Our Approach
Dramatherapy is a form of psychological therapy in which all of the performance arts are utilised within the therapeutic relationship.
Defining Dramatherapy
Dramatherapy is a form of psychological therapy in which all of the performance arts are utilised within the therapeutic relationship. It is an evidence-based practice and is one of the four recognised arts therapies within the UK. According to the British Association of Dramatherapists, “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.”[1] This kind of therapy makes use of role-play, art, ritual, and storytelling. In dramatherapy, movements and objects can be used expressively without words, which can help increase the individual’s self-awareness. One of the specific uses of dramatherapy can be to offer a creative way for an individual or group to explore and solve personal and social problems.
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Dramatherapy with Children
– The Importance of Play
Dramatherapy with children is especially helpful, as play and drama are an important part of their early childhood development. For children who have experienced ACEs, there can be an arrestment of development. They can get stuck in the trauma at that developmental phase, and it can affect their brain and normal development. Through play and drama, children can learn to explore, express, unlock, and process the trauma safely in order to resume development into a healthy adult.
Testimonials
After the death of his dad, my son had real fears that he struggled to work through and to make sense of his young mind. He couldn't sleep alone & lack of sleep impacted daily functioning.
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His sessions with Donna were creative, playful & led by him. Night time anxiety has drastically improved for him now. Although losing a parent aged 5 will always be a big thing in his life, the sessions with Donna helped him get back on an even keel at a particularly difficult point in his life.
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Parent of a little boy who received six individual sessions