iMUSE is designed as a multimedia approach to music and relaxation for learning-disabled adults and young people, older people, and people with mental and physical ill health.
Dom using the hugger
One of the projects run by Accessible Arts and Media (AAM) in York, stems from developing Vibroacoustic Therapy into a more interactive experience that can be used by everybody. The therapy was designed by a researcher at Sunderland University, Phil Ellis who created both the sessions AAM first started delivering 25 years ago, and the iMUSE sessions they started running about eight years ago.
The work brings together music, vibrations, visuals, and sounds to create something that participants and staff alike have termed ‘magical’.
iMUSE’s main focus is to help people relax and reduce stress and anxiety while helping those who may find it difficult to communicate verbally find a creative outlet that suits them.
Using different formats, iMUSE allows people to engage with music however they see fit. The adaptability of the sessions means participants can range in age and abilities, from young people with learning disabilities to older people with dementia.
The sessions are designed to be 1-on-1 30-minute sessions with a dedicated, fully-trained facilitator on hand.
Rose believes that partnering with other organisations is what has made the iMUSE for Wellbeing programme so strong: “All organisations are only here because they’ve learned how to collaborate, and we are a good example of that. Without our partners, we wouldn’t be where we are now.
We work with Ways to Wellbeing and their ever-growing team of Social Prescribers and Primary Care Link Workers, as well as a range of health professionals to develop referral routes. People can also self-refer or refer a family member or someone they care for as well. The project is open to anyone, and payment is only requested on an ‘if you can’ basis.”
Facilitator Thomas Andrews, who is directly involved in delivering the sessions, highlighted the continuing diversity of people they see coming to use IMUSE: “This person came in and had beautiful synth sounds and was doing tai-chi movements. Then we had another person come in all full of beans, sit on the floor, and just said ‘Tom Jones karaoke, go’. This all happened in the space of an hour.”
What is important for the staff at AAM is seeing how they make a difference in the lives of the participants. By helping people relax, forget the outside world and for their stress and anxiety to reduce, they’re helping people take control of their own well-being. “Being able to do something that really works, that we can see on a weekly basis, is so amazing, so empowering,” said Thomas. “The progress and benefits people get from it are just immense.”
Thomas at the controls
During the pandemic, iMUSE was forced to move its sessions online, to a remote version. Thanks to the genius and creative flair of one participant who became obsessed with the impact vibrations and music had on him, the ‘Hugger’ was born.
This was a small huggable object that can be worn, held by participants, or put on certain parts of the body and it just vibrates helping them to relax. It became apparent quickly that this was particularly useful for those who use iMUSE to help with anxiety, chronic pain, or who find human contact difficult. “We’ve found it to be profoundly beneficial from what people have told us,” said Thomas.
As a result of the success of remote sessions and devices like the ‘Hugger’ during the pandemic, a lot of participants now use smaller items of the iMUSE kit at home. This allows them to incorporate the benefits of iMUSE into their daily lives and self-care. “We’re looking at key ways to continually develop, and remote sessions appear to be something people really want,” said Rose. “The experience of iMUSE is always changing, that’s the beauty of it, and it works best when we can find what best suits our participants.”
“We’re able to respond to their needs,” said Thomas. “I can use these remote sessions to help them manage them in their own homes and change visuals or music as and when they need. I really love watching people’s different arcs and seeing them take control of their own iMUSE journey.”
It’s all about the people at AAM, whether that be the participants or the staff. People skills are the most valuable thing to the team at AAM, with being a musician a great added bonus, according to Rose.
Thomas regards the project as a very personal experience for anyone who uses iMUSE. “We show them how the sessions work and then most people find their own niche. That kind of autonomy really pays off.”
The team all encourage people to try it out and come to one of their many taster events. Thomas joked that there isn’t really a worst-case scenario at iMUSE. “The worst thing that can happen is you get to chill out and listen to your favourite music for half an hour.”
It is very clear that the people who work for iMUSE love what they do and the transformations they help to create in people.
“It’s the magic of what we do, it never bores me,” Rose enthused. “While we’re making the difference we are, that’s what makes me get out of bed in the morning. I still love what we do even after having done it for over 30 years.”
For Thomas, it’s all about the joy of working to help and benefit other people. “With iMUSE, the transformations in people that I see throughout a year in this project, and the progress and benefit they get, it’s immense. I’ve been lucky to work with iMUSE to really benefit people. I love doing it.”
Interview: Dom Smith | Words: Sallie Phillips
If you want to get in touch to find out more or get involved, you can visit the iMUSE website here, call 01904 626965 or e-mail them at [email protected].
Below you can see a video of Dom’s partner, Emma using the iMUSE…
Interview: Dom Smith | Words: Sallie Phillips
