A descriptive study exploring the role of music therapy in prisons

Music therapy research and literature has begun to document developments and results of music therapy programs in the field of correctional services. The work in this field can be divided broadly into three main areas. In the field of correctional psychiatry, the correctional mental health professional works with people residing in prisons who have been found guilty and sentenced by the courts. These residents also have a psychiatric diagnosis. Forensic psychiatry involves psychiatric evaluations of people residing in prisons, and treatment of patients with criminal records who have been found not guilty for reasons of insanity. In this instance, the music therapist usually works outside of the prisons, for example in special wards of regular state hospitals. Music therapists also work generally within the field of correctional services with people who haven’t been identified as having a psychiatric history. This can occur in a number of contexts including community settings and prisons.