The Use of Art and Music Therapy in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

Abstract

While the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) has attracted substantial research attention, little consideration has been given to parallel implementation of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices. Using data from a nationally representative sample (N = 299) of U.S. substance abuse treatment programs, this study modeled organizational factors falling in the domains of patient characteristics, treatment ideologies, and structural characteristics, associated with the use of art therapy and music therapy. We found that 36.8% of treatment programs offered art therapy and 14.7% of programs offered music therapy. Programs with a greater proportion of women were more likely to use both therapies, and programs with larger proportions of adolescents were more likely to offer music therapy. In terms of other treatment ideologies, programs’ use of Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) was positively related to offering art therapy, while use of Contingency Management (CM) was positively associated with offering music therapy. Finally, our findings showed a significant relationship between requiring 12-step meetings and the use of both art therapy and music therapy. With increasing use of CAM in a diverse range of medical settings, and recent federal legislation likely to reduce barriers in accessing CAM, the inclusion of CAM in addiction treatment is growing in importance. Our findings suggest treatment programs may be utilizing art and music therapies to address unique patient needs of women and adolescents.

Provision of onsite HIV Services in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs: A Longitudinal Analysis

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The influence of music on emotions and cravings in clients in addiction treatment: A study of two clinical samples

“…It is also surprising that music interventions are not more widely used within substance abuse treatment services. A recent study in which 307 substance abuse treatment services in the United States participated reported that fewer than 15% offered music therapy within their programs, and those that did were likely to have a higher percentage of female patients (OR = 1.014) and a higher percentage of adolescent patients (OR = 1.016) (Aletraris, Paino, Edmond, Roman & Bride, 2014).…”

Music and Health

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