Oda Dypvik Bjørke: Affect regulation processes in Music Therapy

Field of study: Music Therapy/Music and Health

Music therapy is recognized as a knowledge-based practice in the treatment of people with psychosis, particularly for negative symptoms, including one’s ability to regulate affect. Despite a solid knowledge base, there is a lack of research describing affect regulation processes in music therapy.

The research question is as follows:

How can music therapy contribute to affect regulation processes among patients with psychosis?

The project will use qualitative methods to investigate how music therapy contributes to affect regulation processes among patients with psychosis through analysis of video and/or audio recordings of music therapy sessions, an interdisciplinary focus group’s observations of a selection from the same video and/or audio material and interviews with patients about their affect regulation experiences in music therapy.

The data collection will take place in a Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) team. This project aims to contribute new knowledge about affect regulation processes and music therapy and is therefore relevant for research in mental health and substance abuse.

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Oda Dypvik Bjørke is enrolled in the PhD Programme in Music Research from 1 September 2025.