Crisis, Connection and Care

The COVID-19 outbreak in China brought multidimensional impacts on healthcare workers. This paper aims to report a rapid-response online music therapy project initiated by a volunteer team from a Chinese conservatory in early 2020, aiming to offer biopsychosocial support to the frontline healthcare workers and their children. The project was delivered via WeChat and Tencent Meeting, including Individualized Music Companionship and Individualized Music Caring sessions for healthcare workers, and Group Music Caring for their children. This report is based on organizational documents, coordination notes, media reports, and team debriefings, avoiding direct participant data to ensure ethical compliance. A total of 25 volunteers engaged in providing music support to 55 healthcare workers and 11 children. Daily supervisions identified the importance of music, the present moment, and positive resources, generalization and therapist’s balance. Ethical sensitivity was maintained throughout. Public feedback highlighted the program’s social value during the crisis. The project underscores the critical role of teamwork, ethical awareness, and adaptability of online technology. It offers a practical model for online music therapy and encourages further theoretical frameworks of music therapy to support biopsychosocial care in crisis preparedness and intervention. Acknowledgements We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the music therapists, music therapy interns, and music therapy students who participated in this volunteer-driven project. In the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, they generously devoted their time, expertise, and care. Their commitment and professionalism were essential to the rapid launch and effective delivery of this program under highly uncertain circumstances. We are particularly grateful to the following volunteers for their dedicated participation and invaluable contributions (in alphabetical order): Lo-Ting Chen, Wenyi Chen, Yiyun Cui, Qiulei Duan, Yangyang Han, Qianyu Huang, Qiaoyan Li, Shang Li, Zehui Li, Huanyu Lin, Sisi Lin, Bolin Liu, Sen Liu, Sifang Qiu, Yingying Shi, Yixuan Tong, Chenchen Wang, Yundi Wang, Gangyuan Yu, Han Xiao, Wan Yang, Lu Ye, Diandian Zeng, Liang Zhao, Jiatong Zhu. This project would not have been possible without their collective effort and personal commitment. Generative AI Statement The authors used multiple AI-assisted tools during the preparation of this manuscript. Youdao Translation AI and Bimuyu Academic Writing Assistant were used to support Chinese-English translation and to refine language expression. Open AI’s Chat GPT was used to assist in checking the APA 7 formatting of references. All AI-assisted content was carefully reviewed, edited and verified by the authors to ensure accuracy, appropriateness, and originality. Funding This article was funded by the Scientific Research Funding Program of the Central Conservatory of Music (general project) “Innovative Research on the Application of Music Therapy in the Context of Epidemic Prevention and Control” (21YB08).