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An editorial is presented highlights the efforts of the Australian Journal of Music Therapy (AJMT) to increase accessibility and diversity, emphasizing the importance of nurturing the journal as the only academic publication for music therapists in Australia. The focus is on diversifying the journal's content, making processes accessible for a wide range of voices and introducing initiatives such as case reports, an Associate Editor role for practice-based articles.

Objectives: This opinion paper aims to provide an overview of the current evidence base supporting the use of music therapy in mental health care. It also aims to offer critique on the issue of access to music therapy in Australia. Conclusions: There is a strong evidence base for music therapy to provide symptomatic relief and improve quality of life for people living with mental illness. However, music therapy is underfunded and framed as a supplementary service within mental health services in Australia, which limits its access to consumers. Funding music therapy as an evidence-based treatment option would fill an existing service gap and provide equitable access to a cost-effective and often consumer preferred treatment option for mental health consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of this study aimed to reduce post-meal related anxiety for people with eating disorders through participation in group music therapy in an outpatient day program. A purposively-inclusive pilot study design was adopted which utilized the self-report Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS) to measure anxiety pre and post a single session. A total of 13 female participants attended a one-hour music therapy group session following a lunchtime social eating challenge and contributed to 50 occasions of data collection. A paired two-tailed t-test indicated a highly statistically significant difference (p = < 0.0001) between the pre and post session scores, suggesting that music therapy significantly decreased anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music therapy has previously been identified as a way to foster processes of mental health recovery. However, little is known about the specific factors apparent in group singing which can promote recovery. The current project aimed to address this gap by exploring the conditional and contextual factors involved in group singing which may promote recovery for people with mental illness. Adults who were in mental health recovery were recruited from a number of different singing groups in inpatient and community mental health contexts around Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-three people participated in interviews, and a grounded theory approach was adopted for analysis. The findings of this study are presented as a grounded theory of group singing which describes how participants experienced triggering encounters with music, and used the supportive conditions of the group singing context to regain a sense of health. A new term, musical recovery, was developed which depicts a process of regaining healthy relationships with music to promote mental health recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To critically examine the self-report measures most commonly used in Australian mental health research in the last 10 years.Method: A critical interpretive synthesis was conducted using seven outcome measures that were identified as most popular in 43 studies from three mental health journals.Results: Results suggest that the amount and type of language used in outcome measures is important in both increasing the accuracy of the data collected and fostering positive experiences of data collection for participants.Conclusions: Results indicate that many of the measures most often used in Australian mental health research may not align with the current contemporary philosophy of mental health clinical practice in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well known that mealtime is anxiety provoking for patients with Anorexia Nervosa. However, there is little research into effective interventions for reducing meal related anxiety in an inpatient setting. Methods: This study compared the levels of distress and anxiety of patients with Anorexia Nervosa pre and post music therapy, in comparison to standard post meal support therapy. Data was collected using the Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) scale which was administered pre and post each condition. Results: A total of 89 intervention and 84 control sessions were recorded. Results from an unpaired t-test analysis indicated statistically significant differences between the music therapy and supported meal conditions. Conclusions: Results indicated that participation in music therapy significantly decreases post meal related anxiety and distress in comparison to standard post meal support therapy. This research provides support for the use of music therapy in this setting as an effective clinical intervention in reducing meal related anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well known that mealtime is anxiety provoking for patients with Anorexia Nervosa. However, there is little research into effective interventions for reducing meal related anxiety in an inpatient setting. Methods: This study compared the levels of distress and anxiety of patients with Anorexia Nervosa pre and post music therapy, in comparison to standard post meal support therapy. Data was collected using the Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) scale which was administered pre and post each condition. Results: A total of 89 intervention and 84 control sessions were recorded. Results from an unpaired t-test analysis indicated statistically significant differences between the music therapy and supported meal conditions. Conclusions: Results indicated that participation in music therapy significantly decreases post meal related anxiety and distress in comparison to standard post meal support therapy. This research provides support for the use of music therapy in this setting as an effective clinical intervention in reducing meal related anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Using music therapy as a resource for restoring healthy relationships with music during mental health recovery," by Jennifer Bibb is presented.