Study protocol

Resource-oriented music therapy for psychiatric patients with low therapy motivation: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial [NCT00137189]

Christian Gold¹ , Randi Rolvsjord^1,2 , Leif Edvard Aaro³ , Trond Aarre² , Lars Tjemsland⁴ and Brynjulf Stige¹

¹Faculty of Health Studies, Sogn og Fjordane University College, 6823 Sandane, Norway

²Nordfjord Psychiatry Centre, 6770 Nordfjordeid, Norway

³University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway

⁴Stavanger University Hospital, 4068 Stavanger, Norway

author email corresponding author email

BMC Psychiatry 2005, 5:39doi:10.1186/1471-244X-5-39

Published:	31 October 2005

Abstract

Background

Previous research has shown positive effects of music therapy for people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders. In clinical practice, music therapy is often offered to psychiatric patients with low therapy motivation, but little research exists about this population. The aim of this study is to examine whether resource-oriented music therapy helps psychiatric patients with low therapy motivation to improve negative symptoms and other health-related outcomes. An additional aim of the study is to examine the mechanisms of change through music therapy.

Methods

144 adults with a non-organic mental disorder (ICD-10: F1 to F6) who have low therapy motivation and a willingness to work with music will be randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition. All participants will receive standard care, and the experimental group will in addition be offered biweekly sessions of music therapy over a period of three months. Outcomes will be measured by a blind assessor before and 1, 3, and 9 months after randomisation.

Discussion

The findings to be expected from this study will fill an important gap in the knowledge of treatment effects for a patient group that does not easily benefit from treatment. The study's close link to clinical practice, as well as its size and comprehensiveness, will make its results well generalisable to clinical practice.