Group music therapy for prisoners: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

The prevalence of psychological problems is high in prisons. Many prisoners have unmet needs for appropriate treatments. Although previous studies have suggested music therapy to be a successful treatment modality for prisoners, more rigorous evidence is needed. This parallel randomised controlled study aims to investigate the effectiveness of group music therapy to reduce anxiety and depression, and raise self-esteem in prisoners. One hundred and ninety two inmates from a Chinese prison will be allocated to two groups through randomisation. The experimental group will participate in twice weekly group music therapy for 10 weeks (20 sessions), while the control group will receive all standard care but no music therapy. Anxiety, depression and self-esteem will be measured by self-report scales three times: before, at the middle and at the end of the intervention. Logs by the participants and their daily routine behaviour records will be utilised as additional information. This study will increase the knowledge of the effectiveness of group music therapy for offenders. Generalisability to clinical practice will be strengthened by the flexibility of the intervention and a practical clinical guideline. We hope the findings will be able to support the further development of music therapy in correctional service.

Keywords:

• group music therapy
• prisoners
• anxiety
• depression
• self-esteem

Acknowledgements

This study is supported by Aalborg University and Andreas-Tobias-Kind-Stiftung. We would like to thank WenYong Fan and Gang Jia, for their practical help with preparing the study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xi Jing Chen

Xi Jing Chen is PhD Candidate at Aalborg University, Denmark; Music Therapist at Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, Peking University, China; Vice Secretary General of the Chinese Music Therapy Assocation. She received her music therapy training at Central Conservatory of Music, China.

Niels Hannibal

Niels Hannibal is Associate Professor at Music Therapy Education, Institute for Psychology and Communication at Aalborg University; Editor-in-Chief of the Music Therapy Online Journal (MIPO). He recieved his music therapy degree in 1994 and his PhD in 2001 from Aalborg University.

Kevin Xu

Kevin Xu is Associate Professor at Peking University, China; Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, and Supervisor at Counseling and Psychotherapy Center, Peking University; Secretary General of the Clinical Psychology Registered System, Chinese Psychological Society (CPS); and Committee Member of the Psychotherapy and Conselling Committee, China Association for Mental Health (CAMH).

Christian Gold

Christian Gold is Principal Researcher at Uni Research, Bergen, Norway; Adjunct Professor at the University of Bergen; Honorary Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark; Editor-in-Chief of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy; and Associate Editor of the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group. He received his music therapy training at Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts and his PhD from Aalborg University.