Preliminary evaluation of music-based emotion-regulation skills to augment CBT for adolescents with ADHD

Adjunctive strategies that effectively incorporate adolescents’ developmental needs may augment the therapeutic benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This preliminary study evaluated a combined CBT and music-based treatment designed to enhance emotion-regulation skills in adolescents with ADHD. Utilizing a single-case experimental design, eight adolescents with ADHD were assigned to a 3-week baseline assessment phase followed by 12 weekly individual sessions of treatment and a 2-month follow-up phase. The intervention was effective in reducing the core symptoms of ADHD, such that, participants showed an increase in adaptive emotion-regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal) and decrease in maladaptive emotion-regulation strategies (expressive suppression). The intervention was also found to be highly acceptable to participants. The findings provide initial support for combining standard CBT with music-based treatment designed to enhance emotion-regulation skills, and add to the growing body of literature showing that adjunctive strategies can augment the therapeutic benefits of CBT for adolescents with ADHD.