The Effect of a Group Music Therapy Advocacy Recording Intervention (MTAR) on Internalized Stigma in Adult Psychiatric Inpatients in Acute Care

The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of a systematic music therapy intervention on internalized stigma of mental illness. The secondary objective is to evaluate the potential for the treatment effect to vary across subject diagnostic categories. This study will also examine the ability of the treatment effect to persist after 3 weeks as an exploratory objective.

Data collection will be conducted in the Acute Care Unit (ACU) of Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic (HMHCC) over a period of ten months. Subjects will be drawn from the pool of patients admitted to the HMHCC ACU during that time. Adults aged 18-65 with severe mental illness with a diagnosis of bipolar or a related disorder, depressive or anxiety disorder, or schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM-5 : 5th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), of prolonged duration with a significant degree of disability or social dysfunction (Ruggeri et al., 2000) are eligible to participate. Eligible participants must be able to provide informed consent as determined by the doctor.