Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy in a Virtual World

When Covid-19 shut the city down, the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, a vital resource for New Yorkers receiving treatment for a variety of challenges, was forced to stop all in-person music therapy sessions. A core aspect of the Nordoff-Robbins approach is live, interactive music-making by all the participants. This film by Natalie Rule, a recent graduate from NYU who studied Journalism and Psychology at the College of Arts and Science, documents how the environmental limitation caused by the pandemic led to exciting innovations in therapeutic interventions. 

Featuring Nordoff-Robbins NYU Steinhardt staff and students engaging with clients in music therapy, it explains the long tradition of in-person work and highlights the more recent remote sessions which began as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured in the film is an adult autistic client and his mother, who shares her perceptions of the value of music therapy for her son.

Special thanks to Nordoff Robbins United Kingdom for the use of footage from the London Centre.