As the country moved to control the Covid-19 outbreak in late March, the RMTC team found itself trying to imagine how to respond in a way that was most supportive to our clients. As families with loved ones impacted by disability and illness, we knew that many in the Raukatauri whānau would face challenges from the lockdown beyond the rising stress and uncertainty that all New Zealanders were experiencing. In brainstorming how we would respond as an organisation, we quickly recognized the need for continued access to the music therapy services that our clients found so valuable, reassuring and stimulating prior to this upheaval in their lives. As the Level Four quarantine measures were announced, the move to online services became not just a possibility, but an essential resource to provide for our clients and their families.
On 1 April, we began offering individual and group music therapy sessions via Zoom to many of our clients, with initial trial sessions being free of charge. Music therapy sessions online provided familiar structure and routine to clients, continued our goal-oriented work, and offered a friendly face in uncertain times. We immediately found that these sessions also supported parents and siblings by either offering an opportunity for the whole family to engage in an enjoyable activity or by allowing for a period of respite in which parents could do some housework, attend to other children or even just have a cup of tea. In addition to online sessions, our therapists created customised music therapy videos for many of our community outreach partners. These videos were shared via a private YouTube channel and were sent directly to residential facilities for use in daily programming or distributed by schools to families for use at home, reaching approximately 170 clients each week.
While discussing how to stay connected with our clients, the initiative to provide community music programming in a consistent and innovative way was brought up. The project quickly developed into QuaranTunes, a private Facebook group of almost 250 members which provided new interactive music-making videos daily from all the music therapists at RMTC to clients and families at home. A normal day on QuaranTunes started with a live streamed Mōrena session and finished with an evening bedtime video or family ‘happy hour’ to provide daily structure, while also featuring four or five themed musical videos throughout the day. These videos, which are distinct from goal-oriented music therapy sessions, featured movement activities, singalongs, drumming, instrument-making tutorials, relaxation, and special content like Jazz in the Jungle, Traveling the World, and even exploring one music therapist’s family farm to sing to all the animals. The level of daily engagement through views, comments, and likes by the families, plus the personal messages and photos sharing the experiences of our families in lockdown, demonstrated how this community came together and found strength and support from resources created with the needs of Raukatauri’s clients in mind.
When we spoke with her during the first lockdown, Raukatauri mum Victoria said, ‘Being in lockdown has been really confusing for my son Alex. Thankfully, Raukatauri started QuaranTunes filling our days with music, happiness and, importantly, a new reliable routine. This has been hugely calming for the whole family. Because they are run by specialist therapists, the sessions are especially well targeted for the kinds of movements and songs that will work best for our child. Alex is also continuing to have weekly one on one sessions with his music therapist using video conferencing, it means so much to still have his therapist checking in on him.’
QuaranTunes was so warmly welcomed by the Raukatauri whānau that our team decided to use this innovative approach to support our families during other times when lack of routine and stimulation from school might be challenging for our clients. Thanks to a generous grant from the IHC Foundation, we were able to create new content for the Facebook group (since rebranded simply RaukatauriTunes) during both the July and October school holidays, as well as when the second lockdown stopped our direct services. At these times, our therapists again posted new interactive music videos daily that encouraged our clients to sing, drum, dance and play musical games like ‘Jazz in the Jungle Bingo’. We’ve also continued to use Zoom sessions to maintain connection with our clients, not only when the country returned to Level 3, but also when they have been unwell or remaining at home due to fragile immune systems.
Our young client Matteo, drumming along to a session with Hannah and Jen.
During a challenging year for everyone, the therapeutic relationship formed using music meant that our therapists were in a unique position to support our clients and encourage their families’ wellbeing. Being conscious of how we shape and contribute to our community, and particularly those who are more vulnerable and isolated, drove the collaborative effort of the RMTC team to sustain support and connection for our whānau. Though we continue to navigate unexpected challenges, the sessions and resources that Raukatauri provided throughout 2020 meant that clients and families were able to maintain a semblance of normalcy and stay connected in a truly special and meaningful way.