There’s No More Time: Drumming in Recovery at Sobermans

Hi! Janice Story here, Equine and Meditation Coach at Soberman’s Estate. Today I was sitting outside of our group room, and I could hear the clients drumming with Steve Inganamort-our Music Therapist. I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to the rhythm they were creating, and how powerful music therapy is for our clients. Later that afternoon, Steve sent me this blog that he had written after their music therapy group.

September is National Recovery Month and is the perfect time to share it. Music can be such an incredible and impactful part of the recovery journey.

There’s No More Time: Drumming in Recovery at Sobermans

In early 2009, I had made my way into lower Manhattan, navigating to an underground venue known as “Le Poisson Rouge.” Inside were two pianists sitting across from each other, their heads bowed in intense concentration, playing the same hypnotic melody over, and over, and over, and over.

The piece was “Piano Phase,” conceptualized by an avant-garde composer named Steve Reich, who had hailed from NYC himself. While both pianists play the same twelve notes repetitively and simultaneously, the music changes as one player speeds up and creates a phasing effect. This creates an interesting phenomenon, where you begin to imagine melodies as your mind works to make sense out of what your ears are hearing.

I was no longer thinking about subway schedules, fare prices, what street I was on, who I was with, or why I was there. Time became timeless. My whole perception shifted to the mingling sounds of these pianos, the kaleidoscope-like effect of repetitive patterns developing and transforming. My brain felt both gratified by the repetition and also stimulated by the gradual changes. I was experiencing something related to what scientists now call entrainment—the way our brains fall into step with repetitive rhythms.

I couldn’t yet explain it, but I knew there was something that could be profoundly healing in an experience like this. And it didn’t even take playing an instrument. What I would later learn is that our brains are prone to entering trance states, especially when we are exposed to repetitive rhythms. It’s estimated that 75% of people have a moderate-to-high susceptibility to hypnotic trance states.

When entering these states, our blood pressure tends to drop, our cortisol (stress hormone) decreases, our overall anxiety decreases, our pain-perception lessens, we worry less, we feel connected to something greater, and we get “underneath” our thoughts. We gain the ability to re-evaluate patterns, tendencies, and impulses.

At Sobermans Estate, drumming plays an integral role in our Music Therapy programming. While not everyone responds the same, it presents an opportunity. An opportunity to feel connected to others, disrupt the patterns of anxiety and compulsions, and possibly conjure the spirit of John Bonham from Led Zeppelin.

I’ll hear statements like “I didn’t think about using the whole time.” And this seed of sobriety, when given the proper care and nourishment, can grow into a lifetime of recovery. At Soberman’s Estate, we see how a single rhythm can spark a shift. In those moments, clients glimpse the possibility of living free from compulsion—and that glimpse can be the start of lasting recovery.

The moment of losing one’s self in a rhythm, feeling primitively connected to others, is timeless. It’s selfless. It’s rare, and it’s full of healing potential.

Steve Inganamort - Music Therapist

Soberman's Estate is a residential men's addiction treatment center that provides discreet, individualized, sophisticated recovery and wellness services for adult men that want to recover from substance use disorders, and or other behavioral issues such as trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, or other addictions.  

If you or someone you know are struggling and wondering about the next step for receiving help, please call our Admissions Director for a complimentary consultation at 480-757-8403, or email info@SobermansEstate.com.