Bring Drumming Therapy to San Francisco Veterans

My name is David Novick, and I am a graduate student with the Master of Social Work program at San Francisco State University. My internship this year is with the San Francisco Veterans Administration, and I work out the S.F. V.A. Downtown Clinic and the Fort Miley Hospital in San Francisco.

I plan to start a therapeutic and psycho-educational drumming group for Veterans, as this is closely related to the focus of my studies which is drumming and PTSD. Drumming has been shown to have especially profound therapeutic benefits for individuals coping with stress, trauma, and isolation. This activity will offer a safe and creative outlet for Veterans' self-expression, help foster rapport and solidarity, and promote emotional healing. This group will help Veterans reconnect with themselves and their community.

The group will consist of eight in-person (and possibly hybrid) weekly sessions, co-facilitated by myself and a clinically licensed therapist, where participants will be led through psychoeducation regarding the history and connection of drumming to the brain and trauma and healing. Then participants will drum together, led by one of the co-facilitators. Each session will be 50 minutes long, consisting of 40 minutes of drumming and psycho-education and 10 minutes of reflection. 

Currently, we need 12 Remo drumming lids and 12 five-gallon buckets to offer participants the chance to be able to drum, along with some miscellaneous percussion instruments. As an intern, I am unable to seek funds within my VA role, but may seek to cover the costs independently under my role as an MSW student. The estimate for the total amount of funds needed is about $1,000. Your support would make a significant impact, allowing us to offer this program and enhance the lives of Veterans. Please consider donating anything that you can to help make this group a reality for Veterans in San Francisco. After the group ends, Veteran participants will be gifted the drums in order to further facilitate their pursuit of utilizing drumming within their wellness toolkits, while any extra drum equipment will be donated for use by Veterans in the future.

Any donation, no matter how large or small, will help Veterans have the chance to connect to a musical practice that will have immensely positive effects on their mental health and trauma recovery.