Mental Health and NHS
'dramatherapy...among the top three therapies rated as helpful by users of mental health services.'
(www.mind.org.uk/News+policy+and+campaigns/Press+archive/WardWatchart.htm)
"Many people at our...groups...tell us how important art and creativity are to their mental well-being, and we feel that championing self expression...is extremely important in breaking down the ongoing stigma surrounding mental ill health." (Richard Brook, Chief Executive of Mind)
Dramatherapy works with a wide range of difficulties from in/outpatients with mental health difficulties, to psychosomatics and pain recovery
A dramatherapy session offers two important aspects, expression and containment
Expression
While we often see a person's outwardly orientated self as the whole picture, dramatherapy addresses an individual's inner reality.
In a non-judgemental and safe environment an individual is able to feel less self-conscious. This relaxing of the self-conscious ego allows for spontaneous playfulness, which can be more flexible and dynamic than the way in which an individual usually experiences him/herself. Hidden parts of the Self are then able to come into relationship with external reality, through connecting to the symbols and themes within the session, as well as relating to the therapist (and possibly other participants). By working through these images, thoughts and feelings and placing them in relationship to consciousness they are then able to become more integrated within a person's life.
Dramatherapy also works towards opposites and balance. Through working with drama and movement as the language of self-expression, the dramatherapist guides the participant towards increasing their expressive range. For example, if an individual moves physically with direct and sudden qualities, characters and movements may be introduced to encourage sustained and flexible motion. The same is true in relation to maintaining and exploring mood states.
This encouragement of spontaneity and range of expression not only supports exploration and stability of mood states, but also challenges habitual patterns (particularly useful in long-term conditions).
Containment
Another particularly helpful aspect of dramatherapy is the structure of the session. The session has a clear and recognisable beginning, middle and end, which helps to bridge individuals in, and out of, the imaginative experience.
The session begins with a focusing phase, then the imaginative and creative work is held in the middle of the session, before the session ends with a 'grounding' (bringing people back to full awareness of the context in which the session began). This helps to create a structure in which people feel less overwhelmed, as well as being a model for strengthening the ego.
The art form itself also helps to contain feelings within the session, as individuals are able to explore powerful, and often difficult, emotions within a story or exercise. This can not only feel less threatening than working with vulnerabilities directly, but can also spontaneously reveal aspects of character. It is often when an individual feels less self-conscious (spontaneous and creative), as well as in being a safe environment, that the most profound therapeutic experience can take place.
If you are new to dramatherapy and would like to know more, I offer a FREE staff introductory workshop, please send a request through the Contact page. Thank you.
Please make contact for more information.
Excerpt from: "Our NHS our future: NHS Next Stage Review, AHPs as Integrators of Care, Report of the key findings from the Allied Health Professions Federation event, April 2008"
"Priority health & well-being issues and helping people lead healthier lives:
Social inclusion is a fundamental tenet of well-being and AHPs [Allied Health Professionals] have the skills and knowledge to engage and lead community group activities to promote inclusion. Dramatherapists acting in a socially deprived Fenland city in Cambridgeshire that has high unemployment, high crime and a low economy have successfully established a positive partnership between a voluntary sector organisation and a local housing association to provide community drama therapy for a group of 12-15 year olds. The impact of this work has been sustained and increased periods of concentration with positive links made to school experience and participation in after school activities. Although a long term projection, such benefits if sustained though service investment must impact positively on life achievement for the participants and therefore ultimately be of social and economic benefit to the community."