Adolescents’ Experiences of Music Therapy in an Inpatient Crisis Stabilization Unit

Fourteen adolescents on an inpatient crisis stabilization unit were interviewed about their experiences of group music therapy in order to understand how sessions impacted their mental health recovery. Using analytic procedures consistent with qualitative content analysis, 13 preliminary themes captured their session experiences. From these themes, 4 central concepts emerged: (1) music therapy affirms participants’ strengths, (2) music therapy affirms coping resources, (3) music therapy integrates cognitive and affective processes, and (4) music therapy provides continuity of experiences. Each theme and concept is defined, along with implications for clinical implications and future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved