Upcoming Sessions

  • Free Support Session: Thursday, August 27, 2026
  • Fall Online Training (now offered as part of our Beat the Odds® Training): Friday, September 18, 2026
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Beat the Odds®: Youth-Led Model (BTO-YL)

 

In this groundbreaking adaptation of our Beat the Odds® program, learn how to train youth leaders to work in teams to deliver a simplified set of our trauma-informed, group drumming activities to their younger peers or others.

This training is ideal for school counselors, arts educators, or anyone working with youth. And no musical experience necessary. 

Witness the transformative changes when youth leaders learn to trust their inner wisdom and develop leadership, agency, self-esteem, and a sense of belonging through teamwork, having their ideas solicited at every juncture, learning a framework for giving supportive feedback, participating in collaborative problem solving, experiencing creative risk taking, and more. School buy-in for this approach has been tremendous, owing to the outcomes observed first-hand by elementary and middle school leaders.

Learn more about the development of our Beat the Odds®: Youth-Led Model, and view a two-minute news clip showing it in action. 

Training Highlights Include

  • Guidelines on the youth leadership process for maximizing agency, creative risk taking, and connection
  • Practice delivering all activities in teams through this collective and co-creative youth leadership process 
  • Practice using supportive language for delivering feedback and managing challenging behavior
  • Adaptations for both elementary and middle school students
  • Strategies for recruitment, implementation, and impact evaluation 
  • Guidelines and activity notecard templates for both elementary and middle school youth
  • Trainees that complete all the requirements of the Beat the Odd® Youth Leadership Model Training will receive a Certificate of Completion that reflects one day of specialized training

     

    Why Should I Attend?

    • You are interested in training youth to work with younger peers or other vulnerable populations, such as persons with disabilities or older adults
    • You are looking to strengthen skills in empowering others who have difficulty being seen and heard
    • You are seeking to strengthen confidence in your own creativity through nurturing the creativity and confidence of others 
    • You are seeking experience with a simpler version of our Beat the Odds®: Social & Emotional Skill Building in a Framework of Drumming training (BTO) curriculum to increase confidence in delivery of the full curriculum

    While our BTO training is highly recommended for deeper understanding, it is not required for participating in this BTO-YL training. BTO may also be taken afterwards at a discount. Likewise, past BTO trainees may take the BTO-YL training at a discount. 


    BTO-YL Testimonials

    "This is the most confident I have ever felt. I said to myself, 'I’m really owning this!'" – BTO-YL Trainee

    "It improved my social skills with others."   – BTO-YL Trainee

    "I felt more comfortable talking out loud in class."   – BTO-YL Trainee

    "It definitely improved my mood a lot."   – BTO-YL Trainee

    "It made me way more happy about going to school."   – BTO-YL Trainee

    "This collaborative process has built agency, confidence, creativity, self-esteem, and a strong sense of belonging among our young participants. I’ve seen students who might not otherwise have had the chance to shine come out of their shells, develop essential self-regulation skills, and step into leadership roles with pride. The Beat the Odds Youth Leadership Model has truly been a transformative experience, empowering our students in ways that will benefit them far beyond the classroom." – Martha Chacon, Principal, John Adams Middle School, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

    "It has been such an honor to witness the growth in our students. In their leadership, risk taking and listening skills. Students developed deep connections and friendships through this process. It was as if the risk taking and leadership skills they had to utilize exposed them to a new way of being. Like they now see themselves through a new lens of hope, unity and joy."  – Elizabeth Gallo, School Psychologist & Yunjee Cho, School Counselor, Long Beach Unified School District 

    "We’ve seen some truly remarkable transformations in our students. It’s been amazing to watch them come out of their shells, stepping up with newfound confidence and creativity. Some of them even surprised us with their leadership, to the point that we could barely recognize them from when we first started! The growth in self-esteem and sense of belonging has been incredibly evident, and it's been such a privilege to witness.” – Nancy Gutierrez, Mental Health Counselor, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

     

    Interested in Hosting a Training?

    We offer custom trainings on demand, as well as opportunities for training in exchange for space. If interested, please contact info@artsandhealinginitiative.org.

     


    Signature Programs: Frequently Asked Questions

    General

    Policies

    Participant Expectation Policy

    In accordance with our mission and cultural, equity and inclusion practices, our aim is to foster a supportive, healing, and collaborative learning environment, whether in an online or in-person setting. 

    With this goal in mind, we ask our program participants and staff to acknowledge, and abide by, the following community agreements: 

    • Practice loving kindness, nonjudgment, and listening to understand
    • Acknowledge your feelings and the feelings of others
    • Practice cultural humility, acknowledging the lived experience of others and our own privilege and biases
    • Hold in confidence what is shared here personally
    • When speaking, be mindful of time for others to be heard
    • Practice self-care and seek support as needed
    • Keep cameras on, if/when possible, to maintain your presence

    In order to protect participant and staff safety as well as the integrity of our programming, we have adopted and maintain a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate and/or triggering behavior, whether accidental or intentional. Such behavior includes offensive or discriminatory actions related to sex, gender, gender identity or expression, race, color, ancestry, religious creed, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, medical condition, genetic information, or any other characteristic.

     

    Digital Media Release Policy

    By registering, you give Arts & Healing Initiative approval to record this event, still and/or moving images from which may appear in printed materials or digital channels for archival, educational, or promotional purposes. Note that Zoom breakout rooms are not recorded. 

     

    Refund Policy

    In order to keep our programs affordable yet self-sustaining, we regret that we are unable to offer refunds for cancellation; however, we are happy to provide you with credit good for one year from the date of the program toward the next offering of the same program or a different one. Credit applied toward a program with higher registration fees will require payment of the balance. In addition, credit may be applied toward purchase of curriculum materials for any program. Unused fees after one year would then be tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law because no goods or services would have been received for them.

    Exceptions to our no-refund policy may be considered in cases of personal emergencies. Please contact us at info@artsandhealinginitiative.org if any questions.

    Click here for our Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts refund policy.

     

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What are my professional options in the field of arts and healing?

    • Enroll in a PhD, PsyD, or master's degree program in clinical or counseling psychology, social work, or marriage and family therapy, and then supplement your training with creative arts therapy training in your art form(s) of interest.
    • Enroll in a graduate program in one of the creative arts therapies. Most of the credentials offered in these fields, which teach integration of specific art forms with mental health practices, are at the master’s level. 
    • Enroll in a two-year training program in Expressive Arts Therapies. These programs offer credentialing in the integrated use of a variety of art forms for therapeutic purposes.
    • Enroll in our Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts. This comprehensive program is for anyone who wishes to learn how to design, deliver, and evaluate their own effective programs. It offers practical training that addresses what professionals may encounter in the community. Creative arts therapists who have taken the program have reported that it is invaluable and offers training in areas not addressed by their previous academic curricula. Many of our trainees come from the arts, education, mental health, and complementary health care. Some are fresh out of college and exploring career options, others are mid-career and wanting to add a therapeutic element to their work, and still others are making career transitions after many years in other professions.
    • Enroll in our online Social Emotional Arts Toolkit training. This training offers scripted activities in four different art forms that are adaptable to any population, setting, ability level, time frame, or budget. It can be used with groups or individuals. It teaches the key principles of social emotional arts work.
    • Additionally, volunteering is a great way to familiarize yourself with the field and what it is like to work with different populations. Here are several possibilities:
      • We often seek translators/interpreters to volunteer their services at our workshops.
      • There are two programs that partner with Arts & Healing Initiative, which often actively seek volunteers: ALMA (Addressing Loneliness through Movement and Art) and the Creative Minds Project (although Creative Minds Project may require more extensive training in order to be involved).
      • Some of our organizational partners often seek volunteers as well: Safe Place for Youth, Able Arts Work, and The Miracle Project are a few examples. 
      • We also partner with a Therapeutic Arts Group for UCLA medical and undergraduate students.

     

     

    What volunteer opportunities, internships, fellowships, or paid positions do you have?

    We train people to deliver their own programs and don't have a center where we provide direct services.  If you take some of our training programs, we may be able to notify you of volunteer or paid opportunities to deliver them to community organizations that request services. While we do not offer formal internship or fellowship opportunities, we welcome professional volunteers in the domains of marketing, videography and computer technology.  We also sometimes need extra assistance at specific events or for special projects. We don’t typically have paid positions available; however, we periodically need to hire research or administrative assistants. You are welcome to submit a resume to info@artsandhealinginitiative.org and we will keep your resume on file in case an opportunity comes up. Some organizations that we partner with regularly seek volunteers, such as Able Arts Work, The Miracle Project, and Theatre of Hearts. Inside Out Community Arts, for example, offers a series of training sessions followed by paid working opportunities in after-school middle and high school settings.

     

     

    How can I become a Arts & Healing Initiative instructor?

    We typically recruits instructors that fall into one of these categories:
    • Professionals who have completed a formal degree program in the creative arts therapies, typically involving masters level integrated training in mental health and the arts with supervised internship hours and a certification option.
    • Mental health practitioners who have created a social-emotional arts curriculum for a specific population that is well documented and tested.
    •  Graduates of our Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts who have demonstrated mastery of their training in the design and delivery of programs that maximize the social-emotional benefits of arts experiences.
    • Recruitment is also often based in knowledge of an individual’s work and recommendations from trusted sources.
    In addition, the proposed teaching content/format/cost needs to balance out our offerings and be of interest to our constituents, as we can best determine based on experience. If you are interested in becoming an instructor, we suggest that you attend one of our programs to gain understanding of our work and introduce yourself to us. You are also welcome to send your website and any other information about yourself to info@artsandhealinginitiative.org to help us determine the goodness of fit.

    Beat the Odds® (BTO)

    How can I get drums on a limited budget?

    Arts & Healing Initiative has partnered with Remo, Inc. to offer drum packages and individual percussion instruments at below-market discounted rates.  The Remo drums that we offer are lightweight, durable, and nestable for easy storage, with interchangeable not-so-loud drumhead options.  There are also drumheads that fit on standard-sized paint buckets, and flat “Sound Shapes®” played with mallets, which offer lower cost alternatives.  You can consider purchasing a variety of instruments and have your participants share or take turns with them.  We also offer some lower cost sets that include a variety of drum and percussion instruments. If none of these items work for your budget, remember that rhythm can ultimately be made with anything; for example, you can use “found sounds” such as 2- or 5-gallon water bottles, desks, Tupperware containers, cookie tins, paint buckets turned upside down and played with turkey basters or spoons, metallic sports water bottles played with pens, and so forth.  Even a small package of disposable diapers can make a great (and not so loud) hand drum.  You can make your own shakers with plastic Easter eggs, disposable cups, recycled containers, rice or legumes, and tape. And then there is “body percussion”.  Sounds can be made with hands and feet by clapping hands, slapping thighs, stomping feet, and snapping fingers, for example. Vocal sounds, such as percussive consonants and open vowels, can be added. There is no limit to creativity! 

    Who can deliver this program?

    Anyone can deliver the program.  It does not require any previous musical experience.  The manual is scripted in a user-friendly format, for ease of use. We have observed a variety of people deliver the program – all with success:  teachers, mental health professionals, music teachers, school counselors and after school personnel, health care professionals, Boys and Girls Club staff, actors, college students, and more. The program is so engaging that even when delivered by literally reading the curriculum, participants love the experience.


    Who can benefit from this program?

    While the program was designed for upper elementary-age students, it easily can be adapted to any other age group or for families. Guidelines for adaptation for adolescents and adults can be found in the scripted manual and are discussed during the training.  In addition, a version for adolescents and adults will be available shortly. We have found that the program is perfectly suited as it is for special needs classrooms with mild to moderate disabilities. Students with moderate to severe disabilities also benefit tremendously with a few simple adjustments to the program.

     

    How much space to do I need to store drums?

    We use Versa drums for our Beat the Odds® program, which are produced by Remo, Inc. These products are specifically designed for community use. They are durable, sound adjustable for sensitive ears, lightweight, and nest-able for easier storage. Arts & Healing Initiative has partnered with Remo, Inc. to be able to provide the community with drums and hand percussion instruments at deeply discounted prices. 
    FOR 30 DRUMS
    • The drums nest together in groups of 3.  For 30 drums, there would be 10 groups.  Two groups can be stacked vertically on one another.  Most of the groups are the same height (all tubanos) except for two, which consist of some different types of drums (tubano, timbau and djembe combo), so they are a little taller.
    • A stack of two groups of tubano drums will require 1 foot square land space and 51" height.  There would be three of these.
    • A stack of a group of tubano drums and mixed drums will require 1 foot square land space and 58" height (an additional 7").  There would be two of these.
    • Therefore in total, you would need a 5 foot square land space and 58" height to accommodate 30 drums.  For 60 drums, you would multiply this by 2.
    • If you do not have the height to stack 2 groups of drums on top of one another, but have a space with width, just assume a 10 foot square space to accommodate each stack of drums and a height of 32" to accommodate the tallest stacks.  For 60 drums, you would multiply this by 2.

    FOR 15 DRUMS

    • You would need a 3 foot square space and 58" height for 15 drums.
    • If you have more land space and less height, you need a 5 foot square land space and a height of 32" to accommodate the tallest stacks. 

     

    How do we get buy-in and funding for your program or drums?

    There may be funding sources within a school's budget, such as an arts fund, that can be allocated to the purchase of drums. Beat the Odds® is a mental health as well as arts-based program; therefore, funding of drums may be justified through a variety of sources.  Grant writing through small local family foundations and fundraising through the PTA are other ways to obtain funding.  Drums can also be obtained through e-Bay and www.donorschoose.org  (for educators). The drums that we use reflect cultural diversity, and give sound and tactile gratification that comes with hitting a full-sized drum; they are designed for durability, nesting for space economy, and sound sensitivity, so we recommend them.  You can also use a variety of instruments - some large drums, flat sound shapes (made by Remo, Inc.), shakers, 5 gallon water jugs, paint buckets, homemade instruments, things you find lying around that make sounds (found sounds).  Remo Inc. offers a line of bucket drumheads that sit on conventional plastic paint buckets. We also offer grants that reduce drum costs to below market rates, to make them more accessible to the community. To obtain support for this Program from administrators and other school personnel, try the following:
    1. Present our research findings and other scientific justification for drumming to your administration by sharing with them the following document: Beat the Odds®: A Brief Summary of an Evidence-Based Program. 
    2. Facilitate buy-in for the program by demonstrating the Booster Session in the curriculum with students or with staff.

    Is Beat the Odds® appropriate for severely emotionally-disturbed or students with other behavior or learning challenges?

    Beat the Odds®: Social and Emotional Skill Building Delivered in a Framework of Drumming is an accessible, sustainable program that is evidence-based and scripted for clinical integrity and rhythmic engagement.  The school can purchase the curriculum materials and have its own personnel deliver it.  Anyone can deliver it - even without a music background.  We have found that all children benefit from boosting their core strengths; however, the greater the social-emotional needs, the greater the benefits appear to be from the program. We have just completed some research (not yet published) that showed the Beat the Odds program as tremendously useful for special needs populations - even moderate to severe autism (with some simple adaptations).  Mild to moderate needs classrooms did not require any changes to the program. We have also has success delivering Beat the Odds® as an inclusion program in schools.  Special education and general education students are paired sharing a drum, to build positive social connection and emotional well-being while learning emotional coping skills.

     

    How do I register for the Beat the Odds® training if my employer is paying for it? 

    Please contact us at info@artsandhealinginitiative.org for assistance!

     

    How are the rhythmic and counseling activities integrated?

    Beat the Odds® emphasizes process and not performance. It includes a therapeutic dimension involving such elements as positive affirmations, emotional coping strategies, and guided interaction with rhythmic activities serving as a metaphor for life, followed by reflection and dialogue—without the stigma of therapy. Our original published study describes some of the specific ways in which the counseling and rhythmic activities are intertwined. There are a few pure counseling activities as well – such as a guided visualization and a scripted lesson on feelings. The program can be adapted easily for other age groups and is great for families. We have found that just reading the script, anyone can deliver it effectively, and someone with rhythmic skills can make the program even more engaging for all.

     

    Do I need to take the training in order to be able to deliver the curriculum?

    The curriculum is scripted and designed for use without having to take the training; however, people find the training invaluable for getting comfortable facilitating the rhythmic parts, learning troubleshooting and activity adaptations experientially, and reviewing all the important information in the manual. 

     

    How can I get Beat the Odds® started in my district? How can I convince my supervisor? 

    One person, who has made a successful business for herself delivering Beat the Odds® at the pre-kindergarten and elementary school grade levels, got started with no experience at all. She started by offering free demos, offering the idea that if they liked it—they could hire her. People also started hiring her for birthday parties as well. She now needs an assistant! In line with the above example, you can use the Beat the Odds Booster session in the manual as a demonstration session. You can show your supervisor the part of the DVD showing the call and response with the drum in the middle activity and the reflection on empathy afterwards. You could also show your supervisor our Beat the Odds information page, that has links to published articles, a brief summary of the program for administrators, media clips (like a 10-minute documentary trailer of our work), other media publications (like a TIME article and the lead article in UCLA Today for faculty and staff), and testimonials, including a compelling video interview with a 6th grade teacher on the value of Beat the Odds® for his classroom.