Developing an air guitar group for an inpatient psychiatry unit: A pilot study

David Meagher, Ian Murphy, Mary Mulligan, Pollyanna Bolger, Aoife Leahy, Hilary Moss

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The phenomenon of air guitar has become increasingly popular in mainstream society and is recognized as a potential means of enhancing a feeling of freedom and self expression, which can affect one’s mental well-being. It allows for engagement with music that involves physical activation and can be used as a conducted format for groups allowing for non-verbal socialization. To date, there has been limited examination of its potential usefulness in therapeutic settings inclusive of mental health services. We describe the development of an air guitar group in an inpatient psychiatry service including an iterative approach to the design of sessions and the impact in terms of patient engagement and feedback. According to feedback from participants and staff involved in patient care on the unit, the format of the group evolved over time. We found that group members including patients of varying age, gender and diagnostic profiles became successfully engaged and that air guitar was perceived as a valuable addition to the inpatient therapeutic program. Based upon our observations during this pilot study, we outline a suggested format for air guitar sessions that includes our experiences around selection of music, duration of sessions, use of props, managing the physical demands of sessions that ensured participant safety. Future research might investigate the impact of air-guitar as a therapeutic activity in other settings (including community-based), to explore how it can be best applied in combination with other therapeutic modalities, for use in patients with varying diagnostic and demographic profiles.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)237-242
Number of pages6
JournalMusic and Medicine
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2020

Keywords

  • Air Guitar
  • Group Therapy
  • Inpatient Psychiatry
  • Music Therapy

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