People living with brain injuries across the UK and Ireland are being brought together by a music therapy programme, which has delivered proven results in rehabilitation.
From its base in London, Connect Music Therapy has traditionally held its sessions in-person in people’s homes, but more recently launched an online offering which is enabling its reach to be significantly extended.
Founder Janina Brady, who also travels to her native Ireland to hold sessions, had adapted her business to enable her to reach greater numbers simultaneously, as well as allowing her to hold one-to-one sessions beyond Connect’s usual geographical reach in the UK.
Janina, who began teaching music in 2010, set up Connect in 2018 and supports people with a range of disabilities and additional needs.
She works widely with people with brain injuries and neurological conditions in enabling them to access the physical, cognitive, emotional and communication benefits music therapy can deliver.
“Music can deliver benefits in so many different ways and can be so important in day to day life,” says Janina, who holds a Masters in music therapy.
“We work with people for the long-term and can see the positive impact it has on them over a developing period of time. I’m continually blown away by the responses we get and how people respond to it.
“When you look at a scan of how a brain responds when music is played, it lights up like a Christmas tree, there is nothing else that stimulates like that. And by stimulating parts of the brain that have not been damaged by their injury or condition, we are helping to create new pathways.
“And when you see the effect that has on the person, the joy it beings out and the progress they are making, it makes this the most wonderful, rewarding work.”
Although sessions had been in-person since Connect was established, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that was no longer possible. But realising the importance of the continuity and positive impact on her clients, Janina took her sessions online from the beginning of lockdown.
“As we work with our clients over a long period of time, music becomes part of their lives, so I realised the need for that to continue. Clients have responded so well to the sessions moving online, and one very nice aspect of that is that so many family members or carers have become more involved in their sessions,” says Janina.
“It has been great in enabling us to bring people together much more widely that we’d ever have done prior to the pandemic. By creating a group which involves people from London and elsewhere in the country alongside people from Ireland, we are developing a community.
“Music is such a bridge for people, it connects everyone in some way.”
Music therapy can take different forms for people, depending on their unique circumstances and needs.
“We can adapt that we do to whatever their capability is, whether that’s communicating through blinking or nodding, or whether that is by banging a drum with their foot,” says Janina.
“We use a variety of approaches depending on the needs of the person. As one example, we often use musical markers throughout the day, through the use of special songs to associate with a morning routine, waiting for the bus, whatever it might be. By effectively creating a musical timetable, we are helping to create structure for people’s days.
“But while everyone’s needs are different, we are working across the board to promote wellbeing and to focus on what our clients can do, rather than what they can’t. We focus on the positives and on seeing our clients at their best.”
While remote sessions may not have been something considered pre-pandemic, they have proven their worth over the past few months, adds Janina.
“In many ways, sitting in front of a screen has similarities to me being there. I can still be in front of my clients, and hold things up for them to choose from and I can see their reaction of blinking or nodding, so it has been able to work,” she says.
“Online sessions have shown to be a good alternative. For example, in situations going forward where I have a client on immune suppressants and I can’t visit, we could look to do a session online. And when I went to Ireland at Christmas I had to isolate for 14 days, I could do my sessions remotely as usual, irrespective of where I was.
“And since the first lockdown, we have adapted even more in terms of adding more microphones and equipment, so we’re all set up for going forward. I can’t wait to get back to seeing clients face to face, but remote sessions will have their place alongside that.”
