Music therapy refugees research extended

An innovative project using music therapy, to improve wellbeing among traumatised Ukrainian displaced families, has been expanded to include children and mothers from Afghanistan.

More than seven million Ukrainians had fled the ongoing war after the country was invaded by Russia in March 2022 with a total of 65,700 residing in the UK as of May this year. The UK also hosts approximately 21,000 Afghans, including families with young children residing in temporary accommodation as of March 2023.

Music therapy has been shown to reduce depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among displaced families but there is limited related research. The ‘Music 4 Displayed Dyads’ project, a 12-week course of music therapy with displaced families from Ukraine and Afghanistan, is a collaboration between academics from Middlesex University, University College London and the University South Wales (USW)funded by Music Therapy Charity and Middlesex University.

Letitia Sabu, Principal Investigator Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Middlesex University, said: “We are creating a context that values their identity so they feel connected and accepted and hope that on completion of this project we are integrating refugees into society by empowering them to become active and independent members in their community which will obviously benefit the wider society.”

Dr Elizabeth Coombes, Co-Investigator and Senior Lecturer in Therapeutic Studies at USW, said: “Refugee parents can feel really alienated and disempowered in their role as parents. This can then really impact the bond that should be there between children and parents so what music therapy can offer them is ways to bring that back together.”

Dr Nina Polytimou, Co-Investigator and Lecturer at the Psychology and Human Development Faculty at University College London, said: “We hope the language and communication development of children is going to be enhanced and supported and believe music is a particularly powerful tool in doing that mainly because it creates powerful emotions.”

Last year, the project with Ukrainian families showed a decrease in PTSD, anxiety and depression, as well as an improvement in cognitive functioning. In this project, the research team is monitoring heart and respiration rates of parents and child to analyse changes and levels of stress, conducting interviews with the parents and collaborating with specialist Ukrainian and Afghani musicians.

One Ukraine mother, who has a 19-month old daughter who is unable to speak English or her native language yet, said: “After these music sessions she started to speak and not just speak but also sing words. She doesn’t use these words in everyday life but when she sings she pronounces the words of the song clearly.”

Another Ukraine mother, who has a 12-month old son, said: “I love music very much and I have become more calm, balanced and positive and my child feels it too. Together as a unit we have this connection. Therefore, the benefits of participating in this programme and its impact are indeed significant and we greatly benefit from these sessions. We are very grateful for them.”