Existential frustration as the factor of suicidal risk: music therapy in the correction of death attitudes

The article presents a study, the relevance of which is due to the search for explanatory mechanisms of the influence of existential experiences on the strategy of suicidal behavior, taking into account the subjective attitude to the phenomenon of death. The goal of the research was to study how existential frustration could act as a risk factor for suicide. A hypothesis was advanced that the lack of a solution to the problem of existential frustration strengthens the protective mechanisms of consciousness that facilitate cognitive simplification and affects the reduction of the sense of self-preservation. In the study participated 36 students from a pedagogical institute aged 18 to 23, who appealed to the socio-psychological service of the institute with requests: withdrawal of the symptom, transformation, and personal growth. Eight participants showed symptoms of a post-traumatic disorder associated with loss of loved ones. Methods of studying cognitive complexity, diagnosing attitudes toward death, assessing empathy and reflexivity were suggested. Based on the results of the study, the proof of the hypothesis was stepwise established. To study the strength and direction of the correlation connection between the indicators, the Spearman rank correlation method was used. The author's method of music therapy, aimed at «collision» of the client with his life guidelines through reflection of the phenomenon of death, proposed as a recommendation.