Immediate Effects of Single Session Music Therapy

Title: Immediate effects of a single music therapy intervention with person who are severely mentally ill

Authors: Michael Silverman & Michael J. Marcionetti

Journal: The Arts in Psychotherapy Vol. 31 No. 5 (2004) pages 291 – 301

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immediate changes of common psychiatric deficit areas in patients with severe mental illnesses during a single music therapy intervention. Additionally, this study compared the effectiveness of five different music therapy interventions on specific psychiatric deficit areas. Participants were patients at a 319-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital that functioned as an inpatient community mental health center in the southwestern area of the United States. Participants received music therapy in eight separate groups made up of 3-15 patients. A pre- and post-test design was chosen to evaluate only the immediate changes that took place within a single music therapy intervention. Five typical music therapy interventions used with the severely mentally ill were evaluated: facilitated group drumming, music games, lyric analysis, songwriting, and music listening. Each of these interventions was used all eight patient groups. The pre-test means were lower than post-test means in all instances but one (how a lyric analysis intervention affected participants’ symptoms). These data show that no matter the intervention or therapeutic technique, music therapy consistently was rated as positively influencing participants. The patients rated music therapy as immediately improving aspects of psychiatric deficit areas in 39 of 40 (97.5%) trials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Database: PsycINFO

Link: http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2004-21366-001

Citation: Silverman, M., & Marcionetti, M. J. (2004). Immediate effects of a single music therapy intervention with person who are severely mentally ill. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 31, 291 – 301.