Mental Health

Dramatherapy has some of its roots working with this client
group. During the 19th century in France and Germany,
theatres were built in psychiatric hospitals for the explicit
purpose of treating patients. Within the mental health
Dramatherapy is often used in a group therapy setting. Here
Dramatherapy can be uses as a process where clients can
move from a sense of being overwhelmed and unable to cope
to developing healthy boundaries, learning relaxation
techniques and building self confidence.

Through creative expression clients can engage with, and feel
involved in, relationships with other people to build
confidence, self awareness and have fun. Through role play,
observation and modelling clients can experiment with
alternative behaviours and strategies. An example of this is in
assertiveness training. The group provides a supportive
setting for taking risks and for evaluating outcomes. In this
way they can be assisted in increasing their social skills and
enabling them to live more satisfying lives and be better able
to cope with day to day problems.

Central to all of these ways of working is the belief that the
creative process of Dramatherapy allows clients a safe place
in which to re-examine their existing beliefs, attitudes and
feelings (their inner drama) and try out new, alternative ways
of acting or being in the world.
The broad areas of focus are:-

		The enrichment of life: - the intention is to improve the
		quality of life and engender a sense of play through creativity.
		Goal specific learning:- social skills, rehabilitation and
		assertiveness can be stimulated through the use of role play , observation, modelling and experimenting with alternative behaviours and strategies.
		To nurture positive attitudes for themselves, their peers
		and significant others in their lives.
		To enhance the socialisation process with a view to
		participants managing difficulties in a more creative and constructive manner.
		To develop a vocabulary which facilitates the expression
		of emotions and feelings e.g love, anger etc.
		Therapeutic model - deliberate and structured
		exploration of the psychodynamic connections between the inner and outer world of the client.