Drumming in circles
On Wednesday, Lena Southworth went directly from her day job to the Slippery Rock University Center for Community Engagement, Empowerment and Development, where she could participate in a group health and wellness session.
Instead of talking her feelings out with the group, Southworth instead thumped out her emotions on a drum, alongside a few other people at the session.
HealthRHYTHMS is a program developed by Barry Bittman, a neurologist from Meadville, and brought to Butler by Jennifer Willford, a professor in the Department of Psychology at SRU. HealthRHYTHMS is a method to promote health and wellness to help health care workers and people with mental-health issues express themselves in a uncommon way.
The drum circle is meant to make expression easier, because putting feelings into words is hard, but anyone can bang a drum. It was developed by .
“Instead of using words, they are embodying their response,” Willford said. “Sometimes it's hard to figure out the words to say. (Drumming) provides everyone with an opportunity to express themselves using their body and not relying on words.”
Participants sat in a circle with a drum in front of them, and Willford and her students Chloe Herrmann and Leah Meszaros, both senior psychology majors, led them in drum exercises meant to lift the moods of the participants.
They led participants in games, including a drum version of “Simon Says” and one where everyone had to use the drum to express their own name. Some of the games opened up conversations where people talked about why they played a certain pattern on the drum.
“Sometimes when you're going through things, this feels an easier way to express yourself,” Willford said of drumming. “In both groups, though, definitely opportunities for self-expression are something both are really into.”
The conversations in between drumming sometimes evolved into discussions about the feelings the drummers were going through in their lives. It took time, though, because Wednesday’s session started with a few relaxation methods and a cooperative game meant to make the participants feel more comfortable with one another.
“They talk about being overwhelmed with all they have to do at work,” Willford said. “One of the things we're trying to support is really helping them with feeling good and reducing that stress.”
The HealthRHYTHMS sessions take place Wednesday evenings, and Willford said she is considering starting another round of sessions to take place in March.
Because of the simplicity of the drum exercises, Willford said the methods she teaches in HealthRHYTHMS can be tried by anyone anywhere, and she hopes participants in the sessions will be able to use their newfound knowledge whenever they are overwhelmed.
“The relaxation techniques, wellness, the openness to expression — whether that be to others or through the body,” Willford said. “I think the things we do here participants are able to take into their lives.”
