The Use of Art and Music Therapy in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

Journal

Journal of Addictions Nursing

Year

2014

Abstract

Although the implementation of evidence-based practices in the treatment of substance use disorders has attracted substantial research attention, little consideration has been given to parallel implementation of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices. Using data from a nationally representative sample (N = 299) of U.S. substance abuse treatment programs, this study modeled organizational factors falling in the domains of patient characteristics, treatment ideologies, and structural characteristics, associated with the use of art therapy and music therapy. We found that 36.8% of treatment programs offered art therapy and 14.7% of programs offered music therapy. Programs with a greater proportion of women were more likely to use both therapies, and programs with larger proportions of adolescents were more likely to offer music therapy. In terms of other treatment ideologies, programs' use of Motivational Enhancement Therapy was positively related to offering art therapy, whereas use of contingency management was positively associated with offering music therapy. Finally, our findings showed a significant relationship between requiring 12-step meetings and the use of both art therapy and music therapy. With increasing use of CAM in a diverse range of medical settings and recent federal legislation likely to reduce barriers in accessing CAM, the inclusion of CAM in addiction treatment is growing in importance. Our findings suggest treatment programs may be utilizing art and music therapies to address unique patient needs of women and adolescents. FAU - Aletraris, Lydia

Music and Health Institute Terms

Adolescents; Behavioral Scales; Gender Disparities; Music Listening; Music Medicine; Patient Satisfaction; Psychological Outcomes; Recorded Music Listening; Substance Use, Abuse and Addiction; Willingness to Undergo Procedure

Study Type

Systemic Review; Quantitative Methods

PubMed ID

25514689

Document Type

Article

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