What can an open music therapy group offer in an adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit? Reflections from practice-based learning.

Abstract

This project examines and discusses what an open music therapy group can offer in an adolescent psychiatric unit, through my personal reflections from my work as a music therapy trainee. A literature review is presented in the beginning, using secondary resources about adolescent mental health, music therapy in adolescence, music therapy in inpatient units, and group music therapy. A gap was identified in the literature regarding the use of open groups in adolescent psychiatric inpatient settings, which this project aimed to explore. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, I collected my data through my personal notes from the fourteen open group sessions in the inpatient unit during my placement, and these were analysed via thematic analysis. Findings that emerged from the data analysis were that the open group provided opportunities for building relationships, supported the individual music therapy sessions, contributed to feelings of usefulness and achievement for staff and young people, provided an opportunity for distraction after mealtimes for people with eating disorders, and had a ripple effect outside the music therapy sessions, while it was important to acknowledge the dynamics of the group and feelings of rejection and withdrawal. These findings are presented and accompanied by examples from practice and clinical vignettes, and they are combined with relevant literature at the end of the project for the formation of conclusions. Limitations and future directions are also provided at the end.