It takes 25 minutes to ‘sync’ in a therapy session
Study finds window of peak heart-rate synchrony between therapist and patient
New research has discovered the time it takes for a therapist and patient to reach the moment of strongest connection during a therapy session – around 25 minutes.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, is the first to identify how long it can take for heart-rate synchrony to peak during music therapy.
Previous studies have shown that heart-rate synchrony between individuals is linked to greater empathy and emotional alignment, and within psychotherapy it is associated with more productive sessions.
Led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), alongside researchers from the University of Applied Sciences Krems in Austria, the University of Bern and the University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Bern, Switzerland, the new study examined music therapy sessions involving 11 patients undergoing neurorehabilitation.
By analysing heart-rate data captured using electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors, alongside video recordings of the sessions, the study tracked the physiological synchrony between the therapist and patient during shared musical experiences.
Rather than emerging immediately, the researchers found the first evidence that heart-rate alignment between music therapist and patient increases as a session progresses, with the highest levels of synchrony occurring within a window of 20-25 minutes.
This finding has potential implications for healthcare, where therapy time can often be limited. If the strongest alignment tends to occur after around 25 minutes, therapy sessions may need to allow sufficient time for this to develop, alongside other necessary elements such as preparation, discussion and reflection.
The study also found that high synchrony most often involved changes led by the patients’ heart rate, suggesting patients may play a more active role in driving moments of connection within a therapy session than previously thought.
Additionally, it highlighted that peaks in heart-rate synchrony did not consistently coincide with every moment the therapist recorded as being particularly meaningful. If heart rates were monitored during therapy sessions, this could open the possibility of additional moments of connection being identified and explored.
“For the first time, our study provides data indicating that therapeutic processes in music therapy do not happen instantly. For the therapist and patient to progress to a certain level of synchrony, our data suggests this alignment peaks around 25 minutes into a session.
“For clinicians, this raises important questions about how therapy sessions are structured. If we want to reach those moments of high physiological connection, we need to protect the time it takes to get there.”
Music therapist Dr Sun Sun Yap, who led the study as part of her PhD at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)
“The methods we’ve used have made it possible to see this synchrony, which opens new exciting possibilities for understanding how relationships work in clinical settings.
“Twenty-five minutes appears to be a converging timeframe for higher levels of synchrony, but more work is needed to understand the connection between the level of synchrony reached in a session and its potential benefits or drawbacks for a patient during a therapy session.”
Co-author Dr Fabian Ramseyer, senior researcher at the University of Bern
“Intensity, closeness and atmosphere all typically build during a music therapy session.
“Levels of immersion increase as people engage more deeply with an activity, such as listening to a piece of music or drumming together. Our results indicate that intensity and immersion both develop as the session progresses. It takes time to synchronise.”
Co-author Jorg Fachner, Professor of Music, Health and the Brain at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and co-director of ARU’s Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research