Effects of Educational Music Therapy on Knowledge of Social Supports in Acute Care Psychiatric Patients: A Randomized Three-Group Effectiveness Study

Abstract

Psychoeducation is one of the six established evidence-based treatments for psychiatric consumers while quantitative knowledge of social supports constitutes a consequential area of psychoeducation for people diagnosed with mental disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of educational music therapy on quantitative knowledge of social supports in acute care psychiatric patients utilizing a cluster randomized three-group design. Acute psychiatric inpatients (N=65) were cluster randomized by group to one of three conditions: educational music therapy, education, or recreational music therapy. Participants completed brief pre- and posttests within each single treatment condition. Although there were no between-group differences, there were consistent increases and improvements from pre-to posttest concerning all dependent measures. Participants in the educational music therapy condition tended to have the highest scores, regardless of dependent measure.Within the time constraints of a single session, it seems that music therapy can be utilized in an educational context to teach acute care psychiatric patients about social supports. Due to the engaging and creative medium, educational music therapy may be a motivating psychoeducational treatment modality for acute care psychiatric patients. Limitations of the study, implications for clinical practice, and suggestions for future controlled inquiry are provided.