MUSIC THERAPY IN AN ONLINE THERAPEUTIC GROUP WITH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PANDEMIC OF COVID-19

Abstract

This work reports a music therapy experience in an online and short-term therapeutic group during the pandemic of COVID-19, with the aim of mental health promotion of college students. This is a qualitative, descriptive exploratory investigation, in which the narratives of the participants involved in the process of the therapeutic group were used. Thirteen college students participated in the action, and had been selected by registration form. The group was coordinated by a psychologist and a music therapist and had two music therapy students as participating observers. Video recordings, reports and chat interactions during the meetings were used for data analysis. From the data, four categories were created: music therapy playlist, song letter, dump wheel and radio program. It was possible to highlight the value and role of the musical experiences used, by generating therapeutic factors in the group such as: universality, instillation of hope, catharsis, group integration and interpersonal learning. Therefore, music therapy, as an intervention in the virtual environment, obtained results in the improvement of students' mental health, showing improvements in self-esteem, mood, expressiveness, in listening to themselves and other participants.