Patient Reflections on Individual Music Therapy for a Major Depressive Disorder or Acute Phase Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

How Does Individual Psychotherapy Promote Recovery for Persons with Psychosis? A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies to Understand the Patient's Experience

Psychotherapy for individuals with psychosis is an effective treatment that promotes recovery in various ways. While there is strong quantitative evidence across modalities, less is known from the patient's perspective. There are many varied forms of psychotherapy, and gaining the patient's perspective can improve understanding of salient elements of psychotherapy and increase engagement, ultimately improving recovery rates. The purpose of this review is to identify and integrate data from published studies of patient perspectives of psychotherapy for psychosis to understand essential elements across approaches, differences between approaches, and how psychotherapy impacts recovery. We aimed to understand further: what are the perceptions about individual psychotherapy from the perspective of individuals with psychosis? The current study was a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines of studies that included qualitative interviews with persons with experiences of psychosis who participated in psychotherapy. All three authors participated in the literature search using Pubmed, APA PsycInfo, and Psychiatry Online. We identified N = 33 studies. Studies included cognitive therapies, acceptance and mindfulness approaches, trauma therapies, metacognitive therapy, and music therapy. All studies reported participants' perceived benefit with the therapeutic relationship as especially salient. Participants described diverse aspects of objective (e.g., symptoms, functioning) and subjective (e.g., self-experience or quality of life) recovery improvements, with perceived mechanisms of change, and with music therapy having some unique benefits. Participants also reported challenges and suggestions for improvement. Study findings highlight the salient aspects of psychotherapy identified by patients that may help therapists to individualize and improve approaches to psychotherapy when working with individuals experiencing psychosis. Overall, findings support the potential for integrative psychotherapy approaches for maximal treatment personalization.

A Scoping Review of Adult Inpatient Satisfaction with Mental Health Services

Patient satisfaction with hospital services has been increasingly discussed as an important indicator of healthcare quality. It has been demonstrated that improving patient satisfaction is associated with better compliance with treatment plans and a decrease in patient complaints regarding doctors' and nurses' misconduct. This scoping review's objective is to investigate the pertinent literature on the experiences and satisfaction of patients with mental disorders receiving inpatient psychiatric care. Our goals are to highlight important ideas and explore the data that might serve as a guide to enhance the standard of treatment and patient satisfaction in acute mental health environments. This study is a scoping review that was designed in adherence with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement. A systematic search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE. A comprehensive review was completed, including articles from January 2012 to June 2022. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included in this review based on our eligibility criteria, such as patient satisfaction as a primary outcome, adult psychiatric inpatients, and non-review studies published in the English language. Studies were considered ineligible if they included nonpsychiatric patients or patients with neurocognitive disorders, review studies, or study measure outcomes other than inpatient satisfaction. For the eligible studies, data extraction was conducted, information was summarized, and the findings were reported. A total of 31 studies representing almost all the world's continents were eligible for inclusion in this scoping review. Different assessment tools and instruments were used in the included studies to measure the level of patients' satisfaction. The majority of the studies either utilized a pre-existing or newly created inpatient satisfaction questionnaire that appeared to be reliable and of acceptable quality. This review has identified a variety of possible factors that affect patients' satisfaction and can be used as a guide for service improvement. More than half of the included studies revealed that the following factors were strongly recommended to enhance inpatient satisfaction with care: a clear discharge plan, less coercive treatment during the hospital stay, more individualized, higher quality information and teaching about the mental disorder to patients by staff, better therapeutic relationships with staff, and specific treatment components that patients enjoy, such as physical exercise sessions and music therapy. Patients also value staff who spend more time with them. The scope of patient satisfaction with inpatient mental health services is a growing source of concern. Patient satisfaction is associated with better adherence to treatment regimens and fewer complaints against health care professionals. This scoping review has identified several patient satisfaction research gaps as well as important determinants of satisfaction and how to measure and utilize patient satisfaction as a guide for service quality improvement. It would be useful for future research and reviews to consider broadening their scope to include the satisfaction of psychiatric patients with innovative services, like peer support groups and other technologically based interventions like text for support. Future research also could benefit from utilizing additional technological tools, such as electronic questionnaires.

Effect of music therapy on older adults with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Depression is becoming more prevalent in older adults. Music therapy appears to have a positive effect on older adults with depression, but the effects of specific interventions (such as active music therapy and passive music therapy) are not fully known. This review aims to evaluate the therapeutic effects of music therapy and the effects of specific interventions on older adults with depression.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted from inception to June 2022, and an updated search was conducted in July 2023 on PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, VIP, Wanfang Data, CNKI, and CBM. This review solely targeted randomized controlled trials. Two reviewers independently reviewed the retrieved studies. The risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool 2.0, and statistical analysis was made using the RevMan 5.4 software.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies with a total of 1777 participants were included. Music therapy was beneficial in reducing depression, anxiety, and blood pressure and increasing cognitive ability (p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that passive music therapy, single intervention for 60 min, individual intervention format, and total duration of 20 h had a more significant effect on depressive symptoms in older adults.

CONCLUSION

Music therapy reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, improves blood pressure, and enhances cognitive ability in older adults with depression. Further rigorously designed studies are warranted to confirm the effects of music therapy on older adults with depression.

Exploring the meaning of life from the perspective of patients with depression: A phenomenological study

This study explored the perceptions of meaning of life for patients with depression. A qualitative phenomenology approach was used. Patients with depression (n = 20) were recruited until data saturation occurred. Findings revealed four themes all related to their value of: (1) accepting depression; (2) appreciating work (paid and non-paid); (3) embodying love and taking on responsibilities; (4) receiving spiritual comfort. Healthcare professionals could facilitate patients with depression to explore their meaning of life while enduring and transforming the emotional pain that accompanies depression, hence, perhaps, decreasing their suicidal ideations.