dramatherapy? Psychodrama?

[SaphiraL at aol.com]

Dear Colleagues,
I so appreciate this question Rebecca. I also appreciated Adam's detailed  
perspective about the differences between psychodrama and drama therapy. 
This is  a question I deal with continually as a Board Certified Trainer of 
Drama Therapy  who, as a psychodramatist as well, has trained countless numbers 
of students  about this difference. Since working with the Morenos in the 
late 1960s, I have  a strong fondness and appreciation of psychodrama and it 
has always played a  major role in my drama therapy trainings:
 
The short answer I give is: Psychodrama was the first of what became  
Expressive Arts Therapies later. (I appreciate that some psychodramatists don't  
identify as an expressive arts therapist). After psychodrama was developed, 
art  therapy, dance therapy, music therapy, sound healing, poetry therapy 
evolved,  each with their own professional credentialing organizations. Three 
decades ago,  it was felt by several psychologists, psychotherapists, and  
others, who used other drama modalities in their practices, that there  
needed to be a broader field that included psychodrama as a base modality, while  
adding other forms of theater and drama to their clinical work. This 
includes  many forms of improvisation, creative drama and theater games, creative  
journaling, music, self scripting, self revelatory theater (which we call  
Transformational Theater, that works with the autobiographical material of 
the  student toward transformation and healing). I would also add that I have 
 trained several people who came to me as psychologists, social workers,  
teachers, nurses, clergy, management trainers and other kinds of  therapists, 
who wanted to integrate more drama into their practices. In order to  be 
credentialed as a Drama Therapist (RDT), a person has to have a Masters  
degree in a psychology or theater related field. Everyone has required  
psychology courses. It is true, as Adam points out, that the majority of  students 
began as theater students and professionals, wanting to use their  gifts in 
the service of healing, but there are far more psychotherapists, who  have 
come for the training than perhaps is known. 
 
On a personal note, I have been a strong advocate within our professional  
organization (NADT) that drama therapy students should be required to take 
more  psychodrama training than is now required. In our program, they do. 
Similarly,  as a CP/PAT one of my hopes is to have more dialogue between the 
two  organizations and more cooperation in terms of supporting very 
experienced Drama  Therapists, who have been experienced in psychodrama, directing for 
many years,  to be recognized and encouraged with less required hours for 
credentialing.  Similarly, I believe very experienced psychodramatists should 
be more easily  able to be credentialed as an RDT. For example, just as I 
experienced other art  forms being used as warm ups in Zerka's training 
workshop last year, (doing  movement to a chosen card, each of which had images), 
I believe it is  so important to all be open to develop our skills in every 
way possible. I  feel that our combined field is small, within the 
psychology world and  there should be ways that we could be more mutually supportive 
in expanding the  work and the field, while keeping our individual 
identities.
 
Thanks for the opportunity to respond Rebecca. I hope this helps.
Saphira Linden  
 
 
For more information contact:
Omega Theater at 617-522-8300 or  email: _info at omegatheater.o_ 
(mailto:info at omegatheater.org) rg

Omega Transpersonal Drama Therapy  Certificate Program
On the web: _http://www.omegatheater.org/_ (http://www.omegatheater.org/) 
41  Greenough Ave,
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 (In Boston)
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