Explanatory sequential descriptive analysis of music therapists’ clinical practice for individuals with eating disorders

The purpose of this study was to explore music therapists’ clinical practice in the United States for individuals with eating disorders (ED). To this aim, the researcher used a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods research design: (a) quantitative survey of music therapists (N = 18) in the U.S. working with clients with ED, and (b) in-depth interviews with music therapists (n = 7) who provided contact information at survey conclusion. The majority of participants had a bachelor’s or master’s degree in music therapy, worked approximately eight years with individuals with ED, and most frequently used cognitive behavioral, client-centered, or dialectical behavior therapy approaches. Participants primarily worked with adolescents and adults with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, within groups, in a variety of settings. The five most common treatment areas were self-expression, coping skills, depression, identify feelings, and express feelings, using various receptive, improvisation, composition, and re-creative interventions. The majority of MTs reported high job satisfaction and competence, perceived services as important and client responses positive. Interviewees explained and elaborated upon the results of the survey. Interviewees described aspects of safety, harm, trauma, and self-care, and highlighted importance of continued learning, training, research, observation, supervision, and skill development.