Audio therapy is the clinical use of recorded sound, music, or spoken words, or a combination thereof, recorded on a physical medium such as a compact disc (CD), or a digital file, including those formatted as MP3, which patients or participants play on a suitable device, and to which they listen with intent to experience a subsequent beneficial physiological, psychological, or social effect.
Synthesis of multiple disciplines
Audio therapy synthesises elements from a number of discrete areas of research and practice, including receptive music therapy, bibliotherapy, creative visualization, guided imagery, guided meditation, sound healing, and cognitive behavioral therapy.Blenkiron, P., Coping with depression: A pilot study to assess the efficacy of a self-help audio cassette. British Journal of General Practice, Vol. 51, 2001, pp366-370.Suresh, B. S., De Oliveira Jr, G. S., and Suresh, S., The effect of audio therapy to treat postoperative pain in children undergoing major surgery: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatric surgery international, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2015, pp197-201.Rodriguez, R. M., Taylor, O., Shah, S., and Urstein, S., A Prospective, Randomized Trial in the Emergency Department of Suggestive Audio-Therapy under Deep Sedation for Smoking Cessation. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2007, p79.Zaini, N., Latip, M. F. A., Omar, H., Mazalan, L., and Norhazman, H., Online personalized audio therapy recommender based on community ratings. In Computer Applications and Industrial Electronics (ISCAIE), IEEE Symposium, 2012.
Receptive music therapy
The term "receptive music therapy" denotes a process by which patients or participants listen to music with specific intent to therapeutically benefit; and is a term used by therapists to distinguish it from "active music therapy" by which patients or participants engage in producing vocal or instrumental music.Bruscia, K. (1998). Defining music therapy. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona.
Receptive music therapy is an effective adjunctive intervention suitable for treating a range of physical and mental conditions.Grocke, D., and Wigram, T. (2007). Receptive methods in music therapy: Techniques and clinical applications for music therapy clinicians, educators, and students. London, England: Jessica Kingsley, 2007.
Audio therapy inherits from receptive music therapy the process by which listening to sound benefits a listener, but departs from it in three significant ways.
Firstly, whilst receptive music therapy provides musical sound, to which the patient or participant listens, audio therapy also uses other kinds of acoustic content, including the spoken word and ambient noise.Kämpfe, J., Sedlmeier, P., and Renkewitz, F., The impact of background music on adult listeners: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Music, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2011, pp424-448.
Secondly, practitioners of receptive music therapy allege that its effective application requires the presence of a therapist, emphasizing the relationship between the client and the therapist, between the client and the music, and between the client and therapist interacting with the music. In contrast and by distinction, audio therapy is provided as a self-service modality, through which the listener is purported to experience a therapeutic benefit in consequence to listening, without input or guidance form a third party.Morris, C., The use of self-service technologies in stress management: A pilot project. Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers. Saint Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, 2012.Carter, E., Pre-packaged guided imagery for stress reduction: Initial results. Counselling, Psychotherapy and Health, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2006, pp27-39.Naik, M. N. S., Effect of guided imagery on life style among alcoholics. Sinhgad e-Journal of Nursing, Vol. 11, 2013.
Thirdly, whilst receptive music therapy may provide live as well as recorded music, to which the patient or participant listens, audio therapy is always provided via a sound recording.Dunn, J. A., An examination of effectiveness of a sleep induction audiotape in conjunction with a standardized behavioral treatment protocol on anxiety, depression, psychosocial functioning, and sleep among a clinical population with insomnia. Doctoral Dissertation, Florida State University, Tallahassee. FL, USA, 2002.
Bibliotherapy
Bibliotherapy is the process by which a patient or participant reads fiction, poetry, and other creative with intent to experience a therapeutic outcome that manifests most commonly as the relief of psychological pain or mental distress as well as an increased introspective insight into himself or herself.Lehr, F., Bibliotherapy. Journal of Reading, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1981, pp76-79McKenna, G., Hevey, D., & Martin, E., Patients' and providers' perspectives on bibliotherapy in primary care. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Vol. 17, 2010, pp497-509.
Bibliotherapy is often situated in a context where it is one of multiple interventions, and is usually grounded in a specific psychotherapeutic or psychological discipline. One such discipline is cognitive behavioral therapy.Campbell, L. F., and Smith, T. P., Integrating self-help into psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology In Session, Vol. 59, 2003, pp177–186. Unlike music therapy, but similar to audio therapy, the most important aspect of cognitive bibliotherapy is the content of the recording, and not the individual interactions with a therapist.Cuijpers, P., Donker, T., van Straten, A., Li, J., and Andersson, G., Is guided self-help as effective as face-to-face psychotherapy for depression and anxiety disorders? A systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative outcome studies. Psychological Medicine, Vol. 40, No. 12, 2010, pp1943-1957.
Audio therapy imports the principles of bibliotherapy but provides the content on a recorded media, making therapeutic use of audiobooksScogin, F., Hamblin, D., & Beutler, L., Bibliotherapy for depressed older adults: A self- help alternative. The Gerontologist, Vol 27, 1987 pp383–387.
Creative visualization
Creative visualization is the cognitive process of purposefully generating visual mental imagery, with eyes open or closed,Isaac, A. R., and Marks, D. F. (1994). Individual differences in mental imagery experience: Developmental changes and specialization. British Journal of Psychology, Vol. 85, 1994, pp479–500.McKelvie, S. J. (1995). The VVIQ as a psychometric test of individual differences in visual imagery vividness: A critical quantitative review and plea for direction. Journal of Mental Imagery, Vol. 19, Nos. 3-4,1995, pp1–106. simulating or recreating visual perception,McAvinue, L. P., and Robertson, I. H., Measuring visual imagery ability: A review. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, Vol. 26, No. 3, 2007, pp191–211.Cocude, M., and Denis, M., Measuring the temporal characteristics of visual images. Journal of Mental Imagery, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1988, pp89–101. in order to maintain, inspect, and transform those images,Kosslyn, S. M., Image and mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980.Kosslyn, S. M. (1987). Seeing and imagining in the cerebral hemispheres—A computational approach. Psychological Review, Vol. 94, No. 2, 1987, pp148–175.Kosslyn, S. M., Thompson, W. L., and Ganis, G., The case for mental imagery. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2006.Marr, D. C., Vision: A computational investigation into the human representation and processing of visual information. New York: Freeman, 1982.Kosslyn, S. M., Seeing and imagining in the cerebral hemispheres—A computational approach. Psychological Review, Vol. 94, No. 2, 1987, pp148–175.Cichy, R. M., Heinzle, J., and Haynes, J. -D., Imagery and perception share cortical representations of content and location. Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2012, pp372–380.Slotnick, S. D., Thompson, W. L., and Kosslyn, S. M., Visual memory and visual mental imagery recruit common control and sensory regions of the brain. Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012, pp14–20. consequently modifying their associated emotions or feelings,Lang, P. J., Levin, D. N., Miller, G. A., and Kozak, M. J., Fear behavior, fear imagery, and the psychophysiology of emotion: The problem of affective response integration. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 92, No. 3,1983, pp276–306.Holmes, E. A., Coughtrey, A. E., and Connor, A., Looking at or through rose-tinted glasses? Imagery perspective and positive mood. Emotion, Vol. 8, No. 6, 2008, pp875–879.Holmes, E. A., and Mathews, A., Mental imagery in emotion and emotional disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, 2010, pp349–362. with intent to experience a subsequent beneficial physiological, psychological, or social effect, such as expediting the healing of wounds to the body,Wientjes, K. A., Mind-body techniques in wound healing. Ostomy/wound management, Vol 48, 11, 2002, pp62-67. minimizing physical pain,Baird, C. L., and Sands, L., A pilot study of the effectiveness of guided imagery with progressive muscle relaxation to reduce chronic pain and mobility difficulties of osteoarthritis. Pain Management Nursing, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2004, pp97-104.Schaffer, S. D., and Yucha, C. B., Relaxation and Pain Management: The relaxation response can play a role in managing chronic and acute pain. American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 104, No. 8, 2004, pp75-82.Syrjala, K. L., Donaldson, G. W., Davis, M. W., Kippes, M. E., and Carr, J. E., Relaxation and imagery and cognitive-behavioral training reduce pain during cancer treatment: a controlled clinical trial. Pain, Vol. 63, No. 2, 1995, pp189-198.Turner, J. A., and Jensen, M. P., Efficacy of cognitive therapy for chronic low back pain. Pain, Vol. 52, No. 2, 1993, pp169-177.Manyande, A., Berg, S., Gettins, D., Stanford, S. C., Mazhero, S., Marks, D. F., and Salmon, P., Preoperative rehearsal of active coping imagery influences subjective and hormonal responses to abdominal surgery. Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 57, No. 2, 1995, pp177-182.Eller, L. S., Guided imagery interventions for symptom management. Annual Review of Nursing Research, Vol.17, No.1, 1999, pp57-84. alleviating psychological pain including anxiety, sadness, and low mood,Margolin, I., Pierce, J., and Wiley, A. (2011). Wellness Through a Creative Lens: Mediation and Visualization. Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 2011, Vol 30, No. 3, pp234-252. improving self-esteem or self-confidence,Rees, B. L., An exploratory study of the effectiveness of a relaxation with guided imagery protocol. Journal of Holistic Nursing, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1993, pp271-276. and enhancing the capacity to cope when interacting with others.the Hirsch, C. R., Clark, D. M., and Mathews, A., Imagery and interpretations in social phobia: Support for the combined cognitive biases hypothesis. Behavior Therapy, Vol. 37, 2006, No. 3, pp223–236.Libby, L. K., Valenti, G., Pfent, A., and Eibach, R. P., Seeing failure in your life: Imagery perspective determines whether self-esteem shapes reactions to recalled and imagined failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 101, No. 6, 2011, pp1157– 1173.
Creative visualization can be facilitated in person by a teacher or practitioner, or provided on recorded media. Whether provided in person, or delivered via media, as it is in audio therapy the verbal instruction consists of words, often pre-scripted, intended to direct the participant's attention to intentionally generated visual mental images that precipitate a positive psychologic and physiologic response, incorporating increased mental and physical relaxation and decreased mental and physical stress.Lang P. J., A bio-informational theory of emotional imagery. Psychophysiology, Vo.17, 1979, pp179–192.
Guided imagery