Music Therapy's Impact on University Students' Social and Mental Health

In recent years, university education has become more challenging due to increased academic competition. A rising number of university students globally are currently being diagnosed with mental health problems, and previous research suggests that insufficient social support plays a significant role in the development of mental illnesses, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety. Music Therapy has been widely used in emotional regulation, offering a promising solution for people struggling with anxiety, depression, and social isolation. Research on the neural mechanisms underlying music therapy represents rapidly growing field of study. Hyperscanning is one of the useful neuroscience study methods, which is widely-used for study interbrain synchronization, refers to the simultaneous measurement of brain activity in two or more individuals who are interacting with each other. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of music therapy intervention in enhancing mental health and social skills of university students with depressed, anxious, and stress symptoms. This current study will adopt a 2-arm randomized controlled design comparing therapeutic songwriting (experimental condition) with non-therapeutic music listening and discussion (control condition). Upon screening for inclusion criteria, baseline data will be collected; and eligible participants will be randomized into either 4 individual music therapy sessions or non-therapeutic music listening and discussion sessions.