What is Drama therapy?
Drama therapy is the intentional use of theatre techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote mental health. It is a form of creative arts therapy and includes role-play, theatre games, group-dynamic games, mime, puppetry, and other improvisational techniques.
At the center of drama therapy are the concepts of role and story. Participants in drama therapy follow roles to tell a story or perform a part, thus embracing a new perspective of the character and themselves. Other components of drama therapy include ritual, conflict, spontaneity and catharsis.
Two key concepts of drama therapy are projective identification and dramatic distancing. Projective identification is the process whereby a person feels the feelings that the other is unable to access themselves. Dramatic distancing refers to the fact that an individual or a group can easier access her/his emotional and psychological problems through metaphors (a theatre character, a myth, a fairy tale, a ritual created by the group etc.). The participant takes a distanced relationship through these metaphors to interiors and interpersonal conflicts that makes them easier to explore, share and transform.
