Why and how do music and abstract art pack such universal appeal? Why do they often have 'therapeutic' efficacy?

Between Couch and Piano links well-established psychoanalytic ideas with historical and neurological theory to help us begin to understand some of the reasons behind music's ubiquity and power.

Drawing on new psychoanalytic understanding as well as advances in neuroscience, this book sheds light on the role of the arts as stimulus, and as a key to creative awareness. Subjects covered include:

* music in relation to the trauma of loss
* music in connection...