McClymont, Rachel G., and Krause, Amanda E. (2025) The impact of a focused listening experience on self-compassion and mental health help-seeking. Psychology of Music. (In Press)

Preview

PDF (Accepted Publisher Version) - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (409kB) | Preview

Abstract

Many people do not seek mental health support due to self-stigma; however, music can assist people in seeking support. Therefore, the present study explored how attending a focused music listening event might promote self-compassion and mindfulness and, in turn, how experiencing these might promote mental health help-seeking intentions. This case study focused on the Indigo Project’s Listen Up event, in which participants engage with a curated music playlist (drawing on soundtrack, ambient and experimental music) along with oral guidance provided by a psychologist. After attending Listen Up, participants (N = 270, 85.90% female, Mage = 37.05) completed an online survey, including their attendance motivations and standardised measures of mindfulness, self-compassion, self-stigma of help-seeking, and help-seeking intentions. A subset of 18 participants were subsequently interviewed about their experience. Results indicated that attendees experienced feelings of mindfulness and self-compassion, processed challenging emotions during the event, and were prompted to practice self-care and connect with others following the event. Additionally, participants experiencing mindfulness during the event buffered the relationship between self-stigma of help-seeking and future help-seeking intentions. Study findings have implications for our understanding of the ways that music and mindfulness can be used in practices to promote mental health and well-being.

Item ID:	85061
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1741-3087
Keywords:	psychology of music; music psychology; social and applied psychology; health; well-being; focused music listening, self-stigma of help-seeking, self-compassion, mindfulness, strong experiences in music (SEM), mental health help-seeking
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. CC licence Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Date Deposited:	08 Apr 2025 22:16
FoR Codes:	36 CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 3603 Music > 360399 Music not elsewhere classified @ 30% 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520505 Social psychology @ 70%
SEO Codes:	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1301 Arts > 130102 Music @ 30% 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 70%
Downloads:	Total: 3 Last 12 Months: 3
	More Statistics