1. What is Drama Therapy?
Drama therapy is the intentional use of drama and/or theater processes to achieve therapeutic goals.
Drama therapy is active and experiential. This approach can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis. Through drama, the depth and breadth of inner experience can be actively explored and interpersonal relationship skills can be enhanced. Participants can expand their repertoire of dramatic roles to find that their own life roles have been strengthened.
Behavior change, skill-building, emotional and physical integration, and personal growth can be achieved through drama therapy in prevention, intervention, and treatment settings.
The National Association for Drama Therapy (NADT) was incorporated in 1979 to establish and uphold rigorous standards of professional competence for drama therapists. The organization maintains requirements that must be met to qualify as a registered drama therapist (RDT). NADT promotes drama therapy through information and advocacy.
As a member organization of the National Coalition of Arts Therapies Association (NCATA), NADT is aligned with professionals in the fields of art, music, dance, and poetry therapies, as well as group psychotherapy and psychodrama.
2. What do Drama Therapist Do?
A drama therapist first assesses a client's needs and then considers approaches that might best meet those needs. Drama therapy can take many forms depending on individual and group needs, skill and ability levels, interests, and therapeutic goals.
Processes and techniques may include improvisation, theater games, storytelling, and enactment. Many drama therapists make use of text, performance, or ritual to enrich the therapeutic and creative process.
The theoretical foundation of drama therapy lies in drama, theater, psychology, psychotherapy, anthropology, play, and interactive and creative processes.
3. Who are Registered Drama Therapists?
Drama therapists hold a master's or doctoral degree in Drama Therapy from a program accredited by the National Association for Drama Therapy, or hold a master's or doctoral degree in theater or a mental health profession with additional in-depth training in drama therapy through NADT's alternative training program. Board-certified registered drama therapists (RDT/BCT) train and supervise students in this alternative track.
4. Where do Drama Therapists Practice?
Mental Health Facilities
Schools
Hospitals
Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
Adult Day Care Centers
Correctional Facilities
Community Centers
After-school Programs
Shelters
Adolescent Group Homes
Nursing Homes
Private Practice Settings
Corporations
Theaters
Housing Projects
Medical Schools
Training Organizations
Participants benefiting from drama therapy span the life spectrum. Client populations may include persons recovering from addiction, dysfunctional families, developmentally disabled persons, abuse survivors, prison inmates, homeless persons, people with AIDS, older adults, behavioral health consumers, at-risk youth, and the general public.
For examples of some jobs currently open in drama therapy, check out the job postings
under the "News" menu.
5. How does Drama Therapy Affect Participants?
(Quotes from Consumers . . .)
The work I did in drama therapy gave me the stability and
direction I needed to deal with personal issues stemming
from child abuse, assaults and rape, and loss
of self. - Cathy H. (abuse survivor)
Drama showed me how to interact with others.
Most of all, it gave me a way to have excitement in my
life without the use of drugs. - Kurt M. (recovering drug addict)
Often our residents do not recognize their
aggressiveness or hostility until it is explored
in drama therapy. - Duane T. Bowers,
Director of Second Genesis Residential Facility
I cannot put into words how wonderful this drama
experience has been for my daughter. I have seen the
child we knew was inside, but which we rarely saw
at home, come out. - Mother of adolescent
with Asperger's Syndrome
As someone who is schizophrenic, I've always been
told that I shouldn't use my imagination. With drama,
I get to use my imagination and it
helps me. - Sue P. (student)
6. Quotes from Members of the Field
Under the guise of play and pretend, we can - for once - act in new ways. The bit of distance from real life afforded by drama enables us to gain perspective on our real-life roles and patterns and actions, and to experiment actively with alternatives.
- Renee Emunah, PhD, RDT/BCT Director,
Drama Therapy Program California Institute of Integral Studies
(Drama therapy) values the possibilities of the unadorned encounter between a therapist and a client in the play space. Here, the world of imagination with all its contradictions and mysteries can be revealed through the embodied play of two free consciousnesses.
- David Read Johnson, PhD, RDT/BCT
Director, The Institutes for the Arts in Psychotherapy
Unlike talk therapy, drama therapy gets there really fast. Role-playing -acting out issues and problems - is more effective than talking.
- Robert Landy, PhD, RDT/BCT
Director Drama Therapy Program, New York University
Participants can enjoy the feelings of being in another person's shoes - playing another role - as well as learn the liberating experience of expanding their own primary roles in life.
- Patricia Sternberg, MA, RDT/BCT
Director, Developmental Drama Program, Hunter College
Playing out a role as an actor can serve as a bridge to mobilizing inner resources in actual life.
- Theodore Isaac Rubin, MD Author
7. Contact Information
NADT Natinal Office
44365 Premier Plaza, Suite 220
Ashburn, VA 20147
Email for general questions: answers@nadt.org
Email the office: nadt.office@nadt.org
Phone: 571-333-2991 Fax: 571-223-6440
8. What is the Listserve and How Do I Join?
Email lists provide a way for subscription to send one letter or announcement to ALL other subscribers without an interminable heading listing all the addressees. Replies to requests for information, opinions, etc. can be posted for the entire list to read, or the poster can request a private reply, addressed to only one email address.
For information on how to join, follow this link.
9. Where Can I Get Articles and Books About Drama Therapy?
Most libraries and bookstores carry books on drama therapy. They can also be purchased on line at many web sites. Often you will find them listed under "Creative Arts Therapy" if there is not a section dedicated to drama therapy.
A current bibliography of books and articles on drama therapy can be found on the NADT website
under the "Resources" menu. Many publishers who put out drama therapy books can be accessed on our "Related Sites" link under the "Resources" menu.
The Arts in Psychotherapy is a journal published 5 times a year which specializes in articles about drama therapy, psychodrama, art therapy, poetry therapy, music therapy and dance/movement therapy.
10. Conferences and Workshops
A good way to find out about drama therapy is to attend one of our national conferences. There you can see the work of drama therapists from across the US and internationally presenting many different types of drama therapy techniques used with different client populations. You can also meet and network with professionals, talk with students about the schools they are attending, and go to workshops on such topics as alternative training, registry, and professional ethics. To find information on our next conference or regional conferences in your area check out "Workshops" under the "Events" menu.
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