Major depressive disorder (MDD) is classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Five (DSM-V, 2013) as a depressive disorder. Symptoms include either having a depressed mood or loss interest or pleasure in nearly all activities for more than two weeks. It needs to be present every day. Criterion A states someone with the disorder needs to present five or more symptoms. Some of the symptoms include depressed mood through either subjective report or observations by others, weight loss, diminished interest in almost all activities, sleep disturbances, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, diminished ability to think, and recurrent thoughts of death. The symptoms need to cause clinically significant distress or impairment
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observed the cognitive deficits between patients with MDD who are medicated and non-medicated. The study differentiated between SSRI and newer antidepressants. All sixty-nine participants with MDD were in remission. The results indicate that between the patients with MDD and those on anti-depressants, there was no significant difference in cognitive impairment. The percent difference was not discussed. It appears that some of the participants were receiving multiple medications, including lithium, anticonvulsants, and benzodiazepines. Nagane et al. stated that their findings “suggest that cognitive impairment remained even in remitted patients with MDD” (p. 104) and that some of the impairments could be due to adverse effects of the antidepressants. This study revealed minimal differences in cognitive impairment between the control group, those with remitted MDD and those on …show more content…
Many articles incorrectly defined what music therapy was, or utilized just general music as a comparison. For example Hsu and Lai (2004) used soft music for treatment of MDD with inpatients. No goals, objectives or therapist were used in the discussion of music. It does not help support the efficacy of Music Therapy. The articles found focused on improvisational music therapy as compared to standard form of care. The research seemed to reflect a weakness in the assessments of depression and anxiety found in patients with MDD. Further considerations should be finding assessment materials that better reflect the effect of music therapy on depressive symptoms, such as decreased MDD episodes or increase in management of systems. The studies were also all European. It was difficult to find one study of the effects of music therapy on MDD in the United States, indicating a strong bias towards medication over long-term effective therapies. There could be an indication of the clutch of drug companies on the research performed in the United States, as other countries may have limited drug usage. There needs to be in-depth research performed on the percent effectiveness of music therapy as compared to with and without medication, to understand the strength and differences. Further studies on the effects of music therapy on MDD should be studied, as it was useful in the
observed the cognitive deficits between patients with MDD who are medicated and non-medicated. The study differentiated between SSRI and newer antidepressants. All sixty-nine participants with MDD were in remission. The results indicate that between the patients with MDD and those on anti-depressants, there was no significant difference in cognitive impairment. The percent difference was not discussed. It appears that some of the participants were receiving multiple medications, including lithium, anticonvulsants, and benzodiazepines. Nagane et al. stated that their findings “suggest that cognitive impairment remained even in remitted patients with MDD” (p. 104) and that some of the impairments could be due to adverse effects of the antidepressants. This study revealed minimal differences in cognitive impairment between the control group, those with remitted MDD and those on …show more content…
Many articles incorrectly defined what music therapy was, or utilized just general music as a comparison. For example Hsu and Lai (2004) used soft music for treatment of MDD with inpatients. No goals, objectives or therapist were used in the discussion of music. It does not help support the efficacy of Music Therapy. The articles found focused on improvisational music therapy as compared to standard form of care. The research seemed to reflect a weakness in the assessments of depression and anxiety found in patients with MDD. Further considerations should be finding assessment materials that better reflect the effect of music therapy on depressive symptoms, such as decreased MDD episodes or increase in management of systems. The studies were also all European. It was difficult to find one study of the effects of music therapy on MDD in the United States, indicating a strong bias towards medication over long-term effective therapies. There could be an indication of the clutch of drug companies on the research performed in the United States, as other countries may have limited drug usage. There needs to be in-depth research performed on the percent effectiveness of music therapy as compared to with and without medication, to understand the strength and differences. Further studies on the effects of music therapy on MDD should be studied, as it was useful in the