Music therapy works across social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and communication goals. To understand the evidence and approach behind our work, visit our dedicated page.
We run groups in care homes and day centres for older adults living with Alzheimer's, adults with acquired brain injuries, and people with neurological disabilities. Groups are shaped around the needs of those in each setting.
For people who are able to engage socially, sessions can be built around sharing song choices and experiencing music together. When members share their preferences and the memories associated with them, it becomes possible both to make each person feel heard and to connect them with others who share similar memories or associations.
For people in an unfamiliar space with unfamiliar people, finding a preferred activity to share together can be a powerful way to begin building comfort and connection. Goals can include creating friendships, building social groups, encouraging interaction, and addressing emotional needs.
For people less able to engage socially — such as those with more progressed dementia — we keep social goals in mind while offering additional physical goals, such as dancing or engaging with instruments to promote physical wellbeing and mobility, and verbal goals such as singing and talking to stimulate and improve overall quality of life.
Where clients are unable to speak for themselves, we consult family members for their musical preferences to ensure the intervention is personal and meaningful. Songs known since childhood are stored in long-term memory — often one of the last areas affected by Alzheimer's disease — sometimes enabling people to sing for a time after they are no longer able to speak.
For those physically able, getting up to dance brings real benefits — improved balance, increased mobility, and improved cardiovascular health. For those unable to stand, armchair dancing achieves many of the same physical benefits while removing the risk of falls. Where appropriate, interaction with instruments can help build upper body strength and coordination.
I have run groups in care homes where non-verbal or minimally verbal adults living with dementia have been able to sing a song, or parts of a song. Singing after the loss of speech is well documented for people living with Alzheimer's disease
We offer both group and individual sessions for children and young people in special schools, working across communication, social, and developmental goals. Sessions are shaped around each child's needs and delivered at their pace.
Using structured musical activities to build turn-taking, leading, following, and the ability to engage with peers in a shared group setting.
Building verbal and non-verbal communication through musical interaction — including eye contact, gesture, vocalisation, and responding to cues from others.
For children at pre-verbal stages, music therapy supports the foundations of communication — sustained attention, intentional vocalisation, and shared focus.
We run group and 1:1 sessions for people with acquired brain injuries. Goals are broad and cater to the individual — from social reconnection and speech rehabilitation to emotional processing and cognitive recovery.
Group sessions address the isolation that can follow an acquired brain injury — whether from moving to a care home, losing access to previous social groups, or being unable to verbally connect with peers. Sessions can appear as an interactive music group but, depending on the needs of those involved, may become more conversational than musical — centred around sharing music preferences and the memories they carry.
In our experience there are many overlaps in known music between members of even very different groups. Through discussing choices and the reasons behind them, sessions can resemble a social group that uses music as a shared thread.
Loss of speech significantly impacts a person's ability to advocate for themselves, engage with their social network, and communicate their needs. We use music to engage, focus, practise sentence structure, and improve breathing — skills that can then be transferred into everyday conversation. Where appropriate, we work collaboratively with speech and language therapy teams to support a joined-up approach to rehabilitation.
Motivation is often found through powerful memories — both positive and negative. By working through music associated with those memories, it can be possible to address the emotional weight of significant life changes and loss in a safe, consistent therapeutic space.
One client we worked with was grieving the loss of loved ones and lacked the social network to support processing those emotions — which led to further isolation. Using the songs that reminded her of those family members and friends, we were able to address speech rehabilitation goals while also providing a safe space to access and process those memories. Being able to express those feelings — and to use the space to work on emotional goals alongside primary speech goals — was a meaningful and important outcome.
One of the key benefits of using music in this setting is that it engages nearly all parts of the brain simultaneously — making it uniquely suited to neurological rehabilitation.
Analyses pitch, tone, melody, and volume.
Processes rhythm, timing, and physical movement — often causing us to tap our feet or dance.
Responsible for emotional experience, pleasure, and memory — such as feeling chills or recalling past events.
Controls executive functions including anticipating the next note, sustained attention, and decision-making.
Engages when we move, dance, or play instruments.
Facilitates communication between the left hemisphere (words and structure) and the right hemisphere (emotion and melody).
Many of the goals for people with neurological diseases are similar to those with acquired brain injuries — with a focus on building neuroplasticity, expanding cognitive abilities, and finding meaningful engagement that supports quality of life alongside the progression of the disease.
Engaging in new musical activities builds new neural pathways, helping to slow cognitive decline. Whether through learning to play an instrument, writing songs, or exploring music in new ways, active musical participation can help preserve and expand cognitive abilities over time.
It can be important to create space for people to address their diagnosis, if that is something they choose to do. Many people find themselves in significantly altered situations and find it difficult to address these changes verbally. Music can offer an alternative way to express what they are going through — and can help people find agency by leading a session, determining its direction, and taking back a sense of control in a situation where much control has been lost.
We worked with a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with motor neurone disease. She had a young family, had lost significant speech function, was using a wheelchair, and required breathing assistance. She began by choosing songs and building playlists to describe her mood and share memories — something she could use throughout her week to support her own emotional regulation.
After the initial sessions she asked to write a song. She used it to express her feelings about the rapid progression of her disease and to write a positive message for her husband and two children. She named it "Love Wins, Love Always Wins." She would use time on her breathing machine to think of new lyrics, conveying specific emotions that I would set to music, which she would then shape to her preference. The work met goals of emotional exploration and gave her a way to talk about her disease in a way she had not been able to access before the intervention.
Whether you are an individual, a family member, or a care facility looking to offer music therapy, we would love to hear from you.
Contact Us