Background: In pediatric health care, non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy have promising potential to complement traditional medical treatment options in order to facilitate recovery and well-being. Music therapy and other music-based interventions are increasingly applied in the clinical treatment of children and adolescents in many countries world-wide. The purpose of this overview is to examine the evidence regarding the effectiveness of music therapy and other music-based interventions as applied in pediatric health care. Methods: Surveying recent literature and summarizing findings from systematic reviews, this overview covers selected fields of application in pediatric health care (autism spectrum disorder; disability; epilepsy; mental health; neonatal care; neurorehabilitation; pain, anxiety and stress in medical procedures; pediatric oncology and palliative care) and discusses the effectiveness of music interventions in these areas. Results: Findings show that there is a growing body of evidence regarding the beneficial effects of music therapy, music medicine, and other music-based interventions for children and adolescents, although more rigorous research is still needed. The highest quality of evidence for the positive effects of music therapy is available in the fields of autism spectrum disorder and neonatal care. Conclusions: Music therapy can be considered a safe and generally well-accepted intervention in pediatric health care to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life. As an individualized intervention that is typically provided in a person-centered way, music therapy is usually easy to implement into clinical practices. However, it is important to note that to exploit the potential of music therapy in an optimal way, specialized academic and clinical training and careful selection of intervention techniques to fit the needs of the client are essential.

Introduction:A growing body of research reflects the interest in meaningful moments in music therapeutic treatment and the client-therapist relationship; however, little insight has been given into the client's subjective experience and the interweaving processes between a therapist and a client. Central to this initial research is the question of how dialogue as a substantial relational quality emerges and intersubjectively manifests in free, dyadic improvisations, as is typical in humanistic and/or psychodynamic approaches to music therapy practice. This paper presents the qualitative part of a mixed-methods, multi-phase feasibility study intended to develop a framework for non-clinical and clinical research. Method:In a non-clinical setting with adult participants (n=9) and trained music therapists (n=8), a total of 17 free dyadic piano improvisations were recorded and verbally reflected on in semi-structured debriefing interviews. These focused on moments or time periods where one or both improvising people had the feeling that something pivotal happened between them. A qualitative summarizing content analysis of the transcribed interviews, including a selective coding process, was conducted to investigate both perspectives.Results: As a two-part category system, the framework for content, meanings and intersubjectivity (COME_IN) covers (a) meanings, i.e. different intra-and interpersonal experiences indicating developments and states of relationship in dyadic improvisations, and (b) intersubjectivity, operationalized in temporal and/or content-related overlaps of subjective experiences.Discussion: Showing manifold patterns of how meaning and intersubjectivity nonverbally arise between people, the framework provides a solid base for further mixed-methods analyses. Clinical studies are needed to test and refine the categories.

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