From first year to professor: in music therapy, everyone is a researcher.

“During the entrance exam for the Music Therapy course, we often hear young people say they want to do something with music and something with people", says Annemieke Vink. She is a psychologist and researcher and works as a research supervisor and theory lecturer on the bachelor’s, pre-master’s and master's Music Therapy courses. In addition, she is a researcher for the Music Therapy professorship. “They have already recognised that music has a strong influence on the emotions. But why is that? And there you have it – that is developing your research capacity. Asking the question is the first part of conducting research. You need an inquiring attitude in order to be able to apply what you feel as a therapist." Artur Jaschke is a neuroscientist and musicologist, and is professor of the Music-Based Therapies and Interventions professorship at ArtEZ. He adds: "If I ask you ‘how are you?’, that already shows my curiosity – I want to know how you are. We human beings conduct ‘research’ every day, because we are curious. If a five-year-old asks a question, they are behaving in a research-oriented way. Where we have lost our way is in making research something that can only be done by professors. But that isn’t true. Everyone conducts research." 

Students bring innovation 

When Annemieke started at Music Therapy, it was difficult to apply for a research grant at higher professional (HBO) level. “Back then, the attitude was: you can't do research at a HBO institution, that's a matter for universities. There has traditionally been a weird split between HBO and university." Fortunately, that division is getting smaller all the time; universities themselves are increasingly opting for practical instead of theoretical research. Various professorships at ArtEZ now conduct research into diverse subjects. Six years ago, Artur was recruited by the professorship of Music Therapy: he was and still is a neuroscientist and wanted to further extend his research. "We know from research that music therapy can be very effective as a treatment,” says Artur, "and that research in turn benefits the course. And vice versa! Students can put forward brilliant new ideas whereas you are still stuck in your old ways of thinking. They bring innovation. Our students are different than when we were 17, they are much more in tune with developments in society and are therefore much better placed to generate insights for innovation within the professional field. In this way you get a virtuous circle, in which you are constantly feeding each other with new knowledge and ideas."   

Actually making a difference 

You could liken the Music Therapy network at ArtEZ to a musical composition: the bachelor’s,  pre-master’s and master’s courses and the professorship are each different parts, but they are interwoven to create an ensemble piece. And that's where the potential lies. "There is a constant cross-fertilisation between those different branches of education", observes Artur. "It starts with the bachelor's course", says Annemieke. "During the bachelor's course, you learn to become a therapist, and you are introduced to research skills. Some students become inspired by the research." Often, that takes them by surprise. Annemieke: “At the start, most students find research intimidating and scary: they are put off by the difficult language. Only as they progress do they become curious. When they do, we are keen to help them, because the results generated by research can truly make a difference in practice. The findings can help answer treatment-related questions. If you can provide supporting evidence for what you are doing, you are better able to help your client. Moreover,” Annemieke continues, "our students are becoming more vocal, because they are able to give evidence-based responses. Which is also useful when they need to explain to care managers that music therapy is an effective treatment method and not just ‘doing a bit of drumming together'." 

Music therapy for dementia and depression among old people 

A good example of this is the MIDDEL study. This study involves looking at whether music therapy and singing together in a choir can reduce depressive symptoms in people with dementia. The researchers are also exploring how music can contribute to quality of life for people with dementia who are living in care homes. Annemieke is proud of the research. “It is being conducted jointly by the professorship and an international network of research institutes, including from the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, the UK and Turkey. Together we have set up a trial to establish which music therapy works, and in which form." Students and alumni from the course are closely involved. Annemieke: “Naomi Rasing, one of our alumni, is going to do her PhD research on the project at the University of Groningen. “Yesim Saltik, another alumna, set up the project on behalf of ArtEZ in Turkey. She is putting music therapy on the map there. Students of the master's and bachelor's courses have contributed to video analyses. Which is great!"  

Students are encouraged to participate and share ideas in all the research conducted by the professorship. Artur: “We offer students opportunities to try, to fail, to get back up and fail again and try again. During your course, you get the chance to experiment with what you do and don't enjoy, with what works and what doesn't. That, too, is conducting research."  

About the MIDDEL PROJECT 

The UNO-UMCG (Prof. Sytse Zuidema, Dr. Sarah Janus and ArtEZ alumna Naomi Rasing) and the ArtEZ Music Therapy professorship (Dr. Annemieke Vink and ArtEZ alumna Yesim Saltik) are conducting research into the effect of music interventions on people with dementia and symptoms of depression. The research project is entitled MIDDEL and is part of a bigger international study. MIDDEL stands for Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression in Elderly care. 

The research phase is complete and we are currently in the analysis phase.