Training Materials
UCLArts and Healing develops evidence-based programs and accompanying training materials, which will be made available for purchase and downloading in this section of the website. In addition, in vivo training programs will be offered as well.
UCLArts and Healing has partnered in developing a curriculum and curriculum guide – with training CD and DVD – for Beat the Odds: Social and Emotional Skill Building
Delivered in a Framework of Drumming, which it co-developed. The intervention is being offered and evaluated on an ongoing basis at a laboratory school in the Los Angeles Unified School District that serves a socioeconomically disadvantaged population. A brief description of the program can be found below; its
broad potential efficacy was documented in a pilot study, completed in
June 2007, that has been submitted for publication.
UCLArts and Healing has launched several training programs on the use of Beat the Odds.
The training was given
to all Primary Intervention and Elementary School Counselors in the Los Angeles Unified School District on October 16-17, 2008 at REMO Recreational
Music Center
in North Hollywood, CA.
UCLArts and Healing sponsored a formal assessment of the quality of the program, acquired
knowledge, predisposing factors for success, and the impact of the training on actual on-site
implementation. This evaluation was
conducted by a graduate student obtaining her Master's Degree in Public Health through
the UCLA Department of Community Health Sciences. The assessment showed that the program was effective for learning as well as implementation over time.
In February 2009, UCLArts and Healing gave an experiential workshop on Beat the Odds for school mental health personnel and site
administrators at the Los Angeles
Unified School
District Best Practices in Counseling Fair. In July 2009, UCLArts and Healing launched a training session for the public, that will be offered on a regular basis in the
future. In
August 2009, a demonstration session was given to
families at the Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the
nation; as a result, the clinic identified a staff social worker to be trained in the full program in order to be able to offer it on an ongoing basis. In September 2009, the entire staff of the Boys and Girls Club of East Los Angeles was trained in the use of Beat the Odds.
With the generosity of a private donor, UCLArts and Healing also delivered to the Boys and Girls Club staff three training sessions on movement and theater-based activities for social-emotional development and channeling youthful energy in constructive ways. Three instructors were recruited based upon the needs of the population served ‒ one with expertise in developmental disabilities, one with expertise in teens, one with expertise in theater arts-based curricula for focusing, bridging differences, identifying feelings, and opening dialogue. Training programs are currently being developed in these areas and funds are being sought to develop corresponding curriculum materials.
Description of Beat the Odds
Beat the Odds integrates activities from contemporary drum circles and group counseling to teach skills
such as focusing and listening, team building, positive risk taking, self-esteem, awareness of others, leadership, expressing feelings, managing anger/stress, empathy and gratitude. The program serves a whole classroom at a time, along with their teacher. It is designed for delivery by school counselors, but it can be delivered by teachers and other school personnel. Beat the Odds has been carefully tailored to enable individuals without music or rhythmic skills to facilitate it effectively.
UCLA researchers have shown that Beat the Odds can significantly improve such problems as inattention, withdrawn/depression, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity, oppositional defiance, sluggish cognitive tempo, and internalizing and externalizing problems in general.
Beat the Odds is inclusive, culturally relevant, and does not bear the stigma of therapy. The program emphasizes process and not performance. It includes a therapeutic dimension involving guided interaction, self-disclosure, and reflection and is delivered weekly for 40 - 45 minutes at a time over eight weeks. In addition, there is a booster session that can also serve as a demonstration session as needed. This program is feasible and sustainable. It is intended to benefit the entire school community and is not limited to any particular population.
Third through fifth grade students are targeted in this program because their peer centric developmental stage lends itself well to group-oriented activities, reflection upon behavior, and motor mastery. The activities in this program would likely benefit other age groups as well.