Together in Sound: Music therapy groups for people with dementia and their companions – moving online in response to a pandemic

Together in Sound is a partnership project between the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Saffron Hall Trust, an arts charity based in rural Essex, England. Established in Autumn 2017, the project offers music therapy to people living with dementia and their companions and includes a practice-based research element. This co-authored report concerns the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the project and presents the team’s experience of moving music therapy sessions online in March 2020. Continuing online provided continuity, support, and ongoing connection for participants who, because of the national lockdown in the United Kingdom, were isolated in their own homes. After providing some context about the project, the report explores the challenges and benefits of online delivery of sessions with reflections from the Together in Sound team including potential implications for the future.