Incarcerated youth use drumming as therapy

Drumming has been a regular sound coming from inside the Juvenile Treatment Center in South Lake Tahoe.

Five youth have been participating in the eight-week Challenge Program that culminated recently with a performance before family and elected officials.

Using the traditional African Djembe drum as the vehicle for communication, the program combined the therapeutic potential of musical expression with a range of social learning outcomes including emotional control, improved relationships, and increased self-esteem.

Liz Broscoe, a local professional musician, is a certified facilitator of the program, and has been using the program, combined with other outcome-based techniques, to help at-risk youth. Not only did Broscoe guide the youth through drumming rhythms to build community and support within the group, the youth were also given assignments to reflect on the role they play in their own destiny.

The Drumbeat Program was made available from grant funding to the Juvenile Service Council from the American Century Championship and El Dorado Community Foundation/South Lake Tahoe Fund.