Client Experiences in Music Therapy in the Psychiatric Inpatient Milieu

This study explores the lived experience in group music therapy for individuals within an inpatient psychiatric milieu. Using a phenomenological method, six individuals hospitalized for mental illness described their experiences in group music therapy treatment. These responses resulted in 16 themes: releasing stress, a healing balm, concentration, safe space, shared experiences, mutual desire for support, the intrinsic value of music, music learning, coping with here and now/hospitalization, motivation/hope, connection to others, self-awareness, lessons for the future, value of listening and trust, self-expression, and negative experiences. These themes serve predominantly as therapeutic factors of the clients’ music therapy experiences. Closer analysis of the clients’ words reveals that each theme emerged through the prevailing therapeutic relationships—with music, therapist, other group members, self, or spiritual—within the music therapy dynamic. These results point to a breadth and depth of client experiences, which offer significant and layered possibilities for therapeutic growth through music therapy in this setting.