Fig. 2

a Forest plot showing effect sizes (Hedges’ g) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) from individual studies and pooled results of all included studies comparing total psychopathology between patients with schizophrenia receiving music therapy (MT) and those who did not receive music therapy (Ctr); (b) Forest plot showing effect sizes (Hedges’ g) and 95 % CIs from individual studies and pooled results comparing total psychopathology between patients with schizophrenia receiving MT and the Ctr group by trial design, such as non-randomized control trials (non-RCT) and randomized control trials (RCT). *subscales in the report by Hayashi (2002): positive symptoms (p), negative symptoms (n), and general psychopathology (g). (A) The treatment effect was better in the MT group than in the Ctr group (p < 0.001). (B) The treatment effect was better in the MT group than in the Ctr group in both non-RCT and RCT subgroups (p = 0.132 and <0.001, respectively)