Dramatherapy is a form of psychotherapy which uses drama, storytelling, play and movement to support people to understand themselves and make positive changes in their lives.
Acting has long been considered beneficial to development, in terms of improving speech, memory, social interaction, co-ordination, cognitive function, thinking & reasoning as well as being better able to make sense of the world and deal with one’s own feelings and emotions. But acting was not primarily used to support & promote emotional and physical wellbeing.
Today, it is a recognised form of psychotherapy that can be used to help a variety of people address issues in their lives that previously they may have been too afraid to face.
To partake is dramatherapy, you do not need to have studied acting or have previous acting experience. It is not about that. Trained dramatherapists will use ‘their’ acquired knowledge of acting and therapy to engage clients in implementing psychological, emotional and social changes.
Dramatherapy as psychotherapy
The beauty of dramatherapy is that it will enable the client to explore difficult and painful life experiences through an indirect approach allowing them to address and resolve or make troubling issues more bearable. This indirect approach may be in the form of puppetry, masks, stories, myths, mime or improvisation. Dramatherapy gives equal validity to body and mind through dramatic context, enabling the client to face unbearable issues in a safe, caring environment.
What are the benefits of dramatherapy?
Dramatherapy can be beneficial in a wide variety of settings including in schools, in mental health and general health & social care settings. Benefits include:
- A greater ability to manage anger, anxiety and depression
- Developing resilience
- Promoting an understanding of roles and responsibilities
- Increasing self-expression, confidence and communication
- Developing trust and positive relationships
- Improving concentration, coordination and body awareness
- Developing ways to cope with life’s challenges
The use of dramatherapy has great potential to help those who struggle emotionally or are too fearful to face certain issues. It can help them to feel empowered to face matters that were previously considered to be too painful to address. Once realisations begin to be attained during therapy, the healing can begin.
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Produced for Brain Injury Group by Chroma
This article was produced for Brain Injury Group by Chroma, the UKs leading national provider of arts therapies services. In addition to dramatherapy, Chroma provide art psychotherapy and neurological music therapy.
Find out more about Chroma and how they could assist, by visiting our A-Z of services https://www.braininjurygroup.co.uk/services-a-z/chroma/
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