Resources & Research
Papers, case studies & resources
Vital Beats research paper, details results from research carried out at HMP Eastwood Park Women’s Prison, this was published in the Journal of Forensic Practice.
Read the abstract from the ‘Drumming, singing and ceremony within a psychologically informed planned environment for women on the offender personality disorder pathway’
Relevant research
Desistance and Arts in the Criminal Justice System
Van der Kolk, Bessel, The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma, 2015
To the beat of a different drum: Improving the social and mental wellbeing of at-risk young people through drumming – Wood, Lisa Jane, et al, Journal of public mental health 12(2):70-79, June 2013
(links to abstract, where full-text PDF download is available)Healthy rhythms: A preliminary inquiry into group-drumming as experienced by participants on a structured day services programme for substance-misusers – Blackett, Peter S and Payne, Helen L, Drugs: Education Prevention and Policy 12(6), December 2005
(links to abstract, where full-text PDF download is available)
Case study
“T”, who was diagnosed with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) arrived on the wing (Nexus Unit at HMP Eastwood Park) with a highly sensitive and nervous disposition. On every session for the first few weeks, we observed that the few words T uttered, nervously and repetitively were ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’. Then she would apologise and excuse herself for constantly saying these words. T’s vulnerabilities were so pronounced that she really struggled to communicate…
