In summary:
- Dr Amanda Krause (2025 APS Outstanding Mentor Award winner) explores how the shift from intentional to ubiquitous streaming affects unconscious emotional regulation.
- Research confirms that individual choice is the primary driver of positive outcomes; "prescribed" genres (like classical for pain) are less effective than client-selected music.
- Using Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM), researchers have identified distinct listening patterns that differentiate "flourishing" clients from those who are "languishing."
- Practitioners and psychologists are cautioned that music can facilitate rumination; for some clients, "sad" playlists may intensify depressive symptoms rather than provide catharsis.
- Music serves as a high-value tool in-session for clients who struggle to verbalise emotions, providing a tangible starting point for therapeutic dialogue.
- Structured musical engagement can increase self-compassion and serve as a "soft" entry point for those hesitant to seek formal psychological support.
Music has never been so embedded in our daily lives, and that influence carries untapped potential, says Dr Amanda Krause, 2025 winner of the APS Outstanding Mentor Award.
Music shapes the soundtrack of our lives, yet few of us truly grasp its influence, says music psychology scholar Dr Amanda Krause.
"It wasn't always this way," says the 2025 winner of the APS Outstanding Mentor Award, who studies how we experience music in our everyday lives.
"Historically, music was something we sought out – at concerts or in religious worship as part of a shared experience. With tapes and CDs, music became more portable, but we had to physically carry it."
Today, with smartphones and streaming, music surrounds us. We can summon it instantly, let algorithms curate our moods and listen almost unconsciously – while commuting, working or cleaning.
"This technology has radically changed how we engage with music," says Krause. "Most of us use it to regulate our emotions, often without realising just how powerful that influence is."
Technology is also opening new ways to personalise our experience. Apps that connect with streaming services can access user histories to track how people use music over time and how these habits link to mood and wellbeing.
Krause is currently using experience sampling methodology (ESM), a psychological research technique that gathers real-time data on how people think and feel in everyday life. Through an app, participants record their mood, the music they’re listening to, and their intention – whether to power through another kilometre on the treadmill or find calm in a crowded bus.
"We need to understand the goals behind people’s listening choices, how those connect to outcomes, and how personalities shape those patterns," says Krause.
In a recent pilot study, her team grouped participants by baseline wellbeing: those 'flourishing' versus those 'languishing'. Their musical engagement differed noticeably.
"If people with lower wellbeing are using music differently, can we help them shift those habits to improve their mental health?" she asks.
"That really excites me – using these insights to bring music more deliberately into therapy, to understand patterns and how to gently disrupt them for positive change."
"Music connects us profoundly – to emotion, to memory, to who we are – but we need to harness that connection thoughtfully." – Dr Amanda Krause
An important choice
Psychological research has proved time and again that listening to music and making music can boost our emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual wellbeing.
Krause’s own research has consistently shown that when people choose their own music, they respond more positively.
"The individual role of music choice is important," she says. "Classical music for pain relief, for instance, won’t comfort everyone."
Put simply, choosing the right track matters: calming music may help us sleep, fast-paced beats may fuel a run, upbeat tunes can lift energy, and sad songs can help us process emotions.
The effects are highly personal – and not always positive.
Research by Dr Dave Miranda shows that using music in maladaptive ways – like rumination or overindulging in melancholy playlists – can be linked to depression and anxiety. Music psychologist Sandra Garrido found that for people with ruminative personalities, sad music can intensify negative feelings rather than release them.
So, what's the key? Presence, says Krause.
"Psychologists can help their clients be mindful of how a song makes them feel," she says. "Taking note of how clients engage with their musical choices can be useful. Loving a piece of music is great, but we want to support a positive response."
Music also plays an important role in memory recall, which can be a highly emotional experience.
"A song can instantly transport listeners, evoking people, places, entire chapters of their lives," says Krause. "For me, the power that comes from those emotions is intriguing."
But that same power requires care.
"If a song brings back painful associations, we can help people recognise that. Music connects us profoundly – to emotion, to memory, to who we are – but we need to harness that connection thoughtfully."
Explore the APS's 'Music and the Mind' on-demand webinar to learn how music can play a role to support other pillars of mental health.
The irony of algorithmic 'personalisation'
Music has immense sway over our minds, but in the age of streaming and AI-driven playlists, we’re rarely in full control of what we hear. Often, we don’t even know the artist behind the song we're listening to.
And while curated playlists may be linked to a certain mood or activity, our reactions to music depend on context, mood and our personalities, says Krause.
"Retailers might use background music to influence how much people buy or eat, but there’s no single track that makes everyone feel the same way."
Streaming hasn’t just reshaped how we listen; it’s altered the music itself.
"To make money, an artist wants their song to be played and shared not skipped, so over time we've seen songs become shorter and choruses come earlier."
Using music in psychological practice
Though not a practising psychologist or music therapist, Krause has built her research career around the ways music shapes who we are and how we connect.
She believes it can deepen self-understanding and support mental health and therefore is a valuable – yet underused – tool that psychologists can adopt in practice.
"It can help us manage emotion, reflect and even take first steps toward self-care," she says.
One example comes from Sydney-based psychologist services Indigo Project, which runs a 'sonic ceremony' called Listen Up, where participants, led by a clinical psychologist, lie in a darkened room and experience an immersive musical journey.
Krause’s research into these events found that listening-based mindfulness practices increased participants’ mindfulness, self-compassion and openness to seeking mental health support.
"People often feel self-conscious about reaching out for help," she says. "Music can provide a safe space to explore feelings – and that might be the first step toward therapy or self-care."
Music also has a role inside therapy sessions, she adds.
"When words are hard to find, a song that matches that feeling can be a starting place to talk about emotions," says Krause. "If someone with anxiety builds a calming playlist, they can use it both in and beyond sessions as part of their coping toolkit."
But psychologists should proceed with caution, she says.
"Music is deeply personal. The same song can lift one person and weigh down another. We have to be mindful of those emotional boundaries and make sure we’re using this power with care."