Date Available

5-1-2018

Year of Publication

2018

Degree Name

Master of Music (MM)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Fine Arts

Department/School/Program

Music

First Advisor

Dr. Lorna Segall

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a single-session group music therapy songwriting session on grief processing in hospice clinicians. The study design was quasi-experimental. Participants were cluster randomized into a control group and a treatment group. The researcher led a 50-minute songwriting session focused on sharing and processing experiences of grief-related stress and burnout in hospice work. Grief processing was measured using a self-report survey for n=25. Overall differences between control and treatment groups were not found to be statistically significant. Significant differences were also not found in treatment score differences for type of hospice clinician or years of experience. For future research with hospice clinicians, a new measurement tool should be developed that is more specific to measuring an actual difference before and after a treatment. The current measurement tool is best used as an inventory for stress and grief levels that result from caregiving. Any new measurement tool should be kept under twenty questions. A single-session, though convenient for busy hospice clinicians, may not provide a complete treatment for grief and stress. Further research with hospice clinicians may require several treatment sessions to achieve a more complete grief processing experience.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2018.179

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