Resources & references

This article describes a music therapy program in a maximum security psychiatric state facility. Brief descriptions of the patient population, admission and discharge criteria, safety and security concerns, music therapy interventions, and behavioral strategies are given in order to provide a picture of the program and the concerns associated with this population.

This paper explores perspectives of musical competence among seven individuals with borderline personality disorder in an 8-week group improvisation music therapy program. Increased musical competence was associated with relational insight, therapeutic benefits, reduced emotionality, and the development of a healthier self-concept.

Music therapist Dany Bouchard explains how he uses music to connect with patients of the Mental Health Mission at the Montreal General Hospital. Through regular sessions, Dany helps them access their emotions, express their feelings, and open new doors to healing.

Music therapist Kevin Kirkland explains how he uses rapping to help persons with mental health and substance use issues to process their experiences and express themselves. 

This study explores how a music therapy group was able to support young people's transition from mental health services into everyday community engagement. Results showed that the group provided a safe space to support the processes of coming together and constructing social identity. 

Read how a group drumming protocol was successfully utilized as part of the psychosocial training program for patients in an acute psychiatric hospital setting.

Findings of this study suggest that a group songwriting music therapy intervention can be as effective as traditional psychoeducation to teach psychiatric patients how to proactively manage their illness.

This article describes music therapy services offered at the adult psychiatry department of the Montreal General Hospital.