Music therapy for treating spiritual health needs of people with substance use disorders: a survey study

Abstract

Individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) require multiple levels of care and support for recovery. Aside from the myriad physical and psychological realms of recovery, people with SUDs are in need of adopting a novel lifestyle to sustain sobriety and prevent relapse. Twelve step programs provide people in recovery with the means of cultivating spiritual practices which when integrated, can provide foundations and support for living sober. Research suggests that spiritual practices and principles can foster a variety of beneficial outcomes for recovering individuals. Music therapy might be a helpful form of treatment for people with SUDs, though more research is needed to determine the efficacy of the modality for this population. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of research which examines music therapy’s potential to treat the spiritual needs of individuals with SUDs. A survey was conducted to learn more about how, and if music therapists in the United States are treating the spiritual health needs for people with SUDs. Music therapists reported that connection with others and exploring relationship with self were the most common spiritual health goals addressed in music therapy. Song discussion and lyric analysis were the most commonly used methods to address spiritual goals. Participant text responses indicated a variety of perspectives on what music therapists considered to be “spiritual goals,” as well as several views on scope of practice to address such needs. The present study can help to broaden the knowledge base of current trends in music therapy practice in meeting the spiritual health needs for persons with SUDs, as well as provide recommendations for future research.