Drama therapy is a form of counselling that uses drama and theatre-based processes as part of the therapeutic work.

That can sound more complicated than it needs to be.

At its heart, it's about having more than one way to explore something.

Sometimes we understand an experience by talking about it.

Sometimes it helps to tell the story differently. To imagine another possibility. To step into someone else's shoes. To act something out. To create a character. To use a metaphor that says something you can't quite say yourself.

You don't need to know which approach will help before you come in.

We can figure that out together.

There isn't a particular kind of person or problem that belongs in drama therapy.

It might be a way of working with:

• Anxiety or stress

• Difficult emotions

• Depression or low mood

• Trauma or difficult experiences

• Relationships and conflict

• Identity and self-esteem

• Life changes or transitions

• Experiences that are difficult to put into words

Sometimes the creative work might help you understand something.

Sometimes it might help you practice something.

And sometimes it simply gives you a different way of looking at something you've been stuck with.

There isn't a script.

A session might involve a lot of talking. It might involve telling a story, exploring a character, using metaphor, trying out a conversation, moving around the room, or imagining a situation differently.

It might also be very simple.

For example, if there's a conversation you're worried about having, we might try it out together. You could say what you wish you could say, hear how it sounds, and experiment with what you might want to do differently.

Or if something is difficult to talk about directly, we might approach it through a story or character first.

You don't have to perform.

You don't have to be “good” at anything.

And you can always say, “I don't want to do that.”

This should feel like something we're figuring out together, not something you're being asked to perform for your counsellor.

Drama therapy may be part of counselling when you're experiencing:

• Anxiety and stress

• Depression or low mood

• Trauma or difficult experiences

• Difficulties with emotional regulation

• Relationship or social challenges

• Identity and self-esteem concerns

• Life transitions

• Experiences that are difficult to express through conversation alone

Whether it might be useful depends on you, what you're experiencing, and how you like to explore things.

You don't have to be.

You don't need to draw, act, write stories, improvise, or consider yourself an imaginative person.

Drama therapy isn't about producing something creative.

Sometimes creativity simply gives us another language for something that's difficult to explain.

And sometimes the most useful thing we can do is sit and talk.

People don't always experience their lives in neat sentences.

There can be feelings you can't quite name, experiences that are easier to show than explain, or situations that look different when you imagine them from another person's perspective.

Drama therapy gives us another way to approach those things. Sometimes a story, character, metaphor, or trying something out can open up a conversation that wasn't possible through talking alone.

Research into drama therapy with children and adolescents is still developing, but studies have found promising results in areas such as emotional wellbeing, social connection, coping, and self-expression. We don't want to promise that drama therapy will work in a particular way for everyone. We see it as another possible way of doing counselling, depending on the person and what they're looking for.