Drumroots Regular Sessions with The Ansell Group Mental Health Clinic

After the success of our initial ‘taster’ sessions for the Ansel Group; a clinic for men with personality disorders who may have additional complex needs and have challenged other service provisions, and the carers and people who run the clinic could see how much the patients benefited from playing drums together, we were invited back to the Nottingham clinic to deliver a further series of drumming sessions.

The small number of patients in this clinic meant that, although we didn’t always have exactly the same group, but we often saw a mixture of the same faces coming back to enjoy the drumming. Whereas some of the patients  were able to extremely focused and learn a lot of the rhythms we taught, for others  it seemed simply enough to come along to the drumming space and enjoy the vibes, often displaying their own level of involvement with a smile, clap or cheer. We also had great involvement and encouragement from the staff and carers at Ansel Group Clinic, who, in their high staff to patient ratio, were able to come and join in the sessions, adding to the great energy and one of the male staff even jumped into the circle and did a solo dance, much to the patients and our delight!

Thanks to all in the Ansel Group and the patients for giving us yet another opportunity to share our music with you.