SoundHeal Innovation Project: Year One Progress Report
Author: Landon J. King
Date: 12/1/2023 8:48 AM
Progress Update for the SoundHeal Innovation Project Examining Sound Meditation as an Intervention Therapy in the San Luis Obispo Behavioral Health Department.
The SoundHeal project, following the initial year of implementation, has yielded findings that suggest positive outcomes from the use of the Heal Pod meditation sessions. The analysis of approximately 200 Meditation Journals across 30+ clients show an increase in "positive" emotions and a decrease in "negative" emotions following the Heal Pod sessions. Qualitative feedback from clients emphasizes that some participants are actively engaging in the meditation process and report feelings of calmness, relaxation, and other positive emotions associated with the Heal Pod meditation experience.
Given the nature of the project and data collection tools, it is difficult to quantify an independent effect of the Heal Pod on client well-being. Clients engaging in Heal Pod sessions also participate in counseling and other services that lead to improvements in well-being over time that may be unevenly weighted to differing impacts. Identifying an independent effect would require a randomized controlled trial, which is not feasible in this voluntary setting. Likewise, data from the meditation journals may suffer from social desirability bias (Grimm 2010), in which research participants communicate what they think they are expected to feel or think. However, several clients provided feedback critical of meditation, suggesting that the effects of potential social desirability bias are not universal.
During the next phase of the project, the County will focus on expanding the number of SLO Behavioral Health clients that utilize the Heal Pod. Increasing the number of clients will lead to accumulating more journal entry data and a stronger evaluation of the project. As a supplemental practice to enhance clinical treatment, the Heal Pod also aims to assist clinicians by offering this unique approach by analyzing client’s Heal Pod experiences. In support of this objective, the SoundHeal team has begun collecting survey data from clinicians to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact from a provider's perspective. Expanding participation, observing trends over a longer time period, and the collection and analysis of clinician feedback will provide further insights into the project's alignment with its stated goals.
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