Drama Therapy
A verbal and non-verbal approach to Psychotherapy. Helpful for those who are struggling to verbalise their story, individuals with learning disabilities or speech-related needs and those who have experienced trauma. Trauma can disable the Broca, the part of the brain responsible for speech and language processing, making it difficult to tell events through verbal recollection.
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A way to access the unconscious.
Trauma is experienced through the body, senses and emotions, making it an unconscious reaction to difficult events. These responses become embedded in the neural pathways and internal systems, and is what keeps people traumatised. However, bringing this to the surface can help to undo the deeply embedded impact of trauma.
Not a Drama or Arts class. You don’t have to be ‘good’ at creating,
but be open to using creativity as a way of expressing yourself.
An indirect approach to your experiences and problems.
Through the use of story, puppetry, play, art-making and role, you are able to feel distanced and therefore safe enough to approach things that could feel painful to look at directly.
An embodied way of working.
Activating the body ensures that the deep emotions held within it are acknowledged and processed. This helps to stimulate self-awareness, connection and offers a holistic approach to healing. The body represents our unconscious, so it’s essential that we give space for it to speak.
A bottom-up approach to trauma.
As trauma responses can shut down the top part of the brain (responsible for rationality and logic), my approach to Drama Therapy works ‘bottom-up’. The bottom parts of the brain are responsible for reflexes, memories and automatic survival responses. To help you heal from your traumas, we focus on feeling safe and stabilised before we explore your story. We focus on acknowledging, processing and changing your feelings to understand and shift your behaviours to become healthier.