Drama therapy
Using acting techniques for personal growth and mental health.
Drama therapy, also known as acting therapy or actor therapy, applies acting techniques to promote personal growth and mental health for both actors and non-actors. It is a modality of the creative arts therapies used in settings such as hospitals, schools, mental health centers, prisons, and businesses, and can be applied to individuals, couples, families, and various groups.
Quick Facts
- Core processes identified by
- Phil Jones
- Number of core processes
- 9
- North american governing body
- North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA)
- North american credential
- Registered Drama Therapist (RDT)
- Dutch professional body
- Nederlandse Vereniging voor Dramatherapie (NvDt)
- Uk statutory regulator
- Health Professions Council (HCPC)
- Uk professional body
- British Association of Dramatherapists (BADth)
Facts from the source article.
History
The use of drama for psychological, political, and religious purposes has a long history, with Aristotle’s idea of tragedy as a means of catharsis being one early example. While some drama therapists have traced these roots to ancient rituals, the direct link between drama and therapy only appeared in the nineteenth century and grew throughout the twentieth. This development was not the work of a single pioneer or confined to one field or country; it emerged from many individual paths and chance discoveries. Early drama therapists were often actors or clinicians who found the connection between drama and healing on their own. Robert Landy observed that the field grew simultaneously in England, the United States, and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, drama therapy’s origins were linked to roles like activity leader and social welfare worker. Interest in therapy and the arts within these jobs rose during the 1950s, and drama in arts education was heavily shaped by play therapy. Key early figures included Lex Wils and Jan Boomsluiter, who wrote about drama as therapy in that decade. Dutch therapist Gé Cimmermans noted that arts therapies were first practiced mainly by artists from art academies. Cimmermans also highlighted the School of Middeloo, originally created to train caregivers for children affected by World War II. There, students learned to use play and creative activities as their main method, while also studying psychology, pedagogy, and human development. By the 1960s, the school began offering various art therapy courses, building on its experience in teaching both creativity and human growth.
Core processes
According to Phil Jones, drama therapy relies on nine core processes, including projective identification and dramatic distancing. Projective identification occurs when one person experiences emotions that another cannot access on their own. Dramatic distancing means that metaphor makes emotional and psychological issues easier to approach, because the client’s relationship to those problems is indirect and therefore more tolerable.
Becoming a drama therapist
In North America, the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) oversees the field, setting the standards for the Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) credential, accrediting master's-level programs, and outlining requirements for alternative training paths. To become a Registered Drama Therapist in the US or Canada, one must earn a master's degree from one of five accredited schools: Antioch University in Seattle, Lesley University in Cambridge, NYU Steinhardt in New York City, the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, or Concordia University in Montreal. Those with a master's in a related discipline can still qualify through Alternate Route Training, which involves specific graduate courses and internships supervised by a board-certified trainer. In the Netherlands, full-time and part-time Bachelor's programs in dramatherapy typically last four years and are available at Hogeschool Arnhem and Nijmegen (HAN), Hogeschool Zuyd, and Stenden Hogeschool; the Dutch professional association is the NvDt. Across the UK, the HCPC serves as the statutory regulator, while the British Association of Dramatherapists (BADth) acts as the professional body. Four postgraduate programs—at Roehampton University, the University of Derby, the Central School of Speech and Drama, and Anglia Ruskin University—offer qualifications approved by the Health Professions Council, accredited by BADth, and recognized by the Department of Health. Drama therapy first arrived in China in 2013 and remains an emerging field, with groups like Apollo and Xinyishe now active. The Hong Kong Association of Drama Therapists was founded in 2009 by Mr. Eddie Yu (President), Adeline Chan (Vice-president), Dorothy Wong, and Kevin Ma. Many universities recommend that applicants to master's programs have undergraduate coursework in drama, psychology, or another relevant field.
In practice
Drama therapy uses role-playing and storytelling as its core methods, with participants taking on characters to explore new viewpoints about themselves and others. The setting where this happens, called space, is also important, along with elements like ritual, conflict, resistance, spontaneity, distance, and catharsis. The goal is to help people understand their feelings and behaviors and learn how to handle personal challenges. Clive Barker described this process as a journey through our own psychic landscape. While it can be rewarding, progress is often slow and participants may resist the work. Most drama therapy takes place in groups, usually with six to ten people in institutional settings, though larger groups of hundreds are possible. It is generally a private form of counseling without an audience. The main exception is therapeutic theatre, where a group performs for a selected audience, blending applied drama techniques with therapy.
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