UCLArts and Healing event drums up therapeutic stress relief

Hidden inside a white and dimly-lit building in an industrial area of North Hollywood, the sound of pounding drums and rattling shakers kicked off UCLArts and Healing’s first annual one-day conference on Sunday.

The organization was created to offer arts as a therapeutic tool to relieve stress without the stigma of therapy, said Ping Ho, the program’s founding director.

Its primary goal is to promote arts in health care by training educators who can then implement the techniques, she said.

“I don’t see much presence of the arts in health care settings and (there is) a dwindling presence (of it) in education settings due to budget cuts,” said Ho, who has worked with various UCLA health sciences departments for 26 years.

The event brought together professionals who are interested in the idea of art for healing, including several therapists and visual and performing artists.

The drum circle was chosen as this year’s main event because of its participatory nature. Drumming is an integral, non-verbal part of many cultures, Ho said.

UCLArts and Healing has conducted studies involving drum circles where there was a measurable reduction in stress when accompanied by self-reflection, she said.

Leading the morning drum circle was Ossie Mair, a licensed family therapist and drum leader.

Mair said he first stumbled across the healing benefits of drumming a few years ago while searching for a different technique to use in his practice.

Thirty percent of the professionals the program trained in drumming reported integrating the techniques into their practices, Ho said.
The event included a workshop in which participants did breathing and stretching techniques to relieve stress.

Attendees also heard from keynote speaker Elaine Hall, who founded the The Miracle Project, an organization which uses theater and the arts to help children with autism.

Hall’s desire to create the program came from her own experiences after her son was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old, she said.

Hoping to apply the techniques on a grander scale, UCLArts and Healing is training school counselors at Quincy Jones Elementary School in South Central Los Angeles and a group of 60 students from College of the Canyons in stress relief through the arts.

The program welcomes more UCLA students to volunteer with workshops, Ho said.

“(The organization) expands the possibilities for health care in schools, recreational (settings) and the workplace,” she said.