Drama Therapy

For many people, self-expression can be very difficult. Vocalising difficult experiences, fears, and damages can feel impossible for some people.

When you are living with an addiction, you are going through a very difficult and isolating time. You may find it hard to open up to even those you are closest to about your addiction as it is a hard thing to explain.

Addiction is a very complicated condition that can affect each person differently. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple way to explain what you are going through to someone that hasn’t experienced what you have.

Because of this, it can seem daunting to take the much-needed step to deal with your addiction and improve your mental health. But working with a therapist is a key treatment that you need to do in order to live a better and healthier life.

But at Ocean Recovery, we understand that there is no universal type of therapy that will help everyone, especially if you struggle with communication.

That is why you have the option of non-traditional therapy in the form of drama therapy.

What Happens In Drama Therapy?

The exact sessions you will receive will depend on what your drama therapist decides. This is because an individual programme will be created for you in order to aid in your treatment.

To put it simply, during your drama therapy sessions, you will use the dramatic arts to help you reflect on and confront various emotions and past experiences. This can be done in a number of ways. The most widely known way is roleplay.

Roleplay Therapy

Roleplay is a very effective tool as it allows you to play around and not to have to be yourself for once. Many people can find this very freeing as it allows them to gain an outside perspective on their situation and experiences.

As well as using roleplay in order to analyse the past, it can also be used as a technique in order to help you in the future.

For example, you may be afraid of going out and interacting with people when you have completed your treatments. You may be afraid to open up to others in order to build relationships with nontoxic people. But your alter ego could be a bubbly extrovert that can help you take charge of a situation and make real progress when interacting with others.

Roleplay can give you different personas to help you manage your day-to-day life and act as a tool to combat stress which may have once triggered your cravings for drugs or alcohol.

Puppet Therapy

Another widely known drama therapy technique is puppets.

Puppets can give you a focus that allows you to express yourself without having to be too vulnerable. They can act as a shield between the discussion and your innermost thoughts and feelings.

While puppets are often connected with children, many adults also are able to see the benefits to them. They are a conduit for their thoughts and can even tie in quite well with roleplaying.

Naturally, humans want to play around and be a bit silly. Drama therapy just takes this need and desire and uses it to help you to better understand yourself.

Drama Therapy Sessions

You may also do some acting in your drama therapy sessions.

This can often involve you working with the drama therapist to practise different social situations such as interviewing for a job or meeting someone for coffee.

It is there so that you can get comfortable with interacting with people after you have finished your treatments for your addictions. It can also be a very helpful tool for those with anxiety as it helps them to feel more prepared for new and potentially scary situations.

The acting could also be used by the drama therapist to see how you choose to perform certain scenes they give you. Again, they can use this to get a read on how you react to different situations and subject matters.