Drumming interventions in Australian prisons: Insights from the Rhythm2Recovery model

There is a reasonably long history of drumming programmes in prisons throughout the world. From the United States to Taiwan, documented cases of drumming programmes can be found, which highlight the physical, emotional, social and easily accessible benefits of using drumming in correctional settings. In many cases, the choice of the actual instrument plays a key role in the participants’ experience, given the drum’s accessibility and strong social dimensions. The prevalence of these drumming programmes is not surprising, given that drumming is a form of music-making that has a very long history across a number of different cultural contexts. Drum circles have been used as part of healing rituals in many cultures across the globe, and drumming is increasingly being used as a contemporary therapeutic strategy (Friedman 2000; Wood et al. 2013). These therapeutic purposes have ranged from treating a variety of behavioural issues, such as anger management, team-building and substance abuse recovery, as well as increasing self-esteem and developing leadership skills (Mikenas 2003; Wood et al. 2013). As Wood and colleagues (2013) note, drumming has also been used in therapeutic interventions with specific population groups, including the elderly (Fleming et al. 2004), substance misusers (Blackett and Payne 2005) and prisoners (Martin et al. 2014). Recent research has also examined the impact of drumming on disadvantaged adolescents’ mental wellbeing, psychological distress, post-traumatic stress symptoms and antisocial behaviour (Martin and Wood 2017).