Parents have been able to interact with their children in new ways through the introduction of music therapy into the home during lockdown, according to one business which has overseen remote sessions.
Prior to the pandemic, ELM Music Therapy worked widely in schools and with charities across the North East of Scotland, supporting children with neurological conditions and other disabilities with their development through harnessing the power of music.
But as of March last year, ELM has taken all of its sessions online, also making use of YouTube to deliver content to the children it would ordinarily teach in person.
And through doing so, parents and siblings have been able to watch or join in with sessions, enabling them to interact as a family in new ways.
“A lot of parents have said to me they have been given a completely new insight into how to interact with their child, particularly if their child is non-verbal,” says Emmeline McCracken, music therapist and clinical supervisor at ELM.
“They have seen for themselves how their child responds to their music therapy sessions, which has given them new ideas as a family about how to communicate.
“I think many have seen abilities their child has that they weren’t previously aware of, which is such a huge thing for those families.
“When you hear stories like this, it’s lovely to know the impact music therapy is having. The use of technology to take these sessions into people’s homes has really been a silver lining of the past year.”
While having never delivered sessions online previously, the success of doing so over the past year means it is something that will continue.
“It has opened so many doors and the uptake of our online sessions continues to grow, we’re busier than ever at the minute session-wise,” says Emmeline.
“We’ve had a great reaction to the work we’ve been doing on YouTube even from other music therapists, who have said they love our work and it’s given them new ideas for how they can help people they’re working with.
“One of the big advantages of using virtual sessions that we can take forward is that for a child who is poorly and can’t travel, or a child who is isolated in hospital, we could still have their session online.
“We’ve seen that it works and the flexibility it can give, so we can continue to turn to it even once we resume sessions in-person.”
Through working primarily with children, ELM often works with them for several years, supporting them through major milestones in their lives and using music as a means to deal with their emotions around them.
“Music therapy is all about positive engagement, it’s person centred and can enable communication where words are not necessary,” says Emmeline.
“It can be important in enabling a child to manage their feelings. For example, if they are working at a younger cognitive age but are going through puberty, that is a lot to deal with and there will be emotions of confusion, frustration and many others.
“Music provides the safe holiday to be able to express those feelings and for us to give that unconditional positive regard which tells them it’s OK to feel sad, we can work through that together.
“One of the real blessings of what we do is seeing the progress these children are making. When I was 16 and was training, I shadowed a music therapist who worked in a nursery. Some of the children I saw then are now 17-year-old young men and it’s wonderful to see the progress they have made over the years.
“Working as part of a team, with teachers, speech and language therapists and physios, we all come together to support a child during their early years and time at school, and it’s such a lovely thing to be part of.
“And more recently, to hear from parents how our work can impact on their family life and enable them to find new ways to interact, has been a huge privilege.”
