Dramatherapy - Volume 33, Issue 1, 2011

Dramatherapists work in a variety of multi-disciplinary contexts, often where other more dominant professional perspectives prevail. This paper considers the cultural politics of such contexts through the ideas of Antonio Gramsci and Raymond Williams. The authors discuss core dramatherapy ideas and more radical theatrical ideas to explore how dramatherapists may maintain and develop their own distinct identity within the multi-professional setting, and make a distinctive contribution to the multi-disciplinary team.

Dramatherapy lends itself seamlessly to a person-centred approach, particularly important for elderly people who are nearing the end of their lives. The dramatherapy group affords a holding environment where existential issues and key life questions can be worked with creatively. Although their expression may sometimes seem chaotic (as in dementia), elderly people are often the guardians or holders of much end-of-life wisdom. By means of story, metaphor, play and improvisation, cultural questions and answers can assist with celebration, reminiscence, pleasure and grieving, and ultimately the transition to a dignified and spiritually meaningful death. In this way, the spirituality of the person with dementia can be explored and accepted.

Spirituality has informed theatre and drama throughout history, and the healing properties of the arts are referred to in the histories of many societies. In contemporary western culture, especially that of the last 50 years, there has been a growth of consciousness that creative activity can contribute to people’s health and well-being and that the area of spirituality is integral, and perhaps even central, to psycho-social health and a sense of well-being.

In this paper, selected dramatherapy literature is reviewed, that supports the contention that the practice of these therapies is an effective means of assisting elderly people afflicted with moderate-to-severe dementia to value their ageing process. Arts therapies may assist them to cope with the grief and loss their ageing may entail, as they lose friends and physical and mental capacity, in a society where elderly people are marginalised.

Case studies and theoretical examples are presented to show how group work can be structured so that issues of elderly people with dementia can be addressed in a creative way.

The integration of voice as part of dramatherapy, following the model of the Sesame approach to Drama and Movement Therapy, can help clients express themselves and form communication with others creatively. This paper presents an experimental voice group which I led with a group of dramatherapists in order to encourage them to enable the voice to become a more essential component of their dramatherapeutic practice. The paper describes the sessions the voice group has undergone, including brief introductions which present the central vocal theme of each session. These themes include breathing, the authentic voice, the child archetype, voice and feeling, stories, the hunter archetype and chants and songs. The author gives some practical suggestions for voice activities that can be embedded in therapeutic intervention. Finally, this article presents the participants’ impressions of the voice work, derived from a questionnaire they filled in. According to their feedback, this article concludes that more voice should be integrated in dramatherapy as a therapeutic tool. The author supplies different methods that may be used in order to encourage dramatherapists and their clients to integrate voice more naturally with movement, drama, story, play and touch, the main elements of the Sesame approach to dramatherapy.