Future music therapy programming and research for adults with substance use disorders: A reflexive thematic analysis of service user recommendations

Introduction: Music therapy (MT) can be beneficial regarding craving, motivation, and treatment readiness for adults with substance use conditions (SUC). However, there is a lack of literature investigating service users’ preferences and recommendations regarding MT programming and research. Informed by the recovery movement and evidence-based practice, the purpose of this study was to understand the preferences and recommendations for future MT programming and research of adults with SUC. Method: Author 1 provided 24 group recreational MT and songwriting sessions to adults with SUC in a detoxification unit. Author 2 then individually interviewed 46 participants who volunteered to share their perspectives and recommendations regarding future music therapy programming and research. We used an inductive approach to reflexive thematic analysis to analyze data and had a music therapist provide trustworthiness to ensure our findings were credible. Results: We organized 12 subthemes into four major themes that described participants’ preferences and recommendations for future MT programming and research for people with SUC: Unit factors; The holistic nature of addiction; MT factors; and Research factors. Findings provided situated context regarding recommendations for MT programming, what to investigate, and how to best conduct the research. Discussion: As participants had the lived experience of a SUC and had experienced MT, their recommendations can provide a framework for MT programming and different methods for how to conduct MT research. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.