Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder associated with a high mortality and an often chronic and disabling course. Thus, novel treatment options should be explored. We performed two focus groups with a total of six people with AN on their use of music and their thoughts about music as an additional therapeutic option. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed in-depth using the NVivo 12 software package. The most prevalent theme throughout the focus groups involved positive expressions, emotions and memories related to music. This theme occurred in ~25% of the data. The importance of music was the second most common theme. Negative feelings and memories associated with music accounted for only ~10% of all references. All six patients expressed that they see benefit in using music therapy as an adjunct to their current treatment. Our analysis shows that people with AN connect music mainly with positive emotions and memories. Therapists might think about applying music more frequently during their sessions with AN patients and consider adding music therapy to their overall treatment concept. However, the results also suggest that music can influence mood not only positively but negatively as well. Quantitative research in bigger patient samples and randomized clinical trials will be necessary to verify these results.
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is one of the main eating disorders. It has the highest mortality of all psychiatric disorders, and the success rates of current therapies are not fully satisfactory. Thus, there is a need for novel interventions. We investigated the attitudes surrounding music of 41 patients with clinically-diagnosed AN as well as their thoughts on the potential therapeutic uses of music using a questionnaire of 50 questions. Free text responses were qualitatively analyzed for reoccurring themes with NVivo 12 software. Yes/no questions and questions of best fit were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 25. The most prevalent theme was the positive effect of music. Most patients reported that listening to music evokes varying emotions in them (83%) which may be of positive or negative nature. Similarly, patients associated certain music with particular positive, but also with particular negative memories. A majority of patients stated that music helps to distract them (85%), helps with loneliness (59%) and helps them feel more connected to others (58%). This data indicates that people with AN make nonclinical use of music which seems to elicit positive as well as negative emotions and memories. Patients felt music is beneficial with regard to important aspects of AN, such as emotional problems, loneliness, and relationship difficulties. Most of them would also like to attend music therapy.
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