The MT-VR Solution: A Novel Telehealth Approach to Delivering Online Group Singing Therapy for People with Quadriplegia

People living with quadriplegia are disproportionately rurally and regionally located, at high risk for social isolation, and face numerous barriers to accessing music therapy (MT). They also face significant risk of illness due to paralysis of the primary breathing muscles. Face-to-face group singing therapy can improve breathing, voice, mood, and social connectedness for people with quadriplegia (Tamplin et al 2013). Online delivery of group singing interventions may be a viable solution to improve access, however latency is a significant barrier to synchronous music performance over the Internet. Our research group has been working to find an acceptable solution to this issue, with implications for MT practise more widely due to the current high demand for telehealth MT solutions due to COVID-19.