Outline of Three Sessions
To illustrate using dramatherapy, with elements of psychodrama and playback theatre, in a program for children who have experienced a natural disaster, the following is an outline of three sessions from the program – sessions one, five and ten.
A leader in trauma methodology, Herman (1997) recommends a ‘three-phase trauma recovery approach of a) establishing safety, b) retelling the trauma story, and c) reconnecting with others’ (Baggerly and Exum, 2007, p. 85-86). The first session I would plan would be based around establishing safety. The group would be invited to establish a contract together which is a very important part of feeling safe and the group having control over the process. Following this we would play some name games which helps the group get to know each other and build rapport. I would then move into some breathing and movement exercises that are very good for people who have experienced trauma to have and use when they are feeling tense. Exercises such as counted breathing, stretches and games and songs that have a lot of movement are good for relieving tension. Following this I would invite the group to form pairs and do the mirroring exercise. This is also good for building connection and rapport. The final activity would be to invite the group to visualise a safe place – it could be real or imagined – and to then draw it using a variety of materials, such as pencils, textas, chalk and pastels. Once they have drawn their safe place each individual would then be invited to introduce it to the group. We would talk about this place as being somewhere the children can go to during the week if they are feeling worried or anxious. We would then have these places to continue working with in proceeding sessions by physically creating the space and using role-play to experience each other’s safe place. We would then finish this first session with a closing ritual, such as a song, chosen by the group.
Session five, also based on Herman’s theory of working with people who have experienced trauma, would be based on the retelling of the trauma story through the integration of Psychodrama techniques. In relation to emotional responses, ‘young disaster victims commonly reported that they expressed their feelings, vented, communicated blame or anger toward others, ruminated and/or experienced emotional numbing’ (Pfefferbaum et al, 2014, p. 83). To provide a safe space to do this could allow the children to express themselves and vent a variety of emotions in a therapeutic and contained way. The psychodrama techniques that I would use are role reversal, doubling, role-playing and soliloquy. These are all techniques that I believe young people could do as they are quite prescriptive in how they are used. I would also finish this session, as with every session, with a closing ritual.
Session ten would focus on reconnecting with others using Playback Theatre techniques. The opportunity for the young people to share their processing, feelings and work with their family and friends could be very empowering for them, and also help build stronger connections within the community itself. This final session would then be a session where others close to the young people would witness their work and share with them in their healing. For this we would present through using the Playback Theatre techniques of fluid sculptures, chorus, titles and tableaus and a short, improvised scene. These are all techniques we would have used during the program and ones the young people would be very comfortable and familiar with. This session would also finish with a closing ritual.
Conclusion
As a result of the many children living with the traumatic results of experiencing a natural disaster, there is a need to provide a program that will support these children therapeutically and socially. Running a group-work program that uses dramatherapy, with elements of psychodrama and playback theatre, would be using methods supported by the literature to have benefit for the children in their healing and recovery.
A final stage of supporting recovering is re-connection with others, including family, friends and members of the community. Using Playback Theatre techniques for the group to perform some of their work at the conclusion of the program provides a great opportunity for the young people to have their work witnessed and to share their experiences with those who care about them. This creates a further level of support for the group and also provides a healing opportunity for the members of the community who witness it.
References
Baggerly, J. and Exum, H. (2007) Counselling Children After Natural Disasters: Guidance for Family Therapists, The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36:1, 79-93.
Jennings, S. (Ed.) (1995) Dramatherapy With Children and Adolescents, East Sussex: Routledge.
Kasiram, M. and Khosa, V. (2008) Trauma Counselling: Beyond the Individual, International Social Work, 51:2, 220-232.
Langley, D. (2006) An Introduction to Dramatherapy. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
McDermott, B. and Cobham, V. (2014) A stepped-care model of post-disaster child and adolescent mental health service provision, European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5:1, 1-10.
Overstreet, S., Salloum, A., Burch, B. and West, J. (2011) Challenges Associated with Childhood Exposure to Severe Natural Disasters: Research Review and Clinical Implications, Journal of Child and Adolescent Behaviour, 4:1, 52-68.
Pfefferbaum, B., Noffsinger, M., Wind, L. and Allen, J. (2014) Children’s Coping in the Context of Disasters and Terrorism, Journal of Loss and Trauma, 19:1, 78-97.
Thompson, E., H. (2011) The Evolution of a Children’s Domestic Violence Counselling Group: Stages and Processes, The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 36:3, 178-201.
Weber, A. M. and Haen, C (Eds.) (2005) Clinical Applications of Drama Therapy in Child and Adolescent Treatment, New York: Brunner-Routledge.
