What is psychodrama and dramatherapy? It’s a hard question to answer and even after spending an hour at Combibos talking to Peter Haworth, president of the Oxford School of Psychodrama and Integrative Psyschotherapy, about the distinctions between these two fields, I still only can grasp that these things are some form of theatre that’s meant to help people. Is ‘normal’ theatre mean to help people? Maybe not so much. That would be a nice side-effect to any production, but most shows, both in Oxford and in the professional theatre world, seem to strive to tell a story, show off some decent acting and top it off with eye-catching costumes and sets. Which is all well and good. But the idea of theatre that can actually make a difference in someone’s life (whatever that means) is intriguing to say the least.
On a basic level, psychodrama and dramatherapy are just what they sound like: the love-child of psychology and theatre. Its manifestations range from group therapy, where patients act out one another’s personal experiences, to full-on plays that stage a individual’s psychological issues for an audience. The governing idea behind it all is that theatre is good for a lot of things, but it especially has a knack for showing people something they hadn’t seen or realised before. In the context of therapy or psychology, this means theatre is an effective tool for personal growth, overcoming challenges, developing social skills and coping with trauma.
Peter Haworth of OSPIP specialises in the last of these: psychodrama with people who have suffered from trauma. His work has taken him all over the world but currently he is doing work in Bosnia, which has a huge population that has suffered mass trauma as a result of a brutal war in the last two decades. Psychodrama, says Haworth, is especially adept at treating victims of trauma because it can go where verbal therapy cannot.
For traumatized individuals, whether their trauma is the result of war crimes or personal history, are often unable to simply tell the story of what has happened to them. This is when, in the context of a group, the trauma victim can become a director, directing actors or other group members to act out a scene that comes close to representing their own experience. The effect of seeing one’s trauma acted out by a group can be pivotal in beginning the process of healing and moving forward from trauma.
Haworth recognises the challenges inherent in doing psychodrama in Great Britain. The cultural codes of conduct do not lend themselves to highly dramatic and expressive portrayals of personal and traumatic experiences. But in places like Bosnia, Brazil and Africa, psychodrama is proving to be a highly effective way to equip people with the tools to express themselves, share their stories, and communally cope with mass trauma and tragedy.
Does this mean that theatre can do more than warrant a round of applause at the end of a show? Most probably yes. The NHS is actively involved in supporting psychodrama and dramatherapy as a tool towards better mental and emotional health. Postgraduate programmes and qualifications in psychodrama and dramatherapy are cropping up throughout the UK. And given the amount of traumatic experiences that confront our world daily, it looks as though dramatherapy, psychodrama and theatre that makes a difference in the world, will have a growing place and relevance in the future.
