Currently young people with mental health difficulties are
supported and treated by a range of services across both the
statutory and voluntary sectors, including the CAMHS. Such
services offer multi-disciplinary support and a variety of
interventions including psycho-pharmaceutical approaches
and a wide range of therapeutical and systemic approaches.
Each of these approaches has varying degrees of efficacy,
as evidenced by empirical literature. However, several
approaches lack this evidence and instead rely heavily on
professional judgement, experiential and anecdotal reports.
To give an effective and efficient service for children and
young people it is necessary to determine the benefits, both in
terms of human outcomes and economics, of these interventions.
Music in mind is an opportunity to ascertain if music
therapy is beneficial in terms of the aforementioned outcomes.
Providing high quality empirical evidence of its
effectiveness will help guide policy makers in determining
the appropriateness of investment in music therapy.