Evidence of the efficacy of music therapy for adults diagnosed with mental health problems

Music Therapy has been employed as an intervention in psychiatry since the initial development of the profession in the USA and Europe in the late 1940’s. Compared with the fields of special education, adult developmental disability, neurology and paediatrics, significantly less research has been undertaken in psychiatry, with a corresponding lack of experimental studies. Ethical issues relating to the collection and analysis of data have restricted more than in other fields, but there is nevertherless a substantial body of knowledge in this area. Evidence of the value of receptive music, active improvisational music therapy and Guided Imagery is present in a small number of experimental studies, case studies, case reports, qualitative studies and from the recorded opinion of experts if the field. An overview of studies and clinical reports will be documented, by reviewing principle music therapy and other journals and publications. A more detailed focus will be made of specific examples of good practice, and a forward view of on-going research to find appropriate and effective treatment strategies will be briefly presented..