Drums are helping to improve the physical and mental health of geriatric patients in North Carolina. A drum therapy with roots in Mongolian shamanism and West African healers is being used at Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center with positive results. Many patients in the psychiatric unit are suffering from dementia, depression, and bipolar, and the drumming is helping them to cope better and express themselves. One patient would not talk, but once he was allowed to drum, he began sharing his past with staff. The drumming program was suggested by Mark Kato, a licensed recreation therapist on staff at the hospital. Read more here: Therapists use drums to help patients in psychiatric unit