Therapeutic beat-making

1. Introduction

Version followed: the Therapeutic Beat Making (TBM) model of Elliot Gann, Psy.D. (licensed child and adolescent psychologist, beat maker and DJ, Executive Director of the Oakland nonprofit Today's Future Sound, TFS), as described in the TFS programme profile and the "Therapeutic Applications of Hip Hop" course collection (Trauma Research Foundation), Gann's Psychotherapy Networker speaker bio, two California Arts Council grant descriptions of TFS's TBM programmes (2023–24 and 2025–26), Gann's 2018 Cambridge talk abstract, a 2021 account of the TFS juvenile-hall programme, and the Travis, Gann, Crooke & Jenkins (2019) repository record, which pairs TBM with Raphael Travis's Hip Hop and Empowerment (HHE) framework. Programme formats and session counts, who teaches, the clinician-training workshops and the attribution of the brainwave claim come from these pages. No TBM treatment manual or session protocol is public (Gann's speaker bio calls the model "currently in development"); Gann's doctoral dissertation and the full texts of Travis et al. 2019 and 2021 are not paraphrased here [uncertain]. Everything not traced to those pages is marked [synthesis]. [source: TRF profile; TRF course collection; Psychotherapy Networker speaker page; California Arts Council grantee pages; Cambridge talk page; Learning Counsel 2021; Texas State repository record]

What it is: a culturally responsive, culturally sustaining use of Hip Hop beat making (programming drums and sounds on a computer, app or vocal beatbox into looping instrumental tracks, often later used for lyrics) as a mental-health, educational and social-justice intervention for youth and adults, delivered in schools, community organisations and juvenile halls, often through mobile production studios. It is a model and programme, not a regulated therapy profession: TFS programmes are taught by professional teaching artists, described as TBM instructors trained in trauma-responsive practices, with Gann as clinical originator; lessons combine Hip Hop cultural and social history, music theory and music making with built-in mental-health and mindfulness strategies. [source: TRF profile; Cambridge talk page; Learning Counsel 2021; California Arts Council grantee pages 2023–24 and 2025–26]

How change is thought to happen: (a) repetitive, predictable beats counter the unpredictability of trauma, grounding people in the present and down-regulating stress responses; (b) co-creating music builds relationships and allows non-verbal expression; (c) gaining mastery in a culturally familiar medium builds self-esteem, self-efficacy and agency, through small gradual changes over time. TFS states three domains of change: the relationship, the expressive dimension and the self-concept dimension. The model is framed for complex and developmental trauma rather than single-incident PTSD. [source: TRF profile; Learning Counsel 2021; Cambridge talk page]

2. Framework

TBM has no published phase model, session manual or fixed session count: none was found, and Gann's speaker bio describes the model as "currently in development" while noting that he oversees beat-making curriculum development for Bay Area schools; any internal TFS curriculum is not public [source: Psychotherapy Networker speaker page; uncertain]. What is documented:

Three domains (goals), not sequential phases: relationship (positive relationships, co-creation, co-regulation); expressive (non-verbal and musical expression, "expressive articulation" of emotion and aggression); self-concept (mastery, ownership, self-esteem, self-efficacy, agency). [source: TRF profile; Learning Counsel 2021]
Documented format, Alameda County Juvenile Hall (TFS with Rhythmic Mind, California Arts Council funded): programme planned for 20 weeks, extended to 27; TFS sessions twice weekly in two 45-minute units per day, mostly larger groups; a smaller weekly 1.5-hour Rhythmic Mind group where youth write lyrics over their own beats and build full productions; frequent work in pairs on collaborative songs; consistency of schedule emphasised because participants have lived with instability; the cloud platform Soundtrap used for setup, collaboration and sharing files between the two programmes while protecting privacy. [source: Learning Counsel 2021]
Documented format, summer learning programme: three middle-school students with elevated depression and anxiety received combined HHE + TBM within a 35-student summer programme for low-income youth; outcomes measured were Empowerment-based Positive Youth Development (EMPYD) indicators plus depression and anxiety. Session number and length are not in the abstract or repository metadata [uncertain]. [source: Texas State repository record; Berklee citation record]
Documented format, Alameda County Juvenile Hall TBM programme 2025–26 (California Arts Council Impact Projects grant): 12 weeks, two 1.5-hour sessions a week, taught by professional teaching artists; youth compose original beats, learn music production and make a class album; trauma-informed, culturally responsive teaching aimed at emotional regulation, self-expression and community connection; evaluated with a pre-programme survey and post-workshop evaluations of engagement, confidence and skill. [source: California Arts Council grantee page 2025–26]
Documented format, "Future Sounds" high-school series 2023–24 (California Arts Council): a year-long series of TBM workshops for under-resourced high-school students of colour, taught by TBM instructors trained in trauma-responsive practices; lessons cover cultural and social history, music theory and music making, with mental-health and mindfulness strategies built in; stated aims are better self-concept and emotional regulation and helping students identify their passions and plan their futures. Session count and length not given [uncertain]. [source: California Arts Council grantee page 2023–24]
Documented format, clinician workshops (Trauma Research Foundation "Therapeutic Applications of Hip Hop", eight online sessions): Gann leads Session 1, "Feeling the Beat" (interactive, multisensory introduction to beats, breaks and drum programming, starting from the origins of Hip Hop beats in "the breaks"), and Session 2, "Feeling the Beat Part II: Bringing it Home" (drum and beat programming in a free web-based app), and co-teaches Session 8, "The Remix: Re-Author Your Narrative Through Beats & Rhymes", with Rhythmic Mind (beat making and lyric writing in a visualisation and narrative re-authoring exercise). Durations are not given; no certification is attached. [source: TRF course collection]
Related TFS formats named but not described in the sources used: Freestyle Therapy Cypher groups (with Rhythmic Mind and West Coast Children's Clinic) and Advanced Narrative Therapeutic Songwriting (ANTS) workshops for incarcerated youth [uncertain: names only]. [source: TRF profile]

Working sequence for a clinician [synthesis] (derived from the three domains and the documented activities; not a TFS protocol):

Engagement and safety (sessions 1–3): introduce Hip Hop history and elements, a live group beat, basic tools; set group agreements on content, volume and headphones. Move on when the client attends, touches the tools and tolerates the group or therapist.
Regulation and skill (roughly sessions 3–8): drum programming, steady loops, listening and deconstruction; build predictable routines. Move on when the client can start and stay with a loop and shows calmer arousal while working.
Expression and narrative (middle phase, open-ended): sound and mood choices that carry feeling, expressive articulation, lyrics or spoken reflection over own beats, linked to therapy themes. Move on when the client can link musical choices to feelings or experiences, or chooses to keep the work non-verbal.
Mastery, ownership and community (final phase): finishing and mixing a track, sharing or performing, collaborative pieces, reflection on growth using the HHE dimensions; plan continuation (own device, community studio). End when goals are met or the planned block ends; mark the ending with a finished product.

Typical format: documented TFS blocks run 12 weeks with two 1.5-hour sessions a week, 20–27 weeks with two 45-minute units twice a week, or a school year [source: California Arts Council grantee pages; Learning Counsel 2021]. For a clinician adapting TBM [synthesis]: individual 45–60 minutes or groups of 4–8 with one device per person or pair, in a fixed-length block that mirrors these; take a pre- and post-block measure of engagement, confidence and skill as TFS does [source: California Arts Council grantee page 2025–26], plus your own symptom measures.

3. Guiding principles

Culturally responsive and culturally sustaining practice [source: Cambridge talk page; Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: use the client's own music culture as the medium and treat their knowledge of it as expertise, rather than importing outside musical norms.
Hip Hop's core values (social justice, peace, respect, community) as the frame, distinguished from mainstream rap stereotypes [source: mpetersonmusic show notes]. Meaning: discuss the culture's positive roots openly rather than avoiding the genre because of its media image.
Rhythm as regulation: predictable repetition counters traumatic unpredictability [source: TRF profile; mpetersonmusic show notes]. Meaning: start dysregulated clients with steady loops before complex or emotionally loaded material.
Relationship through co-creation [source: TRF profile; Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: make beats with the client or between peers; the shared product carries the alliance before talk does.
Non-verbal expression is valid therapy work [source: TRF profile]. Meaning: do not require clients to talk about their beats or turn them into lyrics.
Expressive articulation of difficult affect (Gann's term in the 2021 account) [source: Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: anger and aggression can be channelled into sound choices and intensity rather than suppressed.
Mastery, ownership and agency [source: TRF profile; Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: the client controls the tools and owns the track; teach skills so they can do it without you.
Small gradual change [source: Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: notice incremental gains (finishing a loop, coming back next week) rather than expecting breakthroughs; Gann describes a later confidence shift as "a eureka (a-ha moment)".
Consistency and predictability of the setting [source: Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: same days, times, staff and opening routine, especially for clients with unstable lives.
Accessibility [source: mpetersonmusic show notes]. Meaning: beats can be made with the mouth and lyrics spoken; no instrument or singing ability is needed.
Multiple literacies and intelligences [source: Cambridge talk page]. Meaning: beat making draws on mathematical, technological, auditory and linguistic skills; use it to build competence that education settings often miss.
Empowerment across five HHE dimensions: esteem, resilience, growth, community, change (Travis's framework, paired with TBM) [source: Therapist Uncensored show notes; Texas State repository record]. Meaning: track and reflect on gains in self-worth, coping, development, belonging and social action, not only symptoms.
Trauma-informed practice for complex and developmental trauma [source: Cambridge talk page; Learning Counsel 2021]. Meaning: assume many clients carry complex trauma; prioritise safety, choice and regulation over exposure.
Privacy of young people's work [source: Learning Counsel 2021, Soundtrap choice]. Meaning: choose platforms and sharing routes that protect identities, especially in custody settings.

4. Intervention inventory

The activities below are those named in the TFS and TBM sources used. The sources name them but do not give step-by-step procedures, so all Steps, Example language and Watch for content is [synthesis] unless tagged otherwise. Example language is illustrative wording, not Gann's.

Professional frame, set-up and safety (read before any activity)

Who may deliver it: TBM has no regulated credential, licence or registration, and no public TBM certification route was found [uncertain]. What is documented: TFS has trained artists and clinicians in the model in Spain, South Africa, El Salvador, Peru and Australia [source: TRF profile]; its programmes are taught by professional teaching artists described as TBM instructors trained in trauma-responsive practices [source: California Arts Council grantee pages]; Gann teaches introductory beat-making workshops for clinicians in the Trauma Research Foundation's online course [source: TRF course collection]. Gann's Psychotherapy Networker bio lists him as a licensed child and adolescent psychologist and also as a music therapist, trainer and consultant, without naming a music therapy credential [source: Psychotherapy Networker speaker page]. A psychotherapist uses TBM inside their own licensed scope. Calling the work "music therapy" needs the music therapy credential: UK HCPC registration (BAMT is the professional body); US MT-BC through CBMT, with AMTA as the professional body; national equivalents elsewhere [synthesis on regulation, not from TBM sources]. In schools or youth justice, artist-instructors give arts education; the clinical work stays with the clinician. Make that boundary explicit to referrers.
Equipment: a laptop or tablet with a beginner-friendly DAW or browser platform (TFS used Soundtrap in custody settings [source: Learning Counsel 2021]); closed-back headphones with volume limiting; a small pad controller is optional. Beatboxing needs no equipment [source: mpetersonmusic show notes].
Hearing safety [synthesis]: use volume-limited headphones and set the device's maximum volume before the session; keep speaker playback at conversational level in small rooms; rule of thumb: if people must shout to be heard at arm's length, it is too loud; limit continuous headphone time and take ear breaks; watch for clients who push bass and volume to regulate, and offer felt-bass alternatives (a subwoofer at low level, tapping) instead of loudness; ask about tinnitus, hyperacusis and hearing aids at intake; stop and refer for audiology if a client reports ringing, muffled hearing or ear pain.
Musical trauma triggers [synthesis]: sounds and content can be cues. Screen for and pre-agree how to handle sirens, gunshot samples, police or courtroom audio, sudden loud drops, very heavy sub-bass (felt as threat by some), specific songs or artists linked to a perpetrator, gang affiliation or a lost person, and lyrics about violence, drugs or sex. Use a sound library curated to avoid these by default; give a stop signal and a mute key; prefer client-chosen sounds over therapist-chosen ones.
Children, young people and custody settings [synthesis]: get parental or carer consent and the young person's own assent, with separate consent for recording, storing and publishing tracks (TFS publishes student music on Bandcamp and SoundCloud [source: mpetersonmusic show notes], so set publication rules up front); use artist names, never full names, in published work; agree with the institution how lyrics disclosing abuse, self-harm, threats or offences will be handled, and follow local safeguarding and mandatory-reporting duties; do not treat lyric content as evidence of guilt or risk on its own, assess it clinically. Physical: cable tidiness, safe device handling in secure settings, earbud hygiene (one pair per person or wiped between users).

1. Hip Hop history and elements introduction

Purpose: to place beat making inside Hip Hop's roots and values (social justice, peace, respect, community) so the work feels culturally owned and not just technical. Gann's introductory workshop starts from the origins of Hip Hop beats in "the breaks", and TFS lessons include cultural and social history. Use at the start of a block or with clients who see rap only through its media image. [source: Cambridge talk page; mpetersonmusic show notes; TRF course collection; California Arts Council grantee page 2023–24]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Ask what the client already knows and listens to. (2) Give a short account of Hip Hop's origins and elements (DJing, MCing, breaking, graffiti, often with knowledge as a fifth element), inviting their corrections. (3) Play one or two short examples the client chooses or approves. (4) Link the culture's values to the group's agreements.
Example language (illustrative): "You probably know more about this music than I do. Tell me who you listen to, and I'll share a bit about where beats came from."
Watch for: the therapist lecturing or posing as an expert; examples that cue trauma; engagement rises when the client teaches the therapist.

2. Live group beat (on-the-spot co-creation)

Purpose: immediate, low-stakes engagement and co-regulation; Gann uses a live demo in which the audience helps build a beat and perform it live. Use in a first session or to re-energise a group. [source: Cambridge talk page]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Start a slow, steady kick and snare loop. (2) Invite each person to choose or add one element (hi-hat, clap, bass note, sample, beatbox sound). (3) Loop it while people adjust; the facilitator keeps tempo stable. (4) Perform it together (some nod, clap or freestyle over it). (5) Save it under a group name.
Example language (illustrative): "The drums are going. Pick one sound to add; it's our beat, so nothing is wrong."
Watch for: domination by confident members (give turns); clients who stay out (offer a role such as choosing tempo); synchrony in nodding or tapping signals co-regulation.

3. Beatboxing and vocal beats

Purpose: accessible beat creation without equipment, and a bridge for clients without devices or in settings where devices are restricted. [source: mpetersonmusic show notes]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Model three basic sounds (kick, hi-hat, snare) with the mouth. (2) Have the client copy each. (3) Combine into a simple repeating pattern. (4) Record it and loop it as raw material for a beat.
Example language (illustrative): "Your mouth is the drum machine. Try a 'b' for the kick and a 'ts' for the hi-hat."
Watch for: self-consciousness (offer to turn away or let them record alone); breath-holding or dizziness (pause); laughter often signals lowered defences.

4. Active listening and beat deconstruction

Purpose: train auditory attention and understanding of how beats are built; a calm, focused task. [source: mpetersonmusic show notes, where it appears as the host's suggested exercise, not attributed to Gann]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Choose a client-approved instrumental. (2) Listen once for overall feel. (3) Listen again naming each layer: kick, snare, hi-hat, bass, sample, effects. (4) Ask which layer the client likes most and why. (5) Rebuild a similar pattern in the software.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's just listen for the kick this time. Tap the table every time you hear it."
Watch for: lyrics that cue trauma (use instrumentals); attention drifting is information on arousal level. It is working when the client can pick out layers and says what they want to copy.

5. Drum programming and building individual sound components

Purpose: the core TBM skill; creates the steady, predictable rhythm that grounds and regulates, and builds mastery step by step. Gann's clinician workshops teach drum-programming fundamentals as a multisensory, interactive task and, in Part II, programming in a free web-based beat-making app. [source: Learning Counsel 2021; TRF profile; TRF course collection]
Steps. A 2013 account of Gann's school workshops describes this sequence on a 16-pad MIDI controller: (1) set the tempo (the article notes most hip hop sits around 80–100 BPM); (2) assign a kick, a snare and a hi-hat to three pads and play drum patterns on them with the fingers; (3) record the drums; (4) choose a song to sample, cut it into "chops" and rearrange them into a new sound. Gann sets up the equipment first and brings students in one at a time, and says he can teach anyone to make a beat in about 30 minutes. [source: Oakland North 2013] In a step sequencer the same order works: kick, then snare, then hi-hats, looping while the client adjusts placements and chooses sounds from a curated kit. Save each version so nothing is lost [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "You're in charge of where every drum lands. Move that snare and listen to how the feel changes."
Watch for: frustration with the interface (simplify, do one element per session); compulsive deleting (save versions, normalise drafts); slowing breath, settled posture and longer focus show regulation is happening.

6. Arranging components into a whole (the gestalt)

Purpose: assembling parts into a larger whole, which Gann describes as a gestalt; supports integration, planning and a sense of completion. [source: Learning Counsel 2021] A Soundtrap case study on the TFS juvenile-hall programme puts it as watching fragmented parts become a unified piece. [source: Soundtrap case study]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Lay out sections: intro, main loop, variation, break, outro. (2) Have the client decide where elements enter and drop out. (3) Play the full arrangement back. (4) Reflect on which section feels most like them.
Example language (illustrative): "You've built all the parts. Now you get to decide the story: where it starts, where it hits hardest, how it ends."
Watch for: the arrangement can mirror inner states (sudden stops, no ending); explore gently and without interpreting it as diagnosis. Finishing a full track is a key mastery marker.

7. Editing, mixing and creating original grooves

Purpose: refine a track and develop an individual sound; deepens ownership and fine control. [source: Learning Counsel 2021]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Adjust each track's level so nothing drowns another. (2) Add swing or vary note velocity to make the groove the client's own. (3) Try one effect (filter, reverb) and compare with and without. (4) Bounce a version the client can keep, within the agreed privacy rules.
Example language (illustrative): "Same drums, but you can make them swing. Nudge it and tell me which feels more like you."
Watch for: perfectionism and endless tweaking (set a time box and a 'good enough' version); loudness creep during mixing (check levels against the hearing-safety limits). It is working when the client makes and defends their own choices.

8. Repetitive rhythm for grounding and regulation

Purpose: use the predictability of a loop to ground a dysregulated client in the present and lower stress arousal; TFS describes stabilising dysregulated youth and adults this way. [source: TRF profile; mpetersonmusic show notes]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) When a client arrives agitated or becomes distressed, start or return to a simple, steady loop at a tempo close to their current energy. (2) Invite a minimal task (nod, tap, mute or unmute one element). (3) Gradually simplify or slow the loop if they can follow. (4) Check in briefly about body state before returning to other work.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's just keep this loop going for a minute. Tap along if you want; nothing else needed."
Watch for: loops that become dissociative zoning out (ask the client to change one sound to stay present); tempo that escalates rather than settles. On the brain claim: TFS's programme profile says the approach aims to "downregulate the body's stress response" and "change brainwave patterns". That is the programme's own stated aim; the page gives no data for it, and no study cited here tests it [source: TRF profile; uncertain]. Do not present it to clients as an established effect.

9. Collaborative and paired production

Purpose: relationship-building through co-creation; in the juvenile-hall programme youth often worked in pairs, each contributing beats or verses to shared songs. [source: Learning Counsel 2021; TRF profile]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Pair clients by compatibility and safety (check custody, gang or conflict issues with staff first). (2) Agree roles (one programs drums, the other bass or samples, then swap). (3) Use shared projects on a collaborative platform. (4) End with both describing the other's contribution.
Example language (illustrative): "What did your partner add that you wouldn't have thought of?"
Watch for: one partner taking over; conflict over credit (agree shared credit at the start). Mutual respect for each other's sounds is a sign of progress.

10. Expressive articulation of emotion and aggression

Purpose: channel strong feeling, including anger and aggression, into musical form (Gann's term "expressive articulation"). Use when affect is high but talk is hard. [source: Learning Counsel 2021; TRF profile]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Invite the client to make a beat that sounds like how today feels. (2) Offer choices of intensity (tempo, heavy drums, distortion, dark or bright sounds) within volume limits. (3) Let them play it back. (4) Optionally make a second version that sounds like how they want to feel. (5) Reflect only as far as the client wants.
Example language (illustrative): "You don't have to explain it. Just make it sound how today felt."
Watch for: escalation instead of release (shift to the grounding loop); volume as the only outlet (redirect to other intensity choices). It is working when intensity rises and then settles in the music, and the client leaves calmer.

11. Lyrics over the client's own beats

Purpose: move from non-verbal to verbal expression and self-reflection; TFS youth wrote lyrics over their own beats with Rhythmic Mind and built full songs. Lyric content supports reflection and talking about hard topics. [source: Learning Counsel 2021; mpetersonmusic show notes]
Steps. In the juvenile-hall programme, youth made beats in TFS sessions twice a week. The beats were then shared through a cloud platform to Rhythmic Mind's weekly small-group sessions, where the same youth wrote verses over them about resilience, ownership and reframing their own stories, using Rhythmic Mind's ANTS model. [source: Soundtrap case study; Learning Counsel 2021] One-to-one version [synthesis]: (1) loop the client's finished beat; (2) brainstorm a topic the client chooses; (3) write a few lines, or speak them freely over the beat; (4) record a draft; (5) discuss what the lyrics say, if the client chooses. The internal steps of the ANTS songwriting and Freestyle Therapy Cypher formats are not described in the sources used [uncertain].
Example language (illustrative): "This is your beat. What does it want someone to hear?"
Watch for: disclosures of abuse, self-harm or threats (follow safeguarding and risk procedures; see section 5); glorification content (explore, do not censor reflexively). It is working when lyrics become more personal and reflective over time.

12. Listening back, sharing and performance (including cyphers)

Purpose: consolidate mastery and community. Gann's demo ends with live performance, a related chapter shows a Global Beat Cypher event, and TFS's 12-week juvenile-hall programme builds towards a class album. [source: Cambridge talk page; OUP chapter page, figure caption only; California Arts Council grantee page 2025–26]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Listen back to the finished piece with the client. (2) Let the client choose a title and an artist name. (3) If they consent, share in the group, then with chosen others; any public release follows the agreed consent rules. (4) Reflect on what it took to make it.
Example language (illustrative): "A few weeks ago this was one kick drum. What did it take to get here?"
Watch for: shame or harsh peer feedback (agree feedback rules beforehand); pressure to publish. Pride and the shift Gann describes as "a eureka (a-ha moment)" mark progress [source: Learning Counsel 2021].

13. Empowerment reflection with the HHE dimensions

Purpose: link the music work to Travis's five empowerment dimensions (esteem, resilience, growth, community, change), which were combined with TBM in the 2019 study. [source: Therapist Uncensored show notes; Texas State repository record]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) At set points (e.g. mid-block and end), name the five dimensions in plain words. (2) Ask the client for one example from their beat-making of each that applies. (3) Record their answers alongside symptom measures. (4) Use 'change' to discuss community or social action if relevant.
Example language (illustrative): "When the beat wasn't working and you kept going, what does that say about you?"
Watch for: turning reflection into a test; keep it brief and concrete. The HHE framework's own questionnaires and items are not reproduced [uncertain].

14. Project-based STEAM learning

Purpose: deliver mathematical, technological and literacy content through beat making (e.g. counting bars, tempo, digital skills), building competence in clients alienated from school. Mainly used in education settings. [source: Cambridge talk page; mpetersonmusic show notes]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Pick one concept (beats per bar, fractions as note values, tempo as speed). (2) Teach it through a live beat task. (3) Let the client apply it to their own track.
Example language (illustrative): "Four beats in a bar: count with me and put the snare on two and four."
Watch for: sliding into a lesson that loses the therapeutic aims; keep a clinical focus in therapy sessions.

15. Beat making as a warm-up before insight work

Purpose: use beat making to warm up the body and lower defences before reflective talk. [source: Therapist Uncensored show notes; the show notes do not attribute this to Gann by name]
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Begin with 5–10 minutes of beat work. (2) Leave a loop playing quietly while moving into talk. (3) Return to the beat if talk becomes too activating.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's get the beat going first and we'll talk while it runs."
Watch for: the beat becoming an avoidance of talk the client has asked for; balance by agreement.

16. Narrative re-authoring through beats and rhymes ("The Remix")

Purpose: combine beat making and lyric writing with a visualisation exercise so the client re-authors a personal narrative. Gann co-teaches it with Rhythmic Mind as the closing TRF course session; its internal steps are given only in the session video and are not paraphrased here [source: TRF course collection; procedure uncertain]. Use later in a block, once the client can make a beat and has some lyric practice.
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Loop a beat the client made. (2) Brief guided visualisation at a pace the client controls (eyes open allowed): picture a chapter of their story, then a preferred version of what comes next. (3) Write or speak lines about the current story over the beat. (4) Remix: change the beat (tempo, key sounds, a drop) to fit the preferred story and write lines for it. (5) Play both versions and reflect on what changed.
Example language (illustrative): "Same beat, new chapter. How would the version of your story you want sound?"
Watch for: visualisation pulling into traumatic memory (offer eyes open, return to the grounding loop); pressure to produce a hopeful ending. It is working when the client writes a preferred-story line in their own words.

17. Mindfulness and regulation strategies inside beat-making lessons

Purpose: TFS builds mental-health and mindfulness strategies into its beat-making lessons, aiming at emotional regulation and self-concept; the specific strategies are not described in the sources used [source: California Arts Council grantee page 2023–24; content uncertain].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Open each session with a minute of listening to a slow loop while noticing breath and body. (2) Midway, pause the music for a quick 0–10 check of how activated the client feels. (3) Close with a short reflection: one thing made, one feeling noticed.
Example language (illustrative): "Before we build anything, just listen to this loop for a minute and notice your breathing."
Watch for: mindfulness that feels imposed or school-like (keep it short and tied to the music); clients for whom inward attention raises distress (keep eyes open and focus on sounds in the room).

5. Handling problems

The TBM sources used do not discuss problem handling. Apart from the points tagged with a source, everything here is [synthesis].

Instability and drop-out: the programme's answer is consistency: same days, times, staff and routine [source: Learning Counsel 2021]. Also: open every session the same way (load the last saved beat), keep projects saved so a missed week loses nothing, and give a short catch-up task on return.
Stuck or flat client ("I can't make music"): use beatboxing or a single-element task [source: mpetersonmusic show notes, accessibility]; offer a half-built loop to change rather than a blank screen; give a choice between two sounds instead of an open choice; praise specific decisions, not talent.
Disengagement or resistance to the therapist: hand over control, ask the client to teach you a sound or artist, and let the beat carry the relationship before asking for talk (co-creation principle [source: TRF profile]). Do not force verbal processing; non-verbal work counts. When a student arrived upset after a parent's death, Gann acknowledged the loss and offered to talk, but left the choice to the student, who chose to make beats [source: Oakland North 2013].
Overwhelm, triggering or dissociation during listening or creation: stop playback or mute; return to a simple, quiet grounding loop or silence (client's choice); orient to the room; note which sound or content cued the reaction and remove it from the library; resume only with consent. If flashbacks or dissociation recur, slow the pace and add stabilisation work before expressive tasks.
Aggression or rising arousal: redirect into expressive articulation within volume limits [source: Learning Counsel 2021 for the concept]; if escalation continues, switch to a grounding loop, then a break. In custody settings, agree an escalation plan with staff before starting.
Volume demands and hearing risk: hold fixed volume limits as a non-negotiable group rule; explain it as protecting the ears they need for production; offer felt bass at safe levels; check in on ringing or muffled hearing after sessions and refer to audiology if reported.
Violent, sexual, drug-related or gang content in samples or lyrics: agree content rules with the group and the setting at the outset; explore meaning before banning ("what does this line do for you?"); separate private therapeutic drafts from anything shared or published; in youth justice, do not let lyrics become evidence without legal advice and the young person's informed consent. Lyrics are not diagnostic or forensic evidence on their own.
Disclosure of abuse, self-harm or suicidal thoughts in lyrics: treat it as a disclosure: respond calmly, assess risk using your standard risk-assessment procedure, follow safeguarding and mandatory-reporting duties, and tell the young person what will happen next. Do not wait until the track is finished.
Group conflict, credit disputes and peer shaming: set feedback rules (one thing you like, one question); agree shared credit for collaborations from the start; check with staff before pairing clients with known conflicts.
Perfectionism and self-criticism: time-box tasks, save numbered drafts, reframe deleted versions as part of the process, and finish 'rough' versions on purpose.
Rupture with the therapist: name it simply, own your part (e.g. choosing a sound that cued them, or pushing talk), and repair through a shared creative task the client leads.
Technical failure: keep a device-free fallback (beatboxing, table drumming, lyrics on paper) and offline-saved projects.
Cultural mismatch (therapist outside the client's culture): take a learner stance consistent with the culturally sustaining principle [source: Cambridge talk page]; do not appropriate slang or persona; consider co-facilitation with an artist from the community, as TFS uses artist-instructors [source: Learning Counsel 2021].
Pressure to publish or perform: keep publication optional with separate written consent, especially for minors and people in custody, and revisit consent before any release.
Ending and continuity: mark the end with a finished track and listening session; point to community studios, school programmes or free software so the client can keep making music.

Sources

Sources used:

Publications cited (abstracts or citation records only):

Travis, R., Gann, E., Crooke, A. H. D., & Jenkins, S. M. (2019). Hip hop, empowerment, and therapeutic beat-making: Potential solutions for summer learning loss, depression, and anxiety in youth. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 29(6), 744–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2019.1607646 (abstract and metadata via repository record)
Travis, R., Gann, E., Crooke, A., & Jenkins, S. (2021). Using therapeutic beat making and lyrics for empowerment. Journal of Social Work, 21(3), 551–574. (citation from Travis CV; content not paraphrased [uncertain])
Crooke, A. H. D. (2023). Global inclusion and healing through therapeutic beat making. In P. Dale, P. Burnard & R. Travis (Eds.), Music for Inclusion and Healing in Schools and Beyond: Hip Hop, Techno, Grime, and More. Oxford University Press. (landing page only [uncertain])

[uncertain] No TBM manual or session protocol is public, and the TRF workshop sessions are available only as video; session-by-session TBM procedures therefore remain [uncertain].

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