Living Arts Counseling Center

Drama & Expressive Arts Therapy

Drama Therapy

Drama therapy is the skilled and deliberate use of drama and theater processes to achieve therapeutic goals. Drama therapy is active and experiential; it provides participants with a safe yet stimulating context in which to explore personal and family stories, set goals, uncover and express feelings, resolve problematic patterns, and, as appropriate, achieve cathartic release. Because drama therapy is both active and reflective, it helps people to integrate emotional, cognitive, and physical levels of experience.

Drama therapy is adaptable, and takes many forms, depending on individual and group needs. As appropriate, it may include improvisation, theater games, storytelling, facilitated enactments of real situations, and ritual. Drama therapy has proven effective with numerous populations in a variety of treatment settings. 

The creative process itself can be healing. Central to expressive arts therapy is the belief that the process of making art — in any media — is as important as the content it expresses. Awakening to the innate creativity within themselves, clients bring the wisdom of a deeper self into the light of day. They reignite the creative spirit, see their lives in new ways, and tap powerful new resources for confronting life's challenges. Even when one is dealing with painful or frightening issues, the experience of expressing oneself through a creative process can provide fresh perspectives and a sense of hope and empowerment.

Expressive arts therapy may include, according to clients' needs and preferences, drawing, painting, writing, movement, drama, music, and sandtray work.