Tuned In University Students: An emotion regulation program using music listening.

Music listening has been found to evoke a range of emotions and is the number one leisure activity among adolescents (Papinczak, Dingle, Stoyanov, Hides & Zelenko, 2015). The Tuned In program was developed in 2012 by Dr Genevieve Dingle as an experiential music-based program designed to increase emotion awareness and regulation for young people. The program uses participant-selected music to evoke emotions in sessions, and to facilitate psychoeducation about emotions and emotion regulation skills (Dingle, Hodges & Kunde, 2016). It involves listening to personalised music, evaluating the lyrics of songs, identifying the physical and emotional experience of music, and identifying the types of music that can be useful to listen to when experiencing emotions such as sadness, anger and happiness. More recently the program has been adapted to be provided via videoconferencing due to restrictions on face-to-face gatherings (Vidas, Nelson & Dingle, in press). The current version of the Tuned In program for university students is comprised of four x 75 minute sessions delivered via Zoom by two facilitators (Masters of Psychology/Clinical Psychology interns) to 6-8 participants (first-year university students). • Session one – Feelings are your friends. The first session provides psychoeducation about the different types of emotions people experience, the components of emotion and the functions of emotion, as well as how music fits in with these emotions. • Session two – Fearing the worst. The second session focuses on academic anxiety, anticipatory anxiety, panic, and the body sensations associated with these feelings. The second session focuses on these experiences and shows how music listening could help to increase positive mood and reduce agitation. • Session three - Stress less. The third session focuses on music to motivate and focus, to avoid procrastination, perfectionism, and rumination. Uplifting music is the focus for the latter two issues. • Session four – Finding the fun. The final session focuses on the importance of fun for wellbeing, and ties together previous sessions and how music can help for celebration. This session reviews the program overall and discusses how to continue using strategies to get the benefits for mood and wellbeing. Home practice: Participants are encouraged after sessions 2 and 3 to practice using music and developing playlists to regulate their stress and anxiety, particularly when engaging in academic tasks. Their music listening is expected to occur alongside their usual activities. Participants are not required to record anything between sessions. Attendance: Participants' attendance of each group Zoom session is recorded by the facilitators. When participants are unable to attend a group session, their facilitators can arrange one catch up session per participant during the program.