhances the external validity of the findings, offering a richer, more nuanced view of the effects of music therapy on anxiety. Examining state and trait anxiety outcomes separately and their relationship with key study, sample, outcome, and intervention characteristics, the study provides insights into the conditions under which music therapy is most effective. The approach significantly broadens the scope and applicability of findings from prior investigations, addressing the need for a more holistic understanding of the impact of music therapy on anxiety across different contexts and populations.
The researchers sought to answer these two questions:
- What are the effects of music therapy on psychological anxiety outcomes and physiological outcomes?
- Which outcome, study, sample, or design factors may moderate the effects of music therapy interventions?
The Value of Receptive Methods and Combinations
The results showed a overall mean effect of music therapy on all anxiety outcomes (g = 0.357, [0.201, 0.514]; 51 studies, 93 ES), of which a mean effect was observed for participants’ self-reported anxiety (g = 0.410, [0.236, 0.585]; 50 studies, 61 ES) and a small, non-significant effect for physiological outcomes (g = 0.153 [−0.153, 0.400]; 13 studies, 32 ES). Subgroup analyses highlighted substantially larger effects for receptive interventions and for the combination of active and receptive interventions compared with active interventions.
In conclusion, music therapy, particularly receptive methods (such as listening to music) or combinations of receptive and active approaches (playing an instrument or singing), provides effective, flexible, and scalable interventions to reduce anxiety symptoms, with meaningful psychological benefits in promoting patient autonomy and quality of life. The duration, frequency, and total number of sessions did not consistently improve outcomes. This aligns with the flexibility and adaptability of music therapy and the need to tailor care plans to patients’ needs and preferences. The impact on physiological and long-term effects requires further research.
Study
De Witte, Martina et al. Music Therapy for the Treatment of Anxiety: A Systematic Review with Multilevel Meta-Analyses, eClinicalMedicine, 2025, Volume 84, 103293, doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103293
Abbonati a Karla Miller
