Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications

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    Integrating Emotions Into the Critical Interpretive Synthesis
    McFerran, KS ; Hense, C ; Medcalf, L ; Murphy, M ; Fairchild, R (SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2017-01)
    Critical interpretive synthesis is a particular form of systematic review that critically examines the decisions made by authors while conducting and publishing about their research and practices. It differs from empirical syntheses of qualitative research by emphasizing the interpreted and constructed nature of this form of secondary analysis. In this article, we extend previous literature on critical interpretive syntheses by highlighting the integration of emotional responses when developing critical questions for interrogating the literature and interpreting results. Our extension of the critical interpretive synthesis is illustrated through examples from five studies examining literature in our own field of music therapy, as well as related fields of disability studies, mental health, music psychology, and child welfare. The methodology we have refined uses an iterative and recursive method that promotes increased critical awareness of the assumptions driving the production of research in health contexts.
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    Intentional music use to reduce psychological distress in adolescents accessing primary mental health care
    McFerran, KS ; Hense, C ; Koike, A ; Rickwood, D (SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2018-10)
    RATIONALE: Many young people turn to music as a way of exploring and managing their moods and emotions. The literature is replete with studies that correlate music preferences and mental health, as well as a small but increasing interest in uses of music to promote well-being. Recent studies have shown that music use is often unconscious, thus difficult to influence without therapeutic conversations. No study has yet tested whether it is feasible to increase awareness of music use in young people who tend to ruminate with music, and test whether increased awareness can reduce distress. DESIGN: This feasibility study aimed to determine whether involvement in a brief music-based intervention was engaging and acceptable to a small sample of young people, and whether their levels of distress decreased and insight into music uses increased. A mixed methods approach was adopted, merging scores of distress and self-reported experience of the intervention to foster interpretation. RESULTS: Convergent analysis of the different data forms suggests that at least some of the measurable decreases in distress captured for all of the participants were related to participation in the sessions, according to the self-report of a number of the young people in interviews. This is demonstrated through descriptive data compiled under two key themes (Agency and Changed Uses) and illustrated through three case examples that were drawn largely from the words of the young people. CONCLUSION: This feasibility study suggests that young people's relationship with music provides a powerful platform for leveraging engagement in services and improvements in distress, when well timed and carefully scaffolded.
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    Music Use for Mood Regulation: Self-Awareness and Conscious Listening Choices in Young People With Tendencies to Depression
    Stewart, J ; Garrido, S ; Hense, C ; McFerran, K (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2019-05-24)
    The current study explored the circumstances in which seven young people with a tendency to depression chose different styles of music to listen to, and their level of awareness of the impact of their music listening habits on mood and wellbeing. A model of various pathways through music use was developed that may explain why music listening intentions in young people do not always align with their wellbeing outcomes. We suggest that the relationship between intentions and outcomes are mediated by differing levels of self-awareness and insight into the mood regulation processes occurring during music listening.
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    How can research practice promote young people's recovery from mental illness? A critical look at the Australian context.
    HENSE, C ; McFerran, K ; Killackey, E ; McGorry, P (IARS, 2015-12-22)
    This paper addresses the degree of congruence between recovery principles and research practices in a leading Australian youth mental health research centre. Investigators address the responsibility of research systems in promoting social change, through a critical perspective of the ways in which research practices support or stifle recovery philosophy. Method: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis was undertaken with a sample of research studies from the largest youth mental health centre in Australia. Analysis involved a critical interpretation of the data for meaning, context and philosophical influences. Results: Results revealed that despite an increasing number of studies addressing recovery-congruent topics, research methods showed little progression towards enacting recovery principles. Investigators interpret the ways in which the continued dominance of experimental designs informed by the Positivist paradigm lacks recovery practices of user involvement or acknowledgement of multiple perspectives. Conclusions: Implications of a research culture that privileges dominant paradigms are discussed. Investigators assert the need for greater diversity in research methods in youth mental health, and discuss the relevance of participatory research to recovery principles. Systemic issues are explored, with suggestions for implementing change both in, and beyond, the Australian context.
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    Constructing a grounded theory of young people's recovery of musical identity in mental illness
    Hense, C ; McFerran, KS ; McGorry, P (PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2014-11)
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    Music therapy in pediatric palliative care
    MCFERRAN-SKEWES, KATRINA ; Hense, Cherry ; LINDENFELSER, KATHRYN ( 2011)