Use of Music Therapy in Adolescent and Children Behavioral Health Populations

Music therapy has been used in the psychiatric setting to improve emotional regulation, increase coping skills and interpersonal skills, and provide a safe therapeutic environment, but evidence on the use of music therapy interventions with adolescents and children is still being developed. A scoping review was conducted to identify the literature and extent of publications that addressed music therapy for adolescents and children in psychiatric settings and their psychiatric measures, modalities/interventions, and diagnoses. A literature search identified 24 publications that meet the inclusion criteria. Publications included research articles, case studies, literature reviews, and theoretical frameworks. Music therapist used interventions such as improvisation, songwriting, and music listening to achieve better global states for their clients. In studies, music therapists used a range of psychiatric measures with the most used ones being the Child Behavior Checklist and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Positions at outpatient centers and school settings appear to have become more available than those in traditional settings in psychiatric hospitals or residential settings. Findings further suggest that while music therapy research is developing for this population, variability and undefined factors in research lead to limited abilities to replicate or apply research clinical settings.