Saturday 14 February 2009

What is Dramatherapy?





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alixharrow@gmail.com


Dramatherapy is a scientific practice that involves developing self-awareness and control of internal and external processes through the direct application of dramatic techniques.


‘For the artist complexes and symbols are not material to be exploited for his own psychic development, rather, they are the occasion and substance of his process of artistic creation and make him the guide, the authentic spokesman of the unexpressed but eternally and profoundly vital forces in the souls of mankind.

Jolande Jacobi

(Complex, Archetype, Symbol, 1959)






Dramatherapy helps a person in several ways:

1.Self-assessment and enables a person to become more aware of behaviour patterns of self and others.
2.Communication through the dramatic process, enabling confidence and group interaction.
3.
Potential leadership skills emerge as a result of participation as a director within the dramatic medium.
4.Create an opportunity for an alternative way of learning that facilitates the recurrence of regular forms of education.
5.To use the imaginative processes in a way that parallels reality.


As part of my practise I may also look at how characters within dramas relate to each other. I may look at the roles and responsibilities of characters within dramas and we may look at the listening skills in and out of role. Relating questions arising in the dramatic process to reality.

The outcome of the work with Dramatherapy enables people to:


  1. Become more aware of themselves and the actions and responses that they make in life.
  2. To evaluate their behavior with friends and family.
  3. To organize and evaluate tasks.
  4. To be more aware of their own actions and reactions in a variety of roles.
  5. To become aware of different environments created through the use of drama.
  6. To encourage others through alternative ways of learning.
  7. To improve leadership skills.
  8. To be able to assess the actions of others.
  9. To gain confidence in themselves and their ability.

Alix began working in drama in 1976 and has been involved with many different types of theatre and has been privileged enough to work with some of the worlds leading practitioners in the field of Drama and Dramatherapy. Her interest in Dramatherapy emerged in 1990 when at theatre school she experienced extreme anxiety and went to see a therapist and found that the combination of Drama and Therapy helped to relieve some of the symptoms. She then went on to study Music and Theatre at University where she met the renowned pioneer Dr.Sue Emmy Jennings to whom she was encouraged to pursue Dramatherapy. After years of intense training and continued therapy Alix gained a distinction in Dramatherapy at Exeter University in October 2003

http:/www.badth.org.uk




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