Fix It Dr. Inyang Is a Counselor Whose Colleagues Have Gotten Positive

Essay

Fix It
Dr. Inyang is a counselor whose colleagues have gotten positive results with music therapy. Next week he is beginning a new grief therapy group and decides it is the perfect time to test whether music helps people progress through the grieving process. There are five patients in the group. At the beginning of all 9 sessions Dr. Inyang has each complete the Grief Questionnaire. This questionnaire indicates how much grief one is experiencing, with higher scores indicating more grieving. During the first three sessions Dr. Inyang conducts the group without music, as he has typically done in the past. During the next three sessions he plays calming music during the hour-long session. During the last three weeks Dr. Inyang does not play music. Dr. Inyang uses the results of the Grief Questionnaire obtained during the last session to develop a long-term care plan for each patient. He is surprised to find so many of his patients experiencing high levels of grief despite the fact that almost everyone reported less grief during the fourth through sixth weeks of treatment. This leads Dr. Inyang to question the claims of his colleagues who swear music is therapeutically beneficial.
Identify and describe the design of this study. Do you agree with Dr. Inyang that there is not a causal relationship between music and grief reduction? How and why would you change the design?