Reporting on the use of music in psychedelic-assisted therapy: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

In recent years, psychedelic-assisted therapy has gained increasing attention as a promising treatment for mental health disorders. Music represents a core component of psychedelic-assisted therapy approaches, with evidence suggesting potent influences on therapeutic experience and outcomes. Despite its recognized importance, reporting on music's use within these therapies lacks consistency, hindering further progress in the field. This systematic review aims to identify and comprehensively examine the existing literature on the use of music in psychedelic-assisted therapy to assess the quality and completeness of how it is reported. This includes analyzing the extent to which researchers and clinicians describe the music in terms of its characteristics (e.g., genre, tempo, qualities), administration protocols (e.g., timing, setting, equipment), and its integration into the therapeutic process. A search of relevant databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL) will be conducted to identify pertinent literature up to the present date. The review will include all longitudinal studies in English that involve the intentional use of any form of music or sound during a psychedelic intervention, encompassing any human population and psychedelic substance including classic serotonergic psychedelic drugs and atypical psychedelics such as ketamine. Two reviewers will independently screen identified studies and extract data using the systematic review software Covidence. Any disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. Data extraction will be guided by the revised Reporting Guidelines for Music-Based Interventions (RG-MBI), with two reviewers independently rating the reporting completeness of each item as satisfactory, partially reported, or not reported. Findings will be tabulated and synthesized narratively by RG-MBI item and reported in accordance with PRISMA 2020. As the first systematic review to apply these guidelines to music in psychedelic-assisted therapy, to our knowledge, this work aims to advance the understanding of the multifaceted roles of music, guide future research, and ultimately inform clinical and research practices regarding music in psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Topics & conditions

Detected automatically by Psychedelic Commons from the title and abstract, not labels from the source. They may be incomplete.

Keywords