Comment
The potential to meet the needs of refugees and other
migrants through music therapy
Viggo Krügera,∗ and Esperanza Diazb
GAMUT – The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre, University of Bergen, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Norway
a
b
Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway
Music as a therapeutic medium for maintaining health
and improving well-being has been described in reli-
gious and philosophical texts since ancient times. As a
modern academic discipline, music therapy is approxi-
mate 70 years old. Music therapy can be described as a
therapeutic individual-, group- and community-oriented
approach, where music is used systematically as a me-
dium for interaction, communication, and participation.
Today, music therapy as a planned and systematic
intervention is used for a wide range of populations and
across the lifespan. Because music is so important in
many people’s lives, it has the potential to function as a
therapeutic medium and preventive tool. Music as
therapy strengthens the impact of music on health and
well-being. Music (therapy) may have neurological,
biological, or psychological effects. Evidence for the ef-
fect of music therapy is among others described for
children with disabilities,1 adults with mental health
challenges,2–4 drug addiction5 and for elderly people with
dementia.6 Music therapy has also a positive effect on
motivation level, affective state, relational and social
skills.2,3 Music therapy can be tailored to meet the in-
dividual needs of the child, student, patient, or health
and service user.
Migration is a global challenge, and sustainable
solutions to meet the needs of this population are
needed from both an individual and global level.
Because music therapy has proven to be important for
many people and age groups, there is seminal reasons
to believe that music therapy also would be beneficial
for refugees and other migrants. Migration is linked to
health and democratic challenges, and music and
music therapy can be part of the solution, especially for
some of these groups who may suffer from mental
health challenges.
Young people with refugee background use music as
an arena for self-expression and strengthening ethnic
identity. Music therapy provides structures for sharing
beliefs and hope for a better future7 and a safe and
supportive environment for refugees and other mi-
grants to express their emotions, build social connec-
tions, and develop coping skills.8 Taking part in music
*Corresponding author.
E-mail address: viggo.kruger@uib.no (V. Krüger).
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access
article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
www.thelancet.com Vol 29 June, 2023
activities has the potential to reduce prejudice, The Lancet Regional
discrimination, and aggression between groups.9 Music Health - Europe
can also promote cultural understanding and create a 2023;29: 100637
sense of belonging. Available research in music therapy Published Online xxx
demonstrates that participation in music groups can https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.lanepe.2023.
help young refugees learn coping strategies in everyday
100637
challenges, such as attending school or doing leisure
activates.8–10
This can be especially important for unaccompanied
children who may have experienced trauma, violence
during their journey to a new country.10 Music therapy
also supports the young person in building social con-
nections with others who have had similar experiences.9
Through music-making and listening, children can
share their stories and connect with peers and adults in
a non-verbal way.8 This can be important in expressing
emotions and develop language skills when language
creates barriers. In learning a new language, music
therapy can be a helpful way to develop language skills.
Through activities such as singing and playing music,
children can learn new words and phrases, and practice
using them in context.8 As such, music therapy can
facilitate bridges between community approaches and
treatment implementation of trauma-informed care,
affording continuity and stability across situations when
working with children who need to experience safety
and sense of coping.7
Based on the foregoing, there is a need to continue
exploring the link between music, music therapy and
health and well-being for refugeed and other mi-
grants. People carrying with them songs from their
homeland, lullabies, or hip-hop lyrics also bring with
them a very useful “first aid kit”. Music as a self-
empowering technology can help people in time of
crises and war. As an example, during the so called
“Arab spring”, hip-hop was a driving force for many
young people to let their voices be heard. To move
further, we need to know more about how to people in
migration can use their own resources as a mean to
create resilience and empowerment. What are the
mechanisms of change? What are the cultural
contextual factors that provide the necessary resources
for the use of music? How can be build bridges be-
tween individuals everyday life uses of music and
music therapy as treatment for those in need for acute
help and support? Could processes of co-creation
where young people’s voices are being heard
through music be part of the solution?
1
 Comment
Contributors
All authors contributed to the concept and writing of the manuscript.
Declaration of interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
References
1 Williams KE, Berthelsen D, Nicholson JM, Walker S, Abad V. The
effectiveness of a short-term group music therapy intervention for
parents who have a child with a disability. J Music Ther.
2012;49(1):23–44.
2 Aalbers S, Fusar-Poli L, Freeman RE, et al. Music therapy for
depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;11(11):CD004517.
3 Geretsegger M, Mossler KA, Bieleninik L, Chen XJ, Heldal TO, Gold C.
Music therapy for people with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like
disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;5(5):CD004025.
4 Carr C, Odell-Miller H, Priebe S. A systematic review of music
therapy practice and outcomes with acute adult psychiatric in-pa-
tients. PLoS One. 2013;8(8):e70252.
2 www.thelancet.com Vol 29 June, 2023
5 Ghetti C, Chen XJ, Brenner AK, et al. Music therapy for people with
substance use disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
2022;5(5):CD012576.
6 Baker FA, Lee YC, Sousa TV, et al. Clinical effectiveness of music
interventions for dementia and depression in elderly care (MID-
DEL): Australian cohort of an international pragmatic cluster-
randomised controlled trial. Lancet Healthy Longev.
2022;3(3):e153–e165.
7 Fancourt D, Finn S. What is the evidence on the role of the arts
in improving health and well-being? A scoping review. Copen-
hagen: World Health Organization. Regional Office for
Europe; 2019.
8 Krüger V. Music therapy in child welfare: bridging provision, protection,
and participation. Dallas: Barcelona Publishers; 2020.
9 Enge KEA, Stige B. Musical pathways to the peer community: a
collective case study of refugee children’s use of music therapy.
Nord J Music Ther. 2022;31(1):7–24.
10 Heynen E, Bruls V, van Goor S, Pat-El R, Schoot T, van Hooren S.
A music therapy intervention for refugee children and adolescents
in schools: a process evaluation using a mixed method design.
Children. 2022;9(10):1434.