Sound healing reduces generalized anxiety during the pandemic: A feasibility study
March 30th, 2023
United States
Shamini Jain, Eileen McKusick, Lorna Ciccone, Meredith Sprengel, Cheryl Ritenbaugh
Virtual or remote therapies benefit patients through convenience and cost, but their benefits as compared to traditional in-person therapies remain a large point of contention. This study finds a significant reduction in both feelings of anxiety and negative affect in a small group of participants following a series of virtually-delivered biofield-based sound healing treatment.
Complementary Therapies in Medicine
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102947
Posted byMahmoud Said
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Abstract/Description
Objectives
This study examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a virtually-delivered, biofield-based sound healing treatment to reduce anxiety for individuals meeting criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Design
This one-group, mixed-method feasibility study was conducted virtually via Zoom during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. Fifteen participants with moderate to high levels of anxiety as determined by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (≥10), were enrolled.
Intervention
Five certified Biofield Tuning Practitioners performed the interventions. Participants were given three weekly, hour-long sound healing treatments virtually, over a month’s period.
Outcome Measures
Attrition rates and reports on feasibility of intervention delivery and outcomes assessment were obtained by participants. Data on anxiety, positive and negative affect, spiritual experience, perceived stress, and quality of life were obtained via validated surveys and analyzed via repeated-measures analysis of variance with intention-to-treat. Linguistic inquiry and word count was utilized to assess changes in affective processing as reflected in participants’ spoken words over the course of the intervention. Qualitative interviews were conducted to further determine tolerability and experiences with receiving BT that may not have been captured by survey and language data.
Results
Attrition rates were 13.3%, with two participants dropping out of the study after one session. The remaining participants reported acceptability of the data collection process and intervention delivery. Intention to treat analyses revealed statistically significant reductions in anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), negative affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale), and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) (p
This study examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a virtually-delivered, biofield-based sound healing treatment to reduce anxiety for individuals meeting criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Design
This one-group, mixed-method feasibility study was conducted virtually via Zoom during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. Fifteen participants with moderate to high levels of anxiety as determined by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (≥10), were enrolled.
Intervention
Five certified Biofield Tuning Practitioners performed the interventions. Participants were given three weekly, hour-long sound healing treatments virtually, over a month’s period.
Outcome Measures
Attrition rates and reports on feasibility of intervention delivery and outcomes assessment were obtained by participants. Data on anxiety, positive and negative affect, spiritual experience, perceived stress, and quality of life were obtained via validated surveys and analyzed via repeated-measures analysis of variance with intention-to-treat. Linguistic inquiry and word count was utilized to assess changes in affective processing as reflected in participants’ spoken words over the course of the intervention. Qualitative interviews were conducted to further determine tolerability and experiences with receiving BT that may not have been captured by survey and language data.
Results
Attrition rates were 13.3%, with two participants dropping out of the study after one session. The remaining participants reported acceptability of the data collection process and intervention delivery. Intention to treat analyses revealed statistically significant reductions in anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), negative affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale), and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) (p
