Music therapy through the screen with children with autism: Reflections on the differences between in-person and online improvisation

Abstract

Ferdinando Suvini, Agostino Longo and Marco Giusti have been working together many years and are collaborating in the Florence Music Therapy Training Course and in the First Specialization Training Course on Music Therapy and Autism (2022). This interview, in which Marco interviews Ferdinando and Agostino, addresses different subject areas in the field of music therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to discuss the need to modify intervention techniques when transitioning from in-person to online work. Starting from some reflections on the literature about online Improvisational Music Therapy (IMT), both pre-COVID and during the pandemic, we discuss whether IMT could be a feasible method for online work with children and young people with autism. Special attention is given to the treatment guidelines for working with children with autism. In order to better clarify some specific themes, some clinical examples of children and young people with autism are included. The aim of this interview is to illustrate and explore different intervention methods involved in the transition from in-person to online music therapy, with a specific group of patients. The clinical examples show that it is possible to maintain the principles presented in the treatment guidelines for IMT with children with autism, even if online work demands adaptations and modifications to the proposed techniques. The main purpose of the reflections set forth is to explore and understand how IMT changes when moving from face-to-face work to online.