How can we as professionals work deeply with the grief of our clients when words are not enough?  This experiential module offers one novel answer in the form of drama therapy techniques adapted for individual and group bereavement interventions. 

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Dramatic actions in therapy help bring to life invisible dimensions of the experience that cannot be expressed in the real life.  Through movements, voice, gestures and text, individuals can express their inner voices, conduct a dialogue that cannot happen in real-life, and move without space and time limitation over the whole course of life (to a childhood memory or future events).  The flexibility and spontaneity of the dramatic action as the main component of these techniques encourages new meanings and perspectives to co-evolve.  In this way, the creative process allows individuals to explore alternative versions of their stories, fostering meaning reconstruction.

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The module will present drama therapy techniques that are used to process losses with grieving adults, both in individual and group therapy.  The dramatic techniques have additional unique contributions while processing non-death losses and unfinished business.  Case studies accompanied by videos will introduce and illustrate the basic components of the dramatic work.  Then learners will experience and experiment with the drama therapy techniques of chair work, voicing, and embodied enactments for individual grief therapy, which support the process of meaning reconstruction and reaffirmation of a continuing bond.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Identify the key elements of dramatic reality and dramatic roles that provide specific therapeutic benefits for grieving clients;

• Describe the ways drama therapy techniques can help clients explore the formation and maintenance of continuing bonds for grieving individuals;

• Summarize the ways drama therapy process can help clients explore various roles in life, support the process of sense making, and contribute to benefit finding and identity reformation; and

• Practice two of the dramatic techniques: chair work and voicing, as a creative framework that supports both the maintenance of continuing bonds and the process of meaning reconstruction.

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Note:  Completion of this module and return of the Responsive Journal satisfies 1 Technique Module required for Certification in Art-Assisted Grief Therapy or Certification in Grief Therapy for Non-Death Losses.

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PROGRAM CONTENT

This program contains the following video segments:

1. All the World’s Stage:  Drama Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction (42 mins)

2. Phoning the Deceased:  Illustrating the Core Elements of Drama Therapy (47 mins)

3. Innocent, Warrior and Mother:  Performing Multiple Selves (34 mins)

4. Chairing and Role Reversal:  A Case Study of Child Loss (40 mins)

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COURSE PACK CONTAINS...

• A PDF copy of the presentation slides;

• Recommended guidelines for conducting dramatic techniques in group and individual settings;

• Bonus material:  Documenting growth, meaning making and improvement in a randomized controlled trial; and

• The Responsive Journal that, upon completion and return, confers 1 credit of Technique Module leading to Certification in Art-Assisted Grief Therapy or Certification in Grief Therapy for Non-Death Losses.