[StBernard] Music Therapist Tries to Relieve Stress of Recovery

[Westley Annis]

It might seem at first that listening to banging drums would create stress
in people rather than relieve it.
 
But Christine Stevens, who has masters degrees in musical therapy and social
work and visited Chalmette this week to help residents, especially children,
deal with the slow recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
 
She uses drums to allow people to rid themselves of frustrations and feel
like they are a part of something. She also soothes people with the sounds
of flutes a guitar and a tambourine. Stevens has performed at Columbine High
outside Denver months after the tragic shootings there in 1999 and also at a
school near the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of 2001.
 
The idea is to "create a feeling that they are special,'' she said of her
listeners.
Stevens, of UpBeat Drum Circles of Los Angeles, held a drum circle in
Chalmette Thursday night and used a guitar to serenade people waiting in a
line in the government building to obtain information about rebuilding
homes.
 
But her efforts seem magical when she deals with children, which she did at
an elementary school and at a day-care facility in Chalmette.
 
At Children's Palace on Friday, dozens of 2-and-3-year-olds sparkled as an
array of instruments were played and Stevens enticed them to become
involved.

Some children danced, others clapped and some just loved the chance of
tapping on drums together, although some were shy and had to be coaxed into
joining.
 
Afterward, one teacher, Jeanne Abadie, a three-year employee of the day-care
center, said of the kids, "They enjoyed it. They did well with the hands-on
activity.'' She also acknowledged that children are aware of their situation
after the hurricane and some are affected more than others. Sometimes when
they play blocks they will build a house, knock it down, and say the
hurricane did it, Abadie said.
 
Stevens said music therapy can be a tool for assessment by teachers.
 
She said she visited Chalmette in January after arriving in New Orleans and
wanted to come back because the area had been so devastated.
 
When she was bumped off a flight by United Airlines she received a free
airline ticket for future use and decided to use it to return to Chalmette.
 
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