Music therapy was noninferior to verbal standard treatment of traumatized refugees in mental health care: Results from a randomized clinical trial.

: Many people with refugee backgrounds suffer from trauma-related complex social and psychological problems, and compliance with standard psychological treatment tends to be low. More culturally adaptable treatment options seem to be needed. : We aimed to investigate whether the music therapy method: 'trauma-focused music and imagery' (tr-MI), characterized by a particular focus on arousal and affect regulation, would be equally effective as the standard psychological talk therapies for ameliorating trauma symptoms in Danish refugees.

Music therapy versus treatment as usual for refugees diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Meta-analyses of studies on psychological treatment of refugees describe highly varying outcomes, and research on multi-facetted and personalized treatment of refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is needed. Music therapy has been found to affect arousal regulation and emotional processing, and a pilot study on the music therapy method Trauma-focused Music and Imagery (TMI) with traumatized refugees resulted in significant changes of trauma symptoms, well-being and sleep quality. The aim of the trial is to test the efficacy of TMI compared to verbal psychotherapy.