Drama therapy
Drama therapy is the use of theatre techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote health. Drama therapy is used in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, mental health centres, prisons, and businesses. Drama therapy exists in many forms and can be applicable to individuals, couples, families, and various groups.
History of Drama therapy
The modern use of drama therapy and theatre as a therapeutic intervention began with Psychodrama. The field has expanded to allow many forms of theatrical interventions as therapy including role-play, theatre games, group-dynamic games, mime, puppetry, and other improvisational techniques. Often, drama therapy is utilised to help a client:
- Solve a problem
- Achieve a catharsis
- Delve into truths about self
- Understand the meaning of personally resonant images
- Explore and transcend unhealthy patterns of interaction
The application of drama therapy is extremely varied, based on the practitioner, the setting and the client. From fully-fledged performances among a troupe of actors to individual empty chair role-play, sessions may involve many variables.
Core Processes in Drama therapy
Phil Jones in his book "Drama as Therapy, Theatre as Living" suggests that there is nine core processes at the heart of drama therapy. These include projective identification and dramatic distancing. Projective identification is the process whereby a person identifies with a character in a story. Dramatic distancing refers to the way that emotional and psychological problems can be accessed easier through metaphor. The client has a distanced relationship through metaphor to these problems that makes them easier to tolerate.
Becoming a Drama Therapist
In the US, the governing body is the National Association for Drama Therapy (NADT), which establishes guidelines for the RDT (Registered Drama Therapist) accreditation.
In the UK, the governing body is the British Association of Dramatherapists (BADth).
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