Along with the many therapeutic uses of role in dramatherapy, it is also beneficial for clients in that it enables distancing. Dramatic distance ‘enables us, both actors and spectators, to move from the actual to the symbolic and from the concrete to the metaphor’ (Meldrum, 1994, p. 8, quoting Jennings, 1991). By doing this, clients are able to represent their issues or difficult feelings, while maintaining a distance from them, allowing the client to process them without getting overwhelmed. By role-playing in a character that represents a difficult issue the, client can process the issue through the character’s traits and behaviour providing some distance from addressing the issues as theirs until they are ready to do so. The ironic process of distancing in dramatherapy is that through the experiences of the session, we distance ourselves in order to be engaged with and involved in the thing we are standing back from ((Meldrum, 1994, p. 8, quoting Grainger, 1990:17).
It is through both understanding our issues and processing the emotions that they cause in us, that we can start to change our thoughts and behaviours. The Dramatherapist is able to gain insight into the client’s therapeutic progression through the distance they use, as ‘distance has been conceptualized in drama therapy as a measure of a client’s affective / cognitive involvement in a task; the point of optimal involvement is referred to as aesthetic distance, a balance of affect and cognition’ (Landy, 1990, p. 226). As a goal in dramatherapy, working toward aesthetic distance will help the client to integrate their cognitive understanding and their feelings about the issues they want to change.
Along with using distance to provide safety for clients, and a different perspective on their issues, distancing can also help clients remove themselves from an issue that has become dominant in their lives. Facilitating, through distancing, the client to make a shift away from the problem towards an externalisation of the problem can assist them to transition from a dominant or fixed story to a new narrative that the client chooses (Bird, 2010, p. 11). By distancing a client from an issue through creating a symbolic character to represent that issue, the client can see the issue as outside of themselves and increase their understanding of the issue by interacting with the character through techniques such as role-play. The client can also begin to choose not to live in that character but create a new narrative and healthier characters for themselves.
The theory of role and distancing demonstrate how effective both are when used in dramatherapy sessions. The opportunity for clients to explore difficult issues through the distance that role can create develops a safe space for them to address the difficulties while still being relatively objective when they need to be. The use of symbolism and metaphor in role also provides clients with the chance to look at their issues from a variety of perspectives and to process the ideas and meanings behind the issues that my form part of a bigger picture for them. The use of role and distancing are two of the corner stones of dramatherapy and as evidenced through my own experience can help clients to gain insight into the issues that are buried in their subconscious and need to come out.
References
Bird, D. (2010) The Power of a New Story: The Bigger Picture, Dramatherapy, 31:3, 10-14.
Birdfield, T. (1998) The Healing Drama and Psychosis 2: hypomania, containment and aesthetic distance, Dramatherapy, 20:3, 24-27.
Haen, C. (2002) The Dramatherapeutic Use of the Superhero Role with Male Clients, Dramatherapy, 24:1, 16-22.
Landy, R. J. (1991) The Drama Therapy Role Method, Dramatherapy, 14:2, 7-15.
Landy, R. J. (1990) The Concept of Role in Drama Therapy, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 17:223-230.
Landy, R. J. (1993) The Drama Therapy Role Model in Persona and Performance. London: Jessica Kingsly Publishers.
Landy, R. J. (1992) ATaxonomy of Roles: A Blueprint for the Possibility of Being, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 18:419-431.
Landy, R. J. (1991) The Dramatic Basis of Role Theory, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 18:29-41.
Landy, R. J. (1991) Role as the Primary Bridge Between Theatre and Drama Therapy, Dramatherapy, 13:2, 4-11.
Meldrum, B. (1994) A Kinship with Monsters, Dramatherapy, 16:1, 8-11.
