Background: In the midst of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, music therapists previously not involved in telehealth had to develop effective remote forms of music therapy. The objective of this review was to systematically explore how music therapists previously working in-person adapted to the transfer to remote forms of therapy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. Methods: We searched Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL, Medline, ProQuest Central, PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and PsyARTICLES, grey literature (to October 2020), and websites of professional organizations. We followed the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Results: Out of the 194 screened texts, we included ten very heterogeneous articles with an overall very low quality. Most texts described remote therapy in the form of synchronous video calls using the Internet, one paper described a concert in a patio of a residential home. We report the authors' experience with the adaptation and activities, challenges and benefits of remote forms of therapy, recommendations of organizations, and examples and tips for online therapies. Conclusions: Music therapists have adapted the musical instruments, the hours, the technology used, the therapeutic goals, the way they prepared their clients for sessions, and other aspects. They needed to be more flexible, consult with colleagues more often, and mind the client-therapist relationship's boundaries. It seems, when taken as a necessary short-term measure, online music therapy works sufficiently well. The majority of papers stated that benefits outweighed the challenges, although many benefits were directly linked with the pandemic context.

Center of Evidence Based Education and Arts Therapies Faculty of Education Palacky University Žižkovo nám 5 779 00 Olomouc Czech Republic

Centre for Social Services Tloskov Tloskov 1 257 56 Neveklov Czech Republic

Czech National Centre for Evidence Based Healthcare and Knowledge Translation Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Kamenice 753 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Music The Faculty of Humanities Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan 5290002 Israel

Institute of Special Education Studies Faculty of Education Žižkovo nám 5 779 00 Olomouc Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

World Health Organization . WHO Director-General’s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19-11 March 2020. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2020.

Gaddy S., Gallardo R., McCluskey S., Moore L., Peuser A., Rotert R., Stypulkoski C., LaGasse A.B. COVID-19 and Music Therapists’ Employment, Service Delivery, Perceived Stress, and Hope: A Descriptive Study. Music Ther. Perspect. 2020;38:157–166. doi: 10.1093/mtp/miaa018. DOI

Carvajal M.A. Telehealth Music Therapy: Considerations and Changes During the Covid-19 Crisis. The Florida State University; Tallahassee, FL, USA: 2020.

AMTA COVID-19 Resources for Music Therapists and Students. [(accessed on 14 November 2020)]; Available online: https://www.musictherapy.org/about/covid19_resources.

Therapy B.A.F.M. Covid-19—Directory Including BAMT Guidance. [(accessed on 17 November 2020)]; Available online: https://www.bamt.org/about-british-association-for-music-therapy/covid-19-useful-information.html.

Ohannessian R., Duong T.A., Odone A. Global Telemedicine Implementation and Integration within Health Systems to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020;6:e18810. doi: 10.2196/18810. PubMed DOI PMC

Glover K.K. A Phenomenological Study of the Therapeutic Relationship in Tele-Music Therapy in the US. [(accessed on 20 November 2020)];2020 Available online: https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/etd/85/

Chen J.A., Chung W.-J., Young S.K., Tuttle M.C., Collins M.B., Darghouth S.L., Longley R., Levy R., Razafsha M., Kerner J.C., et al. COVID-19 and telepsychiatry: Early outpatient experiences and implications for the future. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry. 2020;66:89–95. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.07.002. PubMed DOI PMC

Mastnak W. Psychopathological problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and possible prevention with music therapy. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109:1516–1518. doi: 10.1111/apa.15346. PubMed DOI PMC

Peters M.D., Marnie C., Tricco A.C., Pollock D., Munn Z., Alexander L., McInerney P., Godfrey C.M., Khalil H. Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews. JBI Evid. Synth. 2020;18:2119–2126. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-20-00167. PubMed DOI

Peters M., Godfrey C., McInerney P., Soares C., Khalil H., Parker D. The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual 2015: Methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews. JBI; Adelaide, Australia: 2015.

Page M.J., Moher D., Bossuyt P., Boutron I., Hoffmann T., Mulrow C., Shamseer L., Tetzlaff J., Akl E., Brennan S.E. PRISMA 2020 Explanation and Elaboration: Updated Guidance and Exemplars for Reporting Systematic Reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:160. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n160. PubMed DOI PMC

Page M.J., Moher D., Bossuyt P., Boutron I., Hoffmann T., Mulrow C., Shamseer L., Tetzlaff J., Akl E., Brennan S.E. Updating guidance for reporting systematic reviews: Development of the PRISMA 2020 statement. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 2021;134:103–112. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.02.003. PubMed DOI

Hořejší B., Kantorová L., Kantor J., Svobodová Z., Mareckova J. Adaptation of Music Therapists´ Practice to COVID-19 Pandemic: Going Virtual: A Scoping Review Protocol. [(accessed on 19 November 2020)]; Available online: https://osf.io/y948u/ PubMed PMC

Doraiswamy S., Abraham A., Mamtani R., Cheema S. Use of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review. J. Med. Int. Res. 2020;22:e24087. doi: 10.2196/24087. PubMed DOI PMC

Sasangohar F., Bradshaw M.R., Carlson M.M., Flack J.N., Fowler J.C., Freeland D., Head J., Marder K., Orme W., Weinstein B., et al. Adapting an Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic to Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Practice Perspective. J. Med. Int. Res. 2020;22:e22523. doi: 10.2196/22523. PubMed DOI PMC

Knott D., Block S. Virtual Music Therapy: Developing New Approaches to Service Delivery. Music Ther. Perspect. 2020;38:151–156. doi: 10.1093/mtp/miaa017. DOI

The Enclave at Round Rock Senior Living Hosts a Patio Music Party with the Help of North Austin Music Therapy. PR Newswire. Mar 25, 2020.

College of Music to Continue Successful Virtual Tele-Therapy Services. US Fed News Service Including US State News. Aug 25, 2020.

Negrete B. Family Matters. Meeting the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Virtual Developmental Music Therapy Class for Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Pediatric Nurs. 2020;46:198–206.

Little R. Music School’s Virtual Approach Proves a Hit. Aberdeen Evening Express. Jun 4, 2020.

Gupta N. Singing Away the Social Distancing Blues: Art Therapy in a Time of Coronavirus. J. Humanist. Psychol. 2020;60:593–603. doi: 10.1177/0022167820927807. PubMed DOI PMC

Berman A. Music Connects Us. 2020. Music Connects Us: The Use of Music and the Role of Music Therapy during a Pandemic Crisis Situation EMTC. [(accessed on 20 December 2020)]; Available online: Emtc-eu.com.

Therapy N.L.M. Music Therapy in the Time of COVID—How NLMT’s Remote Sessions Actually Work. [(accessed on 19 November 2020)]; Available online: https://www.northlondonmusictherapy.com/post/music-therapy-in-the-time-of-covid-how-nlmt-s-remote-sessions-actually-work.

Baker F., Krout R. Songwriting via Skype: An Online Music Therapy Intervention to Enhance Social Skills in an Adolescent Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Br. J. Music Ther. 2009;23:3–14. doi: 10.1177/135945750902300202. DOI

Fuller A.M., McLeod R.G. The Connected Music Therapy Teleintervention Approach (CoMTTA) and its application to family-centred programs for young children with hearing loss. [(accessed on 20 December 2020)];Aust. J. Music Ther. 2019 Advance Online Publication. Available online: https://www.austmta.org.au/journal/article/connected-music-therapy-teleintervention-approach-comtta-and-its-application-family.

Bronson H., Vaudreuil R., Bradt J. Music Therapy Treatment of Active Duty Military: An Overview of Intensive Outpatient and Longitudinal Care Programs. Music Ther. Perspect. 2018;36:195–206. doi: 10.1093/mtp/miy006. DOI

Levy C.E., Spooner H., Lee J.B., Sonke J., Myers K., Snow E. Telehealth-based creative arts therapy: Transforming mental health and rehabilitation care for rural veterans. Arts Psychother. 2018;57:20–26. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2017.08.010. DOI

Lightstone A.J., Bailey S.K., Voros P. Collaborative music therapy via remote video technology to reduce a veteran’s symptoms of severe, chronic PTSD. Arts Health. 2015;7:123–136. doi: 10.1080/17533015.2015.1019895. DOI

Gúth A.J., Gúth A.S. Music therapy in rehabilitation. Rehabilitácia. 2020;57:252.

Schünemann H.J., Zhang Y., Oxman A.D. Distinguishing opinion from evidence in guidelines. BMJ. 2019;366:l4606. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l4606. PubMed DOI

Shore J.H., Yellowlees P., Caudill R., Johnston B., Turvey C., Mishkind M., Krupinski E., Myers K., Shore P., Kaftarian E. Best practices in videoconferencing-based telemental health April 2018. Telemed. E-Health. 2018;24:827–832. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2018.0237. PubMed DOI

Smith K., Ostinelli E., Macdonald O., Cipriani A. Covid-19 and telepsychiatry: Development of evidence-based guidance for clinicians. Jmir Ment. Health. 2020;7:e21108. doi: 10.2196/21108. PubMed DOI PMC

Schünemann H.J. GRADE Handbook. [(accessed on 17 November 2020)];2013 Available online: http://gdt.guidelinedevelopment.org/app/handbook/handbook.html.

Adaptation of Music Therapists' Practice to the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Going Virtual: A Scoping Review