Table 1.

Empirical Studies Examining Music Therapy for PTSD and Related Symptoms

Study	Design	n	Age	Approach	Effect Size	Outcomes
Bensimon, Amir, & Wolf, 2008	Observational pre-post study; no control	6	20–23	Group drumming therapy; 16, 90 minute sessions	none reported	Improved feelings of self-worth and reduction of isolation
Carr et al., 2011	Randomized control trial	17	18–65	Subjects given CBT alone or CBT w/additional 10 weeks music therapy	p = .004	Significant reduction of posttraumatic stress symptoms
Hernandez-Ruiz, 2005	Randomized control trial	28	Mean age = 35	5 days of group therapy. Music and progressive relaxation script for half of the participants	p < .001	Improved sleep quality and reduced anxiety symptoms
Gold et al., 2014	Exploratory randomized control trial	113	N/A	Music therapy for half the participants; variable length of treatment	d = 0.33	Reduction in anxiety within-group. No change in depression or social relationship satisfaction.