19/11/2021
DRUMBEAT PROGRAM PROVIDES A SAFE SPACE FOR RHYTHMIC REFLECTION AND SOCIAL LEARNING
Cindy Mathers found herself at a loss. Tasked with engaging a group of young teenage boys identified as at-risk of transitioning poorly to secondary school, the community health nurse, was worried that conventional talk-based techniques would fall short with the boisterous boys. DRUMBEAT, a group program that uses hand drumming to create a fun, safe space for social learning and self-reflection, provided her with a solution.
MELBOURNE, Australia– Cindy Mathers found herself at a loss. Tasked with engaging a group of young teenage boys identified as at-risk of transitioning poorly to secondary school, the community health nurse, who works with aboriginal communities in West Gippsland, Australia, was worried that conventional talk-based techniques would fall short with the boisterous boys.
DRUMBEAT, a group program that uses hand drumming to create a fun, safe space for social learning and self-reflection, provided her with a solution.
“Trying to contain those boys was like trying to contain a cyclone. Methods entirely based on talking wouldn’t have been effective,” said Mathers, who was able to successfully connect with the teens through this interactive program.
Renowned for its success in Australia as an innovative approach to juvenile justice and an effective intervention initiative for youth at risk of negative social outcomes such as substance abuse, criminal activity or isolation, DRUMBEAT (Discovering Relationships Using Music – Beliefs, Emotions, Attitudes and Thoughts), has been trialed in Florida and will return to the United States this October and November. Three-day training sessions will be run in Minneapolis, Minn., and in Albuquerque, N.M., for interested individuals and organizations. Once accredited, following the training, professionals and organizations will be qualified to facilitate the program and run it independently.
CAPTURING KIDS’ INTEREST
Simon Faulkner developed DRUMBEAT in in 2003 through Holyoake, a non-for-profit counseling and drug and alcohol service in Western Australia. Faulkner incorporated hand drumming in order to engage young people with an attractive experiential element, while still delivering cognitive behavioral outcomes.
“Experiential methods, such as adventure courses and sports-based programs, tend to be expensive and don’t have a very strong cognitive focus,” said Faulkner. “We wanted to marry making young people feel interested and at ease with teaching them how to manage their thoughts and feelings.”
Running for 10 weeks and concluding with a group performance, the multi-faceted program uses a variety of games to facilitate social interaction and develop relationship skills. Drumming activities provide analogies for peer pressure and other topical issues, allowing for reflection and discussion, while improvisation validates individuality and promotes self-confidence.
“It works at a relational level, a cognitive level and a neuro-biological level,” said Faulkner, who designed the drum program intending to replicate the rhythmic patterns of early childhood that can be disturbed through trauma or neglect.
COMMUNICATING THROUGH THE DRUMBEAT
Developing the initiative after becoming frustrated with existing, strictly talk-based forms of therapy, Faulkner said DRUMBEAT’s positive nature, and its ability to return both observable and empirical results, restored his faith in youth work.
“For years, going to work every day felt like banging my head up against a brick wall because I was using an inappropriate strategy. Young people can be tough to work with, but a lot of the strategies that we have are fairly negative. When you’re doing something fun, and particularly when young people are responding, you feel better about the work you do.”
Faulkner said young people who have had negative experiences often find talk-based methods too confronting and tend to disengage. Alternatively, early DRUMBEAT sessions use the drum as the primary tool for communication. Faulkner said this creates a more relaxed atmosphere and helps to build trust, both of which necessary for therapeutic outcomes.
“If you ask people who are socially anxious direct personal questions before you have established a relationship, you get silence. But you can ask the same question and get a huge response back on the drums. People often end up talking more openly than in traditional counseling sessions,” he said.
Because the instrument is easy to master and fun to play, self-doubt and self-consciousness are also reduced, Faulkner said. “It’s incredible how quickly people start smiling. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be fun.”
Armed with this positive philosophy, Holyoake approaches juvenile justice with a refreshing perspective, emphasizing the need to empower young people and equip them with the life skills to actively make a change upon their release.
“Young people often say that the programs in detention centers are about looking at what they’ve done wrong, not how to change. DRUMBEAT is about helping them learn how not to fall back into those patterns,” said Faulkner.
“If everyone continues to treat you negatively there is not much potential for change, but if someone suddenly shows you that they [sic] believe in you, that can make all the difference,” he said.
