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The purpose of this paper is to examine music as a therapy for complex needs and offending behaviour.

This study utilised the rapid evidence assessment (REA) approach to collect and assess the current data pertaining to music as a therapy for complex needs and offending behaviour. Within the REA this study used a thematic analysis as the analytical framework to manage and explore the wealth of data collected during the REA.

The results of this study are presented in two parts – first, the application of music as a therapy for complex needs and second, music as a therapy for offending behaviour. These two sections explore music therapy as an effective intervention method for offending behaviour and/or complex needs. Psychopathy as a complex need is a subsidiary theme that is also investigated within this section.

To present music as a therapy as an effective method of therapy and intervention for those with offending behaviour and/or complex needs, thus, leading to further research in the field.

To incorporate music therapy into working with offending behaviour; to incorporate music therapy into interventions for those with complex needs, such as psychopaths; to recognise a need for developing innovative approaches/methods to address gaps in treatment; and to recognise music therapy’s potential as a programme utilised alongside cognitive-behavioural therapy.

There has been a significant amount of academic attention given to researching music as an effective therapy for select groups such as those with autism, anxiety, dementia and depression. The scope of this attention has extended to examine the link between music, cognition and emotion. The limitation of this work is the lack of research that has focussed on music as a therapy as an intervention for complex needs and offending behaviour, to which this study will begin to redress.

In the USA, the well-being of older people is increasingly precarious. There is a paucity of research into methods of care outside of traditional, costly, intensive methods. Moreover, any literature that does so fails to connect different fields of study or aspects of well-being. This paper aims to identify alternate, cheaper methods to traditional care methods that also take a more holistic approach to older peoples’ lives.

Connecting research conducted by gerontologists, psychologists and neurologists, and framing the results through Census data and economic research, the author proposes music therapy interventions for older people.

Music therapy has significant benefits on physical, cognitive and psychological well-being. Moreover, these treatment methods are significantly cheaper than traditional methods and are even more effective in specific cases. Specifically, though, the research methods reveal that music therapy that engages participants formally, is group-based and uses participants’ preferred music is the most potent form of therapy to achieve the stated goals. Implementing such interventions across the country could be easily done by coordinated efforts by legislatures, administrative agencies, community groups and health-care infrastructure.

As opposed to varied methods used, which undermine the broad application of results, research should primarily use the proposed three-pronged approach as “music therapy” in future investigation. Moreover, proposing music therapy as a valuable alternative in some cases of elderly care may alleviate some stress on future American health-care resources.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a change management perspective contributes new understandings about music therapy implementation processes.

Narrative inquiry, ethnography, and arts-based research methods were used to explore the experiences of 12 music therapists who developed new services in healthcare settings. These experiences were interpreted using insights from the field of change management.

A change management perspective helps to explain music therapists' experiences of resistance and struggle when introducing their services to established health care teams. Organisational change theories and models highlight possible strategies for implementing music therapy services successfully, such as organisational assessment, communication and collaboration with other workers, and the appointment of a service development steering group.

This paper offers exciting possibilities for developing understanding of music therapists' experiences and for supporting the growth of this burgeoning profession.

There is an important need for professional supervision for music therapists in the service development phase, to support them in coping with resistance and setbacks. Healthcare managers and workers are encouraged to consider ways in which they can support the development of a new music therapy service, such as observing music therapy work and sharing organisational priorities and cultures with a new music therapist.

Previous accounts of music therapy service development have indicated that music therapists encounter complex interprofessional issues when they join an established health care team. A change management perspective offers a new lens through which music therapists' experiences can be further understood.

Older adults often navigate periods of disruptive transition, such as rehousing, that can be understood in terms of ritual transformation, a concept that describes changes to the social self in terms of deconstruction, liminality and reconstruction. Music therapy can assist older adults’ movement through these stages. This paper aims to engage theoretical perspectives on ritual to consider the social and cultural transformation of these residents of a long-term care nursing home.

Ethnographic theory and literature on the ritual process are used to reflect on one music therapist’s (first author’s) experience providing music therapy to older adult residents of a long-term care nursing home. The therapist facilitated a collaborative “healing story” whose performative aspects engaged the residents in their own healing process. These experiences culminated in a group songwriting experience with a resident choir ensemble.

The healing narrative involved aspects of the person, selfhood, relationship and culture more than elements of physicality or functional abilities. Music therapists working with older adults may find this theoretical perspective informative in interpreting resident behaviors and needs, identifying and addressing therapeutic goals and fostering a healing narrative.

Care and interventions for older adults are often guided by the biomedical model of aging as an illness. While sociological and psychological theories of aging offer alternatives, these are not always prominent in interventions. This exploration of aging and transition as ritual transformation offers one such needed and insightful perspective to inform practice.

Music therapy programs are increasingly common and necessary in mental health services. However, there is little knowledge of the key factors which influence the successful implementation of new therapeutic programs. The purpose of this paper is to explore how stakeholder input influenced the implementation and sustainability of a new music therapy program in four services within a large government funded mental health department in Melbourne, Australia.

For a period of 12 months, two cycles of assessment, action and evaluation were conducted where data were collected through interviews with staff members, feedback from consumers and attendance in sessions.

A number of influential factors were identified as important in the successful implementation and future sustainability of the music therapy program. These included: the degree of staff support received; how the program was structured and facilitated; promotion of the program within the service; evaluation of the program; and congruence with the existing therapeutic program.

Results suggest that successful implementation and future sustainability of a music therapy program is dependent on the flexibility of the program to the context and culture of the existing setting.

This is the first study to incorporate contributions from stakeholders in the implementation of a new music therapy program in a mental health service.

Music education and music therapy offer many positive benefits for students with disabilities. This chapter highlights some of the most recent research in both fields and in neuroscience that offers strategies for special educators to use to increase inclusion in music classes and ensembles.

This study aims to investigate the perspectives and experiences of treatment facilitators regarding the effectiveness of treatment they delivered for high-risk offenders with complex needs. Within this study, the term complex needs refers to an individual who is managing several issues, such as physical illness, mental health issues and addiction disorders.

There was a total of 18 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with treatment facilitators from Australia and the UK. This study presents two key themes that emerged from the thematic analysis: “the importance of responsivity and active/creative activities in practice” and “the practitioner’s core concerns: issues with high-risk offenders treatment accessibility”.

The findings revealed that treatment facilitators considered treatment responsivity as core to treatment for high-risk offenders with complex needs and that active/creative activities were beneficial in achieving this. Additionally, treatment facilitators expressed concerns around the inaccessibility of treatment, including the barriers of talk therapy and the inability for offenders to receive the level of support necessary. Considering these findings, this study offers a discussion on the potential value of music therapy as a component of treatment for such offending populations.

The empirical data yielded from the interviewed treatment facilitators highlight that music therapy can play a role in supporting the beneficial components of treatment programs. Further implications centre on addressing the limitations of treatment that were identified through the interviews.

This study focusses on exploring the role of music therapy with high-risk offenders and who have complex needs when engaging in treatment programs. This paper recognises that the application and use of music therapy with this cohort has been neglected in the academic literature and research until recently.

The purpose of this commentary is discuss how musical intervention and imagined interactions can be used to deal with conflict. Music has been called the universal language because of its tonality and rhythm. It affects conflict and aggression and helps people to deal with stress. Research is reviewed showing physiological arousal with background music. The effects of music on aggression are summarized in terms of emotional regulation, catharsis and empathy, and the use of mental imagery in the form of imagined interactions, including relational maintenance catharsis and conflict linkage, is discussed. The incremental sound organizer (ISO) principle of music therapy is discussed as a mechanism to affect emotions while listening to music. Finally, a tool to measure the emotional effect of music on listeners is discussed in terms of the musical mood wheel.

This is a commentary on the effects of background music on reducing aggression.

Music can reduce aggression, depending on how it is used. Music affects how we manage our emotions, reduces stress, provides catharsis and can be a distracting element. Music can enhance empathic feeling; induce positive moods, social bonding, physiological changes and neurobiological changes; and affect our arousal.

Music therapy and musical intervention can be applied to conflict resolution.

The ISO principle of music therapy is designed to deal with changing a person’s emotions as they listen to a medley of music. The mood of the person is measured using a series of scales reflecting a continuum of sadness to happiness, and the music is designed to match the mood of the patient to the music being played and/or listened to, which in turn fosters the achievement of an altered state of consciousness. For example, if you are angry, start with music that is loud and gradually switch to a more tranquil piece of music. “The vectoring power of music is that we change the mood or emotion of persons from one affective pole (joy) to its opposite (anger) through small incremental changes in the rhythm and intensity of the music” (Honeycutt, 2003, p. 82).

Background music in music psychology literature is often referred to as musical intervention. Background music can help us recall positive and negative scenes as the music triggers endorphins in the brain (Salimpoor et al., 2011). Background music is intended to enhance the surrounding context without drawing significant attention. It is often played in spaces such as restaurants, stores, offices or public places to create a certain mood or ambiance.

It is important to note that the effectiveness of musical intervention in reducing aggression can vary based on individual preferences, the specific type of music used, and the context in which it is applied. Additionally, while music intervention can play a role in aggression reduction, it is often most effective when used as part of a comprehensive therapeutic approach.