IMPACT OF CARNATIC MUSIC THERAPY INTERVENTION ON A PATIENT WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA – A CASE REPORT

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental condition that brings many challenges along it. The condition hampers the thinking, learning, perceptions, behavior, daily activities, and performances of a person immensely. Schizophrenia has a lower prevalence (0.4%) than many other mental disorders in India, and worldwide it affects 20 million people. Management of symptoms of schizophrenia with Carnatic music therapy intervention is gaining significant scientific attention. The case report reveals that Carnatic music, a genre of Indian music proved to be beneficial for improving diverse symptoms of a patient associated with the disorder. We present here a case of 20 years old woman diagnosed with schizophrenia showing behavioral issues, hallucination, irritability, the incoherence of thoughts, etc. The patient was on Ayurvedic medicine however she was not showing much improvement. On the advice of the Ayurved, her parents consulted a Carnatic Music Therapist for exploring whether music therapy could have natural healing effects on the challenges. It is the first reported case of a long-term study conducted with vocal Carnatic music intervention on any patient with schizophrenia that describes the management/ improvement of the symptoms of the reported patient to the extent that she leads a near-normal life. The study was conducted for eight years in a non-clinical setup. This study offers feasibility that long-term Carnatic music therapy intervention may help improve the disorder-specific symptoms and rehabilitate the individuals with schizophrenia in order for them to lead a superior and inclusive life.