Dramatherapy: principles, practices, and therapeutic applications

Dramatherapy

Sue Jennings explores the potential and the practicality of dramatherapy in her 1998 British publication, Introduction to Dramatherapy: Theatre and Healing: Ariadne's Ball of Thread. Directed at a general audience but also to counseling professionals, Jenning's book covers a range of theories that support dramatherapy. She draws heavily from Jungian psychology and similar uses of symbolism as guiding forces in human consciousness. Jennings also addresses the sociological function of drama in general, noting the way drama is commonly used vs. The way it can be used more effectively. The author also illustrates the methodology of dramatherapy as a healing tool. Jennings' approach is constructive and optimistic; she believes that dramatherapy can be used to heal a wide variety of psychological problems including addiction but steers clear of making blanket assertions about serious psychiatric disorders. Therefore, Introduction to Dramatherapy lives up to its title as a clear, focused introductory text.

In the first chapter, Jennings introduces dramatherapy within a global context of theater. She notes that drama has been extricated from most public school curricula, treated as a luxury rather than as being integral to everyday life. The author also distinguishes between celebrity culture and drama itself. However, she remains committed to the possibilities of all forms of drama to help people reclaim their identities and forge healthier relationships.

Jennings advocates dramatherapy especially as it pertains to roles and role playing. Her approach is optimistic, evident throughout the book. In Chapter One, "Why Drama and Dramatherapy?" The author claims that theater art and drama can be healing regardless of whether they are applied in a systematic way. In fact, Jennings notes that dramatherapy's potential is weakened when it is bogged down by too much psychotherapy, too much analysis. Dramatherapy should be as rooted in actual theater art as possible. Freed from the constrains of psychological theory, we become more open to effective creative expression and the potential to heal.

At the very least, claims Jennings, dramatherapy can broaden our minds to seeing the world in new ways. We can rethink the roles we play in all social situations, drawing from our memories of childhood. The origins of our dramatic experiences in childhood and even in utero affect the ways we relate to ourselves and others, and also affect the way we see the world. However, Jennings emphatically discourages dwelling on the past. Her dramatherapy is firmly rooted in the present moment. Through dramatherapy, we see who we are, who we have become, and how to change. Dramaterapy enables the individual to observe the results of our actions in dramatic settings and encourages us to seek new ways of relating to ourselves and others.

Dramatherapy should not be merely a tool of the psychologist or psychotherapist and in fact, such clinical applications should be minimized. Ideally, dramatherapy is a regular process of interacting with a group of supportive people in creative and symbolic ways. Drama is used to empower individuals and offer people a chance to have more control over their behavior and their relationships. One of Jennings' central claims is that dramatherapy can transform society. As women become less willing to play into misogynistic social roles, males will react and interact with females differently. Stereotypes about people of various ethnic or religious backgrounds can be released through dramatherapy and encounters with the "other." Similarly, we release outmoded prejudices and biased modes of thinking when we allow dramatherapy to change us.

Dramatherapy relies heavily on symbols, imagery, metaphors, and myths, according to Jennings. Drama is itself a symbol of human life: reminiscent of Shakespeare's celebration of the world as a stage in which all men and women are actors. Seeing the world as a giant theater allows us to detach from our problems enough to heal them. Through theater art we see the interconnectedness in all of life. Drama allows us to notice when, why, and how we are responsible for our own actions. We step out of ourselves to encounter our true self more readily.