Running head: ADLERIAN APPROACH FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION USING MUSIC

This project attempts to gain a better understanding of anxiety and reviews information regarding anxiety. It reviews Adlerian approaches for treating anxiety, and a review of recently published Adlerian research regarding anxiety is presented. This paper proposes that music is a creative tool that can be used as a component in some Adlerian psychotherapeutic and counseling processes for treating anxiety. A literature review of research papers regarding the use of music as a therapeutic tool for symptoms of anxiety is presented. Examples of the possible uses of music to address symptoms of anxiety during the process of Adlerian psychotherapy and counseling are offered. ADLERIAN APPROACH FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION USING MUSIC 3 Adlerian Approach for Anxiety Reduction Using Music as a Therapeutic Tool Technologies, in the twenty-first century, have brought all of us in the world closer together with easy and rapid communication possibilities on portable, electronic devices. However, tried and true ways of carrying out the tasks of life are challenged and require rapid adaptation or change to meet the new, faster, ways of electronic function and connectedness. Swenson (2004) in Margin, explained that the rate of change in the world is increasing, no longer on a gradual incline, but now is increasing exponentially. “The fear of rapid change is big today. Many people can handle a certain amount of change. The problem is we are increasingly being overloaded with more change than we can handle”, stated Gabe Ignatow, Ph.D., sociologist at the University of North Texas, (Sweat, 2010, p. 5) . Documentation of the verified cases of anxiety in the United States of America, over a twelve-month period, reveals large numbers of persons suffering from anxiety. Recent data from Kessler, Chiu, Demler, and Walters (2005), published by the National Institute of Mental Health (2015), stated that 40 million U.S. citizens met the criteria for a diagnosable anxiety disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, whose essential feature is excessive anxiety and worry that persists for six months or more, was diagnosed in 6.8 million U.S. citizens. With the increased rate of societal change and large numbers of persons diagnosed with anxiety disorders, it is important to gain understanding and skills to best assist persons who request assistance in dealing with feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope with the tasks of life. This master’s project attempts to gain a better understanding of anxiety and reviews information regarding anxiety, Adlerian approaches for treating anxiety, and the use of music as a tool in the therapeutic process of treating anxiety. A review of Adlerian research published regarding anxiety is discussed. Music can be a therapeutic tool for reducing anxiety and ADLERIAN APPROACH FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION USING MUSIC 4 establishing rapport as well as in building skills in communication, expression, and social skills, (Gfeller & Thaut, 1999). This paper proposes that music is a creative tool that can be used as a component to some Adlerian psychotherapeutic and counseling processes. A literature review of research papers regarding the use music as a therapeutic tool is presented. Examples of the possible uses of music to address symptoms of anxiety during the process of Adlerian psychotherapy and counseling are offered. To be ethically clear of the author’s intentions, it is important to note that although many of the research papers regarding the effect of music to reduce anxiety were authored by music therapists, there is no presumption by this author to promote the idea that music therapy is practiced in any way in this project. The ideas, presented in this paper for uses of music as creative tools, are suggestions for practicing Adlerians, and not to be used out of one’s scope of training. The American Music Therapy Association (2015) defined music therapy as the use of music interventions by a credentialed music therapist to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship (p. 1). Generalized Anxiety Disorder Anxiety and stress are natural parts of the human survival instinct. The basic human instinctual response to fear or threat is either to stay and fight, to run away to safety, or to be frozen with fear and play dead. During the process of living in modern society, persons have developed ways of responding to fear or threat, depending on their individual physical, mental and emotional abilities to cope or not. Worry or anxiety often accompany a person’s perception that a situation or demand exceeds their current physical, mental, or emotional resources (Lazarus, 1966, 1981; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). An overview of anxiety disorders and more complete information regarding Generalized Anxiety Disorder follow. ADLERIAN APPROACH FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION USING MUSIC 5 In The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5 th ed. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), the section on Anxiety Disorders began with a general overview and description of all anxiety disorders: All shared features of excessive fear and anxiety related to behavioral disturbances. Fear is the emotional response to real or perceived imminent threat, whereas anxiety is anticipation of future threat. These two features overlap but also differ. Fear is more often associated with surges of autonomic arousal necessary for fight or flight, thoughts of immediate danger, and escape behaviors. Anxiety is more often associated with muscle tension and vigilance in preparation for future danger and cautious or avoidant behaviors. The anxiety disorders differ from one another in the types of objects or situations that induce fear, anxiety, or avoidance behavior, and the associated cognitive ideation. Thus, while the anxiety disorders tend to be highly comorbid with each other, they can be differentiated by close examination of the types of situations that are feared or avoided and the content of the associated thoughts or beliefs, and persist for six months or more. (pp. 189-190) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry (concern that something bad is going to happen), about several life tasks, that lasts over six months or longer. The person has trouble controlling the worry. The anxiety and worry are associated with three or more of the following symptoms that have been experienced more days than not during the last six months: feeling on edge, keyed up, or restless; being easily fatigued; mind going blank or having difficulty concentrating; irritability; tenseness in muscles; having difficulty sleeping or staying asleep. These symptoms and anxiety or worry are so prevalent that ADLERIAN APPROACH FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION USING MUSIC 6 they impair normal functioning or cause great distress (American Psychiatric Association, 2013p. 222). The associated features of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) may include trembling, twitching, sweating, nausea, feeling out of breath, having to go to the bathroom frequently, and hot flashes. The symptoms may increase or decrease depending on the person’s level of anxiety. Females are twice as likely as men to develop GAD, (Seedat, Scott, & Angermeyer, 2009). Persons of European descent are more likely to develop GAD than persons of non-European descent, (Lewis-Fernandez, Hinton, & Laria, 2010). The disturbance is not caused by drugs or another disorder. Treatment for GAD usually includes psychotherapy, medication, or both (NIMH, 2015). The life time morbid risk for GAD is 9.0% (Kessler, Petukhova, & Sampson, 2012; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Generalized Anxiety Disorder best fits the characterization of worry, anxiousness, and fear of inability to cope with future situations related to technology and the accelerated rate of changes in society. With the reality of continued rapid rates of change to all aspects of life, it seems obvious to presume that Adlerians will have increasing numbers of clients requesting help in dealing with symptoms of anxiety, and feeling unable to cope successfully with the rapid changes in their lives. It seems appropriate at this point to investigate Adler’s thoughts about anxiety. He devoted a section of a book to defining anxiety and mentioned anxiety in his description of the neurotic character and lack of connection to the world. Adler’s Definitions of Neurosis and Anxiety Adler (1927, 1998) described anxiety as a nonaggressive character trait in Understanding