WHO WILL BENEFIT?

This approach is useful for a variety of people in community and mental health settings including child and adolescent psychiatric services, schools, addiction services, as well as for adults who may be experiencing depression, anxiety or trauma.

All Dramatherapy sessions are adaptable to the specific needs of the group or individual.

CHILDREN

Children may benefit from working with puppets, or creating stories together, or focusing on a specific subject such as bullying or friendships to explore their feelings and experiences within a group setting.

School groups may have a specific focus of work to develop relationships and self-awareness or reflective skills through groupwork. Dramatherapy is often used to develop self-esteem and confidence, or to create a group where conflicts can be  both expressed and solutions worked towards.

TEENAGERS

Teenagers may benefit from writing their own scripts, performing  their personal stories for a select audience, creating films, writing songs. Having a voice and being heard and acknowledged is a very important aspect of the adolescent years, as well as giving space to explore personal identity, relationships and social attitudes.

ADULTS

Adults in the community experiencing any emotional, psychological or physical symptoms can benefit from dramatherapy. They may wish to explore these further and develop an understanding of what needs to unfold in their life. Individual or group dramatherapy sessions can be used to explore new possibilities of development for each person through this creative process. Personal therapy, groups for personal development, and themed groups to explore dreams or myths are all possible avenues to engage in this work.

Adults with learning disabilities may benefit through engaging with music and movement, or through performance, as well as gaining drama skills to develop communication with others and self- confidence.

Adults in mental health settings may wish to develop skills of self-expression, self-awareness, or explore their specific reasons for being in clinical care. Groups for people suffering from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, alcoholism and drug dependency, suicidal/self-harm, or aggression will all have specific needs that can be discussed with the group members and aims of the therapy can be developed. These often include managing overwhelming feelings, focusing on relationships with family/friends, exploring issues of in/dependency, healing old wounds, creating space for new patterns of behaviour to emerge and maintaining new personal/relationship developments. Storytelling, ritual, dreams and myths can all be used in a variety of ways to enable the healing process to emerge.

STAFF TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT

Staff groups are available for training and development within the workplace. Dramatherapy and Playback Theatre methods are available to stimulate playful approaches to challenges and conflicts. Staff support groups can be facilitated to provide a space for staff teams to come together and share experiences and consider feeling responses and possible solutions to challenges. In addition, Debriefing facilitation is available for any untoward events, especially in health services or educational settings.  Clinical Supervision is available for arts therapists or students.

RITUAL PERFORMANCES

Ritual performances can be facilitated to mark new events or passages in life. These can be created with a group or individual and within a community space, workplace,  home, or public outdoor space. This approach allows new changes to be identified and marked within the ritual form, providing a space for a conscious commitment to personal transformation and change to be explored and witnessed in a supportive environment.