Never heard of Dramatherapy before? You’re probably not the only one.
But! Drama as a form of Therapy has been around since the beginning of civilisation. Ancient Greek societies and communities used creative arts such as music and acting as a form of treatment for psychological distress. Healers would encourage people to participate in theatre as spectators or actors to heal inner psychological wounds.
As we move through history, we can see developments of drama being used as a form of therapy as far back as the 18th Century. In the early 20th Century terms such as Therapeutic Theatre were explored to allow patients in psychiatric hospitals to explore their own pain and psychosis through putting on plays. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the term Dramatherapy was coined and became what we know today.
Today, Dramatherapy (or Drama Therapy in the USA) is one of four creative psychotherapies that open clients to new ways of accessing mental health support. The word drama comes from the Greek to do and is therefore an experiential form of psychotherapy which encourages clients to engage in activities during their therapy sessions. This may include working projectively with objects, image cards and materials, or through storytelling, metaphor and imagination. The hope is that through accessing drama, we can experience thoughts and feelings which are so deep within our subconscious that talking about them alone may not feel enough.
What exactly is it?
The British Association of Dramatherapists describes Dramatherapy as “a form of psychological therapy, that focuses on the healing aspects of drama and theatre, using all elements of the performance arts. Dramatherapy uses drama as its main mode of communication to create distance from possible issues the individual may have difficulty addressing” (BADth, 2018).
Dramatherapists are trained at Master’s Level and require Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration similarly to Clinical Psychology. It is also a protected title and therefore only qualified and registered Dramatherapists can use this term.
Dramatherapy uses role play, voice work, movement, metaphor and storytelling to help clients explore and solve personal and social problems. It also utilises other creative arts and can work with art materials, music and dance to aid expression and reflection.
It can support with:
- Emotional regulation/awareness
- Confidence building
- Improvement in relationships
- Improve listening skills
- Be playful, humorous and fun
- Understanding parts of ourselves better
- Allow ourselves to be more expressive
Dramatherapy doesn’t have an age range and can work for children and adults alike. Creativity is part of the human experience, and working directly through creative means can support us to access these parts of ourselves.
An embodied approach
A big part of Dramatherapy is working somatically through aligning the body and mind. As a dramatherapist, I facilitate a safe space for my clients to explore feelings that may be trapped in the bodies through trauma or disassociation. This can be done through gentle mindfulness and body scanning, or it can be more explorative by giving expression through our bodies. This is a type of somatic experiencing which enables clients to release long lasting tensions and stressors from the body, and open up the mind to managing challenges of life better.
Dramatherapy utilises the resources we already have through the body to express and understand ourselves. This can be done through movement, breath-work and finding strategies to relax our nervous system. Much of Dramatherapy is inspired by Jungian Psychotherapy, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Therapy and Compassion Therapy which are all forms of psychotherapy utilising the body within therapeutic practice.
How do you know if Dramatherapy is for you?
It is a common misconception that you have to already be a creative or experienced artist to access creative therapies. This is far from the truth. Dramatherapy is for everyone. It is an inclusive and flexible space which can be adapted to the needs of any client. It can be seen as a non-verbal approach for clients who may have difficulties verbalising their experiences. It can also offer a distance to any problem when working with metaphors and through character perspectives which make reflecting on difficult experiences safer and easier.
Participants of Dramatherapy have reported feeling more in tune with parts of themselves, noticed a decrease in anxiety and low mood, and found engagement in creative activities helped them with better self-esteem and managing difficult emotions better.
To explore how Dramatherapy may be right for you, you can book a no-strings attached free 20-minute consultation to discuss options.