| Drama Psychotherapy |
Dramatherapy refers to those activities in which there is an established understanding between the client and therapist and where the therapeutic goals are primary and not incidental to the ongoing activity.
The British Association of Dramatherapists has adopted the following definition:
"Dramatherapy has as its main focus the intentional use of healing aspects of drama and theatre as the therapeutic process. It is a method of working and playing that uses action methods to facilitate creativity, imagination, learning, insight and growth."
Theoretical Basis for the practice of Dramatherapy
Dramatherapy and Drama
Dramatherapy has vey ancient, historical roots in the healing rituals and dramas of various societies. The connection between drama and the psychological healing of society, though not of the individual, was first formally acknowledged by Aristotle, who was the originator of the term 'catharsis'. Traditionally, the ability of drama to reorganise human awareness has been explained in philosophical and aesthetic terms. The relationship between theories of drama and the theory and practice of Dramatherapy is an ongoing one.
Dramatherapy and
Theatre
The Dramatherapist can be seen as an empathic director who encourages clients to
experience their physicality, to develop an ability to express the whole range
of their emotions and to increase their insight and knowledge of themselves and
others. The Dramatherapy session occurs in what the director, Peter Brook, calls
the "Empty Space". In the internal life of this client there are memories and
dreams, fears from the past and apprehensions about the future and these can be
embodied and realised in this "Empty Space". Dramatherapists enable clients to
release their own "inspirational creativity" into roles they play, thus, both
clients and dramatherapist become what Augusto Boal calls "spect-actors" - both
actors and spectators. Thus the Dramatherapist as empathic director helps the
client or group member take responsibility for his/her own life through the use
of aesthetic distance and theatrical metaphors.
Dramatherapy and Psychology
As different psychotherapeutic approaches have emerged from social, developmental and clinical psychology, there has been an increased awareness of the importance of the hypothetical or "as if" reality upon which drama depends (Object Relations, Symbolic Interaction Theories and Personal Construct Psychology are all examples of this). The best known example of dramatic psychotherapy is of course Psychodrama, developed by Jacob Moreno.In Dramatherapy a range of insights and techniques derived form Psychodrama can be employed, but Dramatherapy is more genuinely dramatic due to the use of metaphor and fictional plots instead of straightforward autobiography. The distinctive characteristic of Dramatherapy is the obliqueness of its approach. The creation of fictitious reality enhances the client's involvement and identification with the drama. Dramatherapy could thus be said to be more inspired by Aristotle than Moreno.
Dramatherapy practice has, in addition, been greatly influenced by theory and practice of Group Analytic Psychotherapy, Jungian Archetypal Psychotherapy, Gestalt Therapy and Systems Theory.
Dramatherapy and
Play
Many writers have studied play and, in the main, they all acknowledge its
dramatic or representational nature. Freud thought that the play of the child
represents the "first traces of imaginative activity", allowing the child to
move between levels of fantasy and reality. Melanie Klien, the noted child
psychoanalyst, highlights the "as if" thinking necessary for spontaneous make-believe
playing. Peter Slade, who worked with Drama in Education, considered that play
marks the beginning of all dramatic activity, for the child distinguishes
between "personal play" (e.g. movement and role playing) and "projected play" (which
is more internally focused). In recent years, Ann Cattanach has written
extensively on the importance of play and its links with Dramatherapy.
D.W. Winnicott's work on transitional objects is particularly important for dramatherapists as they are interested primarily in dramatic or creative play and in understanding the significance of creativity to healthy development.
Dramatherapy and Anthropology
Anthropological awareness helps us understand rituals of healing that are culturally determined in form and content. Cultures which have retained more of their traditional forms of communal self-expression provide models for self-discovery by means of group experience. The discoveries that can be made through metaphor are explored, and personal insight can find expression through corporate awareness.
Literature and
Research
There is now a substantial body of literature concerned with the theory and
practice of Dramatherapy. There has also been increased involvement in research.
In recognition of these developments, a reseach committee entitled "The Arts
Therapies Research Committee" has been created. All four arts therapies are
represented on this committee. In the case of Dramatherapy, a sub-committee on
research is the liaising body between BADth and the Arts Therapies Research
Committee.
In recent years, there have been regular conferences, organised by this joint body, which have brought together experienced and aspiring researchers and practitioners, thereby acting as important stimulus for the profession.
A Brief History of Dramatherapy and its Development in the United Kingdom
The emergence of drama as therapy in modern western culture began in Europe in the 19th century. At that time, numerous articles were published espousing the healing function of catharsis, whilst in Germany and France theatres were built in psychiatric hospitals for the explicit purpose of treating patients.
At the beginning of the 20th century the Russian psychiatrist Iljine adapted Stanislavskian theatre techniques into a form of psychiatric treatment, called therapeutic theatre. This incorporated improvisation training as well as the production of theatre performances which were then followed by a period of systematic reflection. The emphasis was on the healing function of renewed access to play and on the generation of insight and growth through enactment. At the same time, in Russia, Nikolai Evreinov was developing his ideas and practice concerning "Theatrotherapy". His way of working encouraged the exploration of the internal and psychological processes involved in acting, rather than an emphasis on performance.
In Vienna, in 1920, Jacob Moreno began using similar concepts to develop a system of dramatic structures which he called Psychodrama. This too is based on dramatic improvisation and has some similarities with therapeutic theatre. Psychodrama has since become a seminal form of group psychotherapy.
In Britain in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, many Occupational Therapists discovered the benefits of using drama with their clients. Also, in the 1930s and '40s, Peter Slade was refining his ideas on the healing power of drama through constant and rigorous touring, workshops and lectures, culminating in the publication, in 1954, of his hugely influential book, Child Drama. The 1960s saw several developments occurring together. Fritz Pearls and other Gestalt psychologists created Gestaltdrama and behavioural therapists increasingly employed a social skills oriented form of drama which focused on role play. Eric Berne built Transactional Psychodrama on the foundation of Transactional Analysis, whilst in France various schools gave rise to Expression Scenique, Analytic Drama Therapy and Integrated Drama Therapy. At the same time, numerous theatre experiments were being conducted in theatre laboratories across Europe and the U.S.A.
New developments in the fields of drama in education, theatre in education and remedial drama also exercised their particular influence, as did the increasing prevalence of action oriented groupwork. Drama workshops led by professional actors and directors in special education settings and in hospitals further nourised the growing interest in what was by now becoming a separate and distinct discipline of Dramatherapy.
One of the most important early training initiatives was the Sesame Kats programme. This was started by Marian Lindkvist and involved short drama and movement in therapy training courses and the organising of performing companies to tour hospitals and care settings, providing entertainment and an opportunity for client groups to become actively and creatively involved. The first training course in drama and movement in therapy was held in 1964 at the York Clinic, Guy's Hospital.
In 1962, Sue Jennings and Gordon Wiseman started the Remedial Drama Group to use educational drama techniques in Clinical settings. 1968 saw this group become the Remedial Drama Centre in London, and here performers were trained to work with children and adults with a wide range of needs and abilities. In 1970 this became the Dramatherapy Centre and by 1972 it had expanded into a private consultancy, promoting training and research, known as Dramatherapy Consultants.
The Sesame organisation opened a full-time training programme in Drama and Movement in Therapy at Kingsway College, London (now at the Central School of Speech and Drama) in 1974.
The British Association of Dramatherapists was formed in 1976, and this gave a professional base to the initiatives that were developing across the country. 'Dramatherapy', the Associations official journal, was first published in the summer of 1977. Also, in 1977, Hertfordshire College of Art and Design (now part of the University of Hertfordshire) decided to expand the work of the Division of Art and Psychology (which already offered a successful Art Therapy course), and started a Dramatherapy course. A Research Fellow in Dramatherapy was appointed at the College of Ripon and York St John, and a qualifying course in Dramatherapy started in 1978; in 1980 South Devon Technical College established its own Dramatherapy training programme.
Further training places became available in 1987 when Hertfordshire College of Art and Design added a full-time Dramatherapy course to run alongside its part-time diploma and in 1988 the Institute of Dramatherapy was founded, operating from its own theatre premises in London.
In 1989 Dramatherapists finally moved from an ad hoc grade within the National Health Service to a position on the Whitely Council, under the Professional and Technical 'A' Committee, and joined Art Therapists and Music Therapists as a recognised professional body.
In 1990 the Association began the process of State Registration with the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine, with the aim of forming a Federal Board together with Art Therapy and Music Therapy.
1991 saw the formal adoption of a positive policy on supervision and, shortly afterwards, the Association established a network of supervisors in order to maintain the highest possible professional standards in this new and steadily growing profession. Two Dramatherapy supervision training courses, one in London and one in York, are now approved by the Association.
In 1993, after a period of consultation, the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine submitted the Dramatherapists application for State Registration to the Privy Council.
The application for State Registration was successful, becoming law on March 26th 1997. Dramatherapists, Arts Therapists and Music Therapists are now able to use the professional designation 'State Registered Arts Therapist' as a protected title.
Dramatherapy will continue its development.
http://www.badth.org.uk/Dth/therapy.htm
About Dramatherapists
Dramatherapists have completed professional training on accredited courses. In order to train as a dramatherapist a person usually needs to have personal involvement in drama or theatre, and also in one of the caring professions or in education. Dramatherapists work in a variety of settings e.g. mental health, training centres, education, prison and probation, childcare and private practice. Despite an increasing number of full-time or substantive part-time posts, many dramatherapists work on a freelance basis, or they practice Dramatherapy whilst being employed in some other capacity.
Dramatherapists practice Dramatherapy in a variety of forms:
Awareness, Exploration and Reflection of feelings and relationships - towards the different aspects of oneself and to other people. This form of Dramatherapy offers ways in which a group can reflect on its own dynamics and give feedback, in a way that verbal psychotherapy alone cannot. It offers the possibility of change through increased insight and self awareness and by providing the opportunity to experiment with different ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.
Creative Expression - enables group members to engage with and feel involved in relationships with other people, to build self-confidence, self-awareness and to have fun. The emphasis is on the experience of becoming creatively involved in drama with other people, it is not about becoming 'good actors' or about focusing on personal problems. A performance may result from the work of such a group, but this is by no means always the case. It is the process of creating drama which has therapeutic value.
Use of Dramatic Text, Myths or Ritual - in a way that allows personal experiences and group dynamics to be relived and reviewed in a symbolic, metaphorical, or metaphysical way. The text, story or ritual provides a structure and appropriate distance for exploration and growth to take place.
Learning to Deal with Social Situations - through role play, observation, modelling and experimenting with alternative behaviours and strategies. An example might be the use of role play in assertiveness training. Situations which are considered difficult to handle assertively (as opposed to passively or aggressively), might be reconstructed by the members of the group, and various alternative solutions experimented with. The group provides a supportive setting for taking risks and for evaluating outcomes.
Elements of all the above examples of dramatherapists' practice can be adapted for use in work with individuals, couples and families. The specific goals of any particular Dramatherapy session or series of sessions will depend on the needs and abilities of the client or group. The Dramatherapist might concentrate on using one of the forms described above, or a combination of these approaches could be utilised.
Central to all these ways of working is the belief that the creative process of Dramatherapy allows participants a safe place in which to re-examine their existing beliefs, attitudes, and feelings (their inner drama), and to try out new, alternative ways of acting (or being) in the world.
Dramatherapists are required to undertake supervision, with qualified supervisors, throughout their working lives.