THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MUSIC THERAPY INTERVENTIONS WITH PERSONS OF CONCERN: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

• Main Author: Lauzon, Grace
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2019
• Subjects: Music Therapy; Persons of Concern; Immigrants; Refugees; Integrative Review
• Online Access: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/144; https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1152&context=music_etds

Immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and stateless persons, collectively known as “persons of concern,” often have unmet mental health and wellness needs as a result of trauma. With a diverse variety of interventions and approaches, the use of music therapy has the potential to meet the needs of persons of concern. In the present study, the researcher conducted an integrative review to examine the use of music therapy with persons of concern. After conducting a hand-search of music therapy journals and an advanced keyword search through internet databases, the researcher found 17 studies that met inclusion criteria. There were ten studies in which participants were immigrants, six studies in which participants were refugees or asylum seekers, and one study in which participants were displaced persons. Refugees’ countries of origin were: Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Liberia, North Korea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Vietnam. Immigrants’ countries of origin were: China, Haiti, India, Korea, Latin America, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, Russia, and Vietnam. Interventions used in the studies were (in order of frequency) singing, songwriting, instrument play, improvisation, lyric analysis, music listening, music imagery, and music-based relaxation. The needs of persons of concern, music therapy interventions, the rigor and quality of music therapy research, and implications for future clinical practice are discussed.