Together in Sound: a narrative study of music therapy groupwork with people living with dementia and their companions

This research project investigates participants’ experiences of Together in Sound, a community-based music therapy project for people with dementia and their companions. Dementia UK (2023) estimate that by 2025, over one million people in the UK will have a diagnosis of dementia. Music therapy is an effective non-pharmacological intervention that can reduce the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and is being used more frequently in community settings with people living with dementia and their companions. At the time this study began (2017) there was little research focusing on music therapy groupwork with people with dementia and their companions.

Drawing from relational constructionism (McNamee and Hosking, 2012), a multi-method approach was used within an iterative action-research process including narrative inquiry and arts-based approaches. These included poetic inquiry, creative writing, artefacts created by participants, a film, extracts of improvisation and musical interactions from music therapy sessions. This approach enabled different stories about dementia to be revealed alongside findings about the impact of music therapy groupwork and the nature of the music therapy experiences that were impactful, as described by participants.

The narrative analysis and synthesis revealed that group music therapy provided opportunities for individual expressions of identity through verbal, embodied and interactional means. Participants valued new experiences both within and without the therapy room that were supported by attention to a safe space, boundaries and an inclusive environment. Sharing of experience within the groups and to the wider community through sharing events provided opportunities for participants to engage in active citizenship and present their own lived experience of dementia.

The research has implications for training and practice. It contributes to the growing interest in and knowledge of music therapy practice with community-dwelling people with dementia and their companions. It draws attention to the importance of an improvisational approach to music therapy groupwork, practices of collaboration, and the therapist’s cultivation of a narrative sensibility.