Assessment of Music Experiences in Navigating Depression

Assessment of Music Experiences in Navigating Depression (AMEND)

The study team sought to scientifically investigate strategic subsets of depressed individuals or people prone to or at-risk of depression through music experiences of individual, group, and blended supported contexts. Meetings with the study multi-disciplinary team, included member of the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute and University affiliates, where the study team gathered quantitative and qualitative data in individual and group forums, measuring disease process and levels of participation. Through tabulation of participatory options with standardized depression and resilience measurements, the study team studied how live music could alter depressive symptoms over time and/ or change negative influencers of mood, shift quality of life, and lead toward possibly enhanced disease trajectory outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants between the ages of 8-70 years with a clinical diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MOD) who met the DSM-5 (2013) criteria for a Major Depressive Episode, and/or who identify themselves, or are identified by family, or referring clinicians as depressed, or are prone to depression
• Depressive episodes and/or showing symptoms of mild to moderate depression intensity
• Self-reported satisfactory bilateral hearing
• English or Spanish language fluency sufficient to complete the interviews and questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

• Axis I diagnosis, aside from MOD, considered the primary diagnosis
• Bipolar Disorder Type I or II,
• Axis II diagnosis such as antisocial or borderline.
• Arrhythmia,
• Pacemaker
• Prolapsed vertebral disc, and
• Recent back or neck injuries.