Experiences of implementing treatment manuals: Clinician, supervisor, and researcher reflections

Treatment manuals play an essential role in clinical trials that aim to determine the efficacy of an intervention. Yet, the idea of needing to adhere to a treatment manual may seem counterintuitive to many music therapy clinicians. The purpose of this article is to offer clinician, supervisor, and researcher perspectives on the process of developing and executing a manualized music therapy treatment protocol in a randomized controlled trial.

After describing the purpose of treatment manuals in clinical trials, we present the experience of developing a treatment manual through clinician and researcher collaborations. The concept of treatment fidelity and quality assurance monitoring within clinical trials is detailed to provide an inside look at an integral aspect of enacting treatment manuals in efficacy research. We then share reflections from a research clinician and supervisor to demonstrate the opportunities and challenges when working within the guidelines of manualized clinical practice.

Providing a reflective perspective on implementation of a manualized treatment protocol allows for a more thorough understanding of the clinical and research processes in the conduct of randomized controlled trials.

Collaboration of researchers, clinicians and supervisors is of critical importance for the successful implementation of treatment manuals in clinical trials.