Bolette Daniels Beck

Bolette Daniels Beck

Qualification:

Cand Mag. in Music Therapy and Nordic Folkloristics 1995. GIM fellow 2004. 

Current position:

PhD student at Aalborg University since 1st. of August 2006, part time student since 1. Juni 2007. Finishing 15. January 2012.

Music therapist at The psychotherapeutic department, Filadelfia hospital, parttime.

Title of PhD research study: Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) with adults on sick leave suffering from work-related stress – a mixed methods experimental study

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PhD Defence April 27 2012

Supervisors

Professor Tony Wigram, professor Lars Ole Bonde, professor Christian Gold. 

Background

Music listening is documented to be an effective way to bring down stress levels and cortisol in patients undergoing operations or medical examination at hospitals, among nurses and groups of university students. 6-10 sessions of GIM has been proved to be an effective tool to reduce stress and increase mood in smaller samples of cancer patients and depressive patients, decrease PTSD symptoms in trauma victims, and HIV patients (Bonde, 2005, McKinney et al. 1997, Körlin 2005, Bruscia 2002). A longitudinal study with a larger population and focus especially on stress conditions will shed light on the dynamics of music therapy as a possible method to help the growing number of persons experiencing severe and health threathening stress conditions because of work. Individual modified Guided Imagery and Music with inspiration from trauma therapy (Levine, 1997) is proposed as a method to address the need for rebalancing and change. 

Research questions 

  1. How can GIM help the recovery of chronically stressed on long-term sick leave?
  2. How do six modified GIM-sessions affect stress symptoms reflected in perceived stress and salivary cortisol and testosterone compared to a control group receiving treatment as usual?
  3. What is the effect of early intervention compared to late intervention on stress symptoms and physical measurements? 
  4. Can GIM serve to improve job return? 
  5. How are experiences of the bodyself in relation to music during GIM sessions related to processes of change with respect to the experiences of coping with stress and work, and how are these processes reflected in the participants' reports of their lived lives?

Summary

The study has a mixed methods design (Quan+qual convergent design) with parallel data collection and analyses, and mix of results.Four men and 16 women from different professions with an average age of 45 years, was randomized into two groups: 1. GIM and 2. Treatment As Usual (TAU). (TAU included visits at practising doctor, SSRI medication etc.). Group1 had six individual GIM sessions in a period of 9 weeks. After waiting Group 2 (controls) also received six GIM sessions. Both groups had follow up measurements. 

Model of design of the randomized clinical trial:

 Model of design of the randomized clinical trial:

Note. Questionnaire B was shorter than A and was administered at midpoints.

Data collection and treatment were carried out at the occupational health department at Køge Hospital.
Questionnaires of perceived stress, mood, sleep quality, physical stress symptoms, depression and anxiety were filled out pre, mid and post in both therapy and waiting phases. Salivary samples were collected pre and post therapy and waiting phases. The physical effects of treatment was measured in blood pressure, pulse and stress-related hormones in saliva. Instead of just measuring cortisol before and after the single sessions, three samples on one day were collected to look at the diurnal cortisol curves. Single testosterone samples were collected to study anabolic processes related to increased coping, and single melatonine samples were collected to study the influence of GIM on a sleep-related hormone. The samples related to the diurnal cortisol curves were analysed with a Radioimmunoassay and testosterone and melatonine were analysed with a Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer at the National Research Center for the Working Environment.

The statistical method used for analysis of the quantitative data was a linear mixed effects model (Generalized Equation Estimation for dependent data) and effect sizes. Calculations of parallel group effects (0-9 weeks), early versus late intervention (0- 18 weeks), immediate effects of therapy (Stress Visual Analogue Scale pre-post sessions), and job return were carried out.

The qualitative part of the study included a hermeneutic phenomenologic theme analysis including all the GIM journeys and a multi case study in four cases, looking specifically at development in bodyself, coping and life changes. Quantitative data was compared to the case studies. The use of music was analysed both across all cases and in the single case studies.

Publications

  • Beck, Bolette (2010) Behandling af kronisk stress med modificeret Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). Dansk Musikterapi, årgang 7, nr. 1, s. 3-14.
  • Ochsner-Ridder, Hannemette; Beck, Bolette; Lærke-Engelschmidt, Manuela ; Hyldgaard, Susi (2009) MusikRgodt: erfaringer fra en pilotundersøgelse af korsangs indflydelse på trivsel og humør. Dansk Musikterapi, nr. 6, vol. 2, p. 16-22.
  • Beck, Bolette (2008) Musikterapi i social rehabilitering. På: Musikterapiens praksisområder i Danmark, DVD-ROM. Ed.: Hannibal, Niels. Research Council for Culture and Communication of the Humanities, Copenhagen.
  • Beck, Bolette (2007) Traume og mestring - receptiv musikterapi i ungdomspsykiatrisk ambulatorium. Psyke og Logos, nr. 1, 2007, p. 499-524.
  • Beck, Bolette (2007) GIM with traumatised refugees. AMI webjournal, spring 2007.
  • Beck, Bolette (2005) Rapport om musikterapi på ungdomspsykiatrisk ambulatorium og sengeafsnit, Holbæk Sygehus, Psykiatrisk Center Vestsjælland. (Unpublished)
  • Beck, Bolette og Mørch, Nana Hostrup (2004): Projekt for traumatiserede flygtninge i Sorø Kommune - et behandlingstilbud baseret på musikterapi. (Unpublished)
  • Beck, Bolette (2000) Identitet og selvværd. Musikterapi som redskab til personlig udvikling i daghøjskolen. In: Britta Frederiksen (ed.): Foredrag fra Første Danske Konference. Brandbjerg Højskole 8.-9. juni 2000. MTL og DFMT, 2000.
  • Cissoko, Bolette (1995) Ridende på trommen syngende vejen frem - et shamanistisk perspektiv på musikterapi. Institut for musikterapi, Ålborg Universitet.

Papers and workshops

  • 2010: Paper at the 9. European GIM conference, Spain: ”Research report on Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music for Chronic Workrelated Stress”
  • 2009: Paper at the
  • 2009: Workshop at the Nordic Music Therapy Conference, Denmark:
  • Participant in the science program in Danish Television Channel DR2: "Music and stress", Viden Om, 25. September , 2007.
  • 2007: Poster at the 7. European Music Therapy Congress in Holland: "Trauma and Resource Imagery in traumatised refugees".
  • 2006: Workshop on annual meeting in The Danish GIM Society: "Music Drawing Narrative (MDN) and the Wellspring programme".
  • 2004: Workshop on annual meeting in The Danish GIM Society (With Pernille Schwartz): "Small containers in GIM".
  • 2003: Paper (power point) on the Second Danish Music therapy Conference (with Karina Soon Jo Grønfeldt ) : "Så hør da på mig! Musikterapi med omsorgssvigtede børn". (Listen to me! Music Therapy with Children with Child Abuse and Neglect).
  • 2001: Workshop at the annual meeting in The Danish GIM Society: "Heroes, Gods and Shadows. Externalising inner Figures with Puppetry".
  • 2001: Workshop at the Art Therapy Conference "From Impression to Expression" in Oslo: "From Sound to Movement - Exploration of the Mirroring Process (inspired by Laban)".
  • 1993: 2 workshops on European Music Therapy Conference in Ålborg: "The Shamanic Journey as Supervision for the Music Therapist", and "African Drumming and Movement".