Training of providers
To monitor provider skills and delivery, all therapists submitted recordings of themselves carrying out sessions early in the implementation phase so that the core team could assess the need for additional training or support. The recordings used for this quality control purpose were excluded from the TF analysis. The music therapists were also encouraged to use a tracking form to increase awareness of aims, techniques, and progress across the course of the MT sessions. Supervision was another strategy to support the successful implementation and adherence to the guiding principles and essential elements of the MT. All therapists participated in online group supervision at least twice and online individual supervision at least once during the implementation period. The aim was to increase therapists’ self-awareness and to provide a space where challenges could be discussed openly, strategies could be shared, and experiences celebrated with peer support. These sessions also helped highlight how therapists were flexibly implementing the essential elements in alignment with specific cultural and context-based frames. Eleven music therapists were trained to deliver the MT intervention in our study. All eleven were female, masters-prepared music therapists, of which two were in the terminal stage of their degree. Six of the music therapists in the study participated in the in-person 1-day training consisting of lectures and practical exercises based on the intervention protocol during the study’s kick-off meeting. Five music therapists joined after study initiation and received online training sessions with the same content.