Collaborative Songwriting Intervention for Veterans With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Journal

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Year

2020

Abstract

Objectives: Given that veterans are significantly more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression, and anxiety than civilians, yet current gold-standard treatments for PTSD are not effective for all patients, the present study sought to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a collaborative songwriting intervention (CSI) while exploring its potential effectiveness in improving physical and mental health outcomes for veterans with PTSD. Design: Ten veterans took part in the CSI. A variety of pre- and postintervention measures were administered, including the Measurement of Current Status (MOCS), the Coping Expectancies Scale (CES), the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military (PCL-M), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Participants also wore a Fitbit to track average heart rate, sleep, and step count. Intervention: The CSI consisted of each veteran meeting with a professional songwriter, trained specifically for co-writing original material with the veteran population. There were three phases of songwriting that took about an hour and 15 min total. Veterans were instructed to listen to their song daily for 5 weeks. Results: Participants reported that the intervention was helpful and relevant to them, and most participants (95%) would refer others to this treatment. We found that the CSI reduced participant’s PTSD symptoms (d = 0.869), specifically the Numbing (d = 0.853) and Hyperarousal (d = 1.077) subscales. Depressive symptoms (d = 0.72) and stress reactivity (d = 0.785) also marginally decreased. There was no significant change in physiological data (i.e., sleep, no. of steps) from pre- to postintervention. Conclusion: These data suggest that a CSI is an acceptable intervention for veterans with PTSD that may also improve their PTSD symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Music and Health Institute Terms

Mental Health ((Condition or Disease)); Mental Health ((Outcome)); Music Interventions; Observational Measures; Physiological Measures; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Songwriting; Stress ((Outcome)); Subjective Measures; Trauma; Traumatic Brain Injury; Veterans

Indexed Terms

Intervention; Pilot Projects; songwriting; Writing; Patient Satisfaction; Sleep; military; Collaboration; Military Veterans; veterans; PTSD; Symptoms; Goals; Traumatic Brain Injury; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Study Type

Quasi-Experimental Study; Quantitative Methods

Document Type

Article

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