Effects of music therapy on the subjective well-being of women with fibromyalgia: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a frequent disease, especially in women, and is recognised as a syndrome. Its effects can be very limiting, worsening your quality of life. In this paper, an adaptation of Priestley’s Analytical Music Therapy was applied through the symbolic use of improvised music in women with fibromyalgia with the aim of evaluating the subjective perception of relief or improvement of their symptoms. The study is based on 580 self-reports provided by 76 participants and obtained in 72 music therapy sessions carried out over six years and has a quasi-experimental research design with pretest-posttest measures and no control group. The perceived change experienced by the participants has been analysed in each of the dimensions of the Physical and Emotional Awareness Self-Assessment Wheel (CACFE) evaluation tool. The results showed that statistically significant changes occur when comparing the pre-post session reports: increase in concentration (68%), relaxation (65.5%), self-esteem (40.4%) and readiness (14.6%); and decrease in fatigue (51.9%) and pain perception (17.7%). In addition, an underlying structure of self-perceived change was found: through multidimensional scaling (MDS), two dimensions were found – intensity of change in relation to receptive techniques to access the unconscious, and driver of change through active techniques to explore the conscious mind and strengthen the self.