Abstract
Psychiatric inpatients who are low functioning, withdrawn, or unable to express healthy
emotions may be unable to learn healthy emotional expression through traditional
psychoeducational therapy groups. The purpose of this clinical project was the development
of adapted curriculum, using music therapy interventions to promote emotional learning for
psychiatric inpatients of lower cognitive functional ability. An existing curriculum, Healthy
Emotions: A Cognitive Behavioral Approach, was adapted to better suit the learning needs of
lower functioning patients. Verbal text and visual graphics were adapted to promote focus of
attention and to provide for success in using curriculum worksheets. Music therapy
interventions were developed to support learning objectives. The adapted curriculum, titled
Music and Healthy Emotions, will be submitted for approval and potential use with
psychiatric inpatients at a state hospital in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S.
