Christopher Karow’s article after the first DCFG Connect online meeting!
“I provide therapeutic drum circles at Devereux, Georgia, a level-6 psychiatric facility for adolescents near Atlanta. I serve five units of male, female and self-assigned survivors of modern slavery, mostly from the United States. These children, aged 10 to 18, have been sex trafficked, sexually abused, or forced into gang labor as early as 6 or 7 years old. One of their first opportunities to make their own choices comes through our chosen practice as drum circle facilitators. Playing their own rhythm, the rhythm that they choose, on any drum of their choice, can be life changing.
In a recent experience, there was a riot (a “campus wide incident”) between two units crossing an area where my groups usually drum. During that hour, the female unit I was drumming with was outside drumming at a new location away from the skirmish, but as the facility was shut down, we were rushed into the gymnasium. Oftentimes, when a “campus wide incident” takes place, due to the trauma that they have endured the individuals go into a fight or flight mode and may attack anyone who they view as a threat.
Today was very different.
Once safely in the gym, the direct care staff (a combination of security and counselling professionals) and I prepared ourselves for anything. As we positioned ourselves around the gym, we witnessed the girls position themselves in a circle with their drums and without direction, and without speaking, they began to drum. As the drumming continued to increase and synchrony set in, one participant began singing a praise song and the room fell silent. As the chorus “To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain” echoed through the gym, the drumming began again, this time joined with more voices.
Today this group of girls who have endured modern slavery embraced the opportunity to turn the choices that they make in the drum circle into an opportunity to share community with each other through the shared power of the drum and song. Drum circle facilitation can help individuals living in fear make a choice from fight or flight to companionship, community and praise. As drum circle facilitators we can make a difference while we build the opportunity for others to simply make choices through drumming.
In rhythm, be well,
Christopher Karow, MMT, LPMT, MT-BC, NMT
