#dramatherapy artpsychotherapy dancemovementpsychotherapy playtherapy musictherapy

[whatthehellistherapy]

Interprofessional learning and practise. APT010l003Y

Interprofessional learning and practise. APT010l003Y (1443 words)

Dramatherapists, whether you’re still in training or have been a registered practitioner in this field for years, we all ‘kind of’ know that other arts therapies’ techniques can creep into our work. We are often encouraging our clients to embody their experiences and feelings and I’m sure you have a stack of arts materials, a box of small world objects and a drum (at the very least) that all make regular appearances in your sessions. We borrow from other modalities regularly, but what’s the link? How relevant are the skills found in the related professions to the work we do with our clients, and to us as therapist? And why is it that they cross over into our field of work seemingly so easily?

I’ve got two left feet, never got the end of ‘three blind mice’ on the recorder at school and can barely draw a half decent stick man, so how can I incorporate dance movement psychotherapy, music therapy, art psychotherapy and or play therapy into my work as a dramatherapist? And should I even bother? Can’t we just stick to what we know and draw on our knowledge and experience using character, story and script work?

I had the opportunity to attend workshops for all other modalities within arts therapy with the aim of gaining some further understanding of why I often incorporate at least some of their techniques in my own work with clients of all ages, across broad and varied settings. The first thing that really struck me about the arts therapies is that they all encourage a type of creativity that often comes naturally to children. When thinking about the development of a very young child before any sort of cognitive understanding or clarity, there often comes sound, movement, play and creativity, all of which can be linked to a means of communication. This concept resonated with Sue Jennings’s developmental paradigm of ‘Embodiment, Projection and Role’ and lectures and research suddenly came hurtling back and reminding me of the importance of understanding a client’s early interactions in relation to self and other.

One of the first things mentioned in the music therapy workshop was the idea of being ‘along side’ a client without the use of words, communicating through a ‘transcendence of language’ and ‘music links with our innermost emotional, spiritual and most private selves, and yet is also a social experience.’ (Stige and Bunt, 2014)

I learnt that a lot of research has been done into the very earliest stages of communication and there is an inherent musicality in pre-verbal infant/carer interactions. During this particular workshop I was struck by the realisation of how powerful and evocative music can be in relation to feelings. You know, every time you hear that specific song and you suddenly feel like you’re headlining your very own world tour? Or the moment in a film when you’re holding back tears and then the music starts and suddenly your popcorn is swimming in a small salty river of your own making? And haven’t we all stared moodily out of the window of a bus or car and imagined ourselves in a music video? No? Just me? Well, if we admit it or not, music can affect us. It can move us, and it can be a vital tool in helping us connect to emotions we may not be able to vocalise and sometimes they may even be feelings we aren’t fully aware of.

(the picture shows just some of the instruments used during the music therapy workshop)

I found a similar connection during my participation in the dance movement psychotherapy workshop. I learnt that the therapists’ intention is for the client to embody an experience rather than rely solely on words. We were invited to take part in a pair exercise where one person leads, moving as they wish with a motivation or an emotion in mind, and their partner aims to simply be ‘along-side.’ They are not controlling or changing the client’s behaviour but taking the time to notice and support them physically. After all, the therapists’ role is not to try to ‘fix’ but to be ‘with’ the client. This reinforced for me, the importance of considering the whole person when working therapeutically. I have personally found I difficult at times to work in the body both in training to be a dramatherapist and in my previous training as an actor but I also respect and understand how important it is for this type of creative therapeutic work. It is vital we learn to notice what a client is communicating beyond what they may or may not be saying and developing these skills can be particularly important, especially when working with clients who are none verbal or who have limited verbal communication skills. The idea of working with the whole client in therapy, establishing a link between body and mind, which is less commonly found in more traditional and more cognitive therapeutic approaches, appeared paramount across all the arts therapies and is an idea supported by Bessel van der Kolk, in ‘The body keeps the score.’ This book explores how trauma is manifested in the body, it has links to some illness and disease, and it is interesting to see how that may influence our work with our clients.

I experienced a theme of transcendence of language across all the arts therapies as each workshop focused at some point on the therapists’ ability to be along side the client in their expression of self. It was clearly less important to focus on what the client created and much more about what they were communicating. The importance is not on the creation of a piece of music, a dance or a sculpt but it is the lived experience between the client and therapist that offers the most value and space for therapeutic change. 

The play therapy workshop put emphasis on giving the child permission, not to change or question their choices but to be alongside, to allow them to play and to be creative. This brought up my desire to ‘fix’ or to ‘make better’ and I often find myself wanting to step into the role of the rescuer and regularly explore this in supervision. The notion that there is no right and wrong is an idea I found, present throughout all modalities and something I learnt in each of these workshops. I found this vital in helping to establish not only a safe space for the child or client to work but also to enable a relationship between client and therapist to form. Arguably one of the most important factors for therapy.

I entered these workshops with concern over my ability, or lack thereof (thanks shadow) and thoughts such as, ‘I can’t dance, am I too fat for leggings? I’m no good at art. I can’t play an instrument and what if I play out of tune?’ all allowed my self-judgement to creep in before I’d even started. It made me think of how our life experiences, including experience of trauma, contribute to the development and growth of the shadow and what this can mean in terms of our relationship to creativity, and in turn, therapy.

The art therapist began by sharing a quote from the Peter London book, ‘No more second-hand art’ and stated ‘Meaning, not beauty, is what we are after.’ This really resonated with my own sense of judgement and the pressure I place on myself to be ‘good enough.’ In relation to my clients, I noticed how important it is to allow their feelings to be present and how a non-judgemental and permissive approach found throughout the arts therapies can help to hold a client throughout the work.

So, how and why do we incorporate these other modalities in our work? Well, I realised through attending these workshops that, in one way or another that they all go hand in hand. Creativity is not limited. It isn’t about choosing and rigidly sticking to one form or the other. As creative therapists we have a set of tools which change and grow as we learn and understand and they can be adapted to our clients. We, as humans are not mind then body. We are one whole being, we feel as well as think. Our emotions live in us and not apart from us. Creativity is usually the first and the most natural, innate means of communication and if we can keep this in mind and continue to understand its importance, we can enable our clients to work with their emotion, their life experiences, their trauma and pave the way for understanding, permission and positive change.

Bibliography

Stige, B. Bunt, L. (2014) ‘Music therapy: an art beyond words’, 2nd edition, London, Routledge.

Van Der Kolk, B. (2014) ‘The Body Keeps the Score’, UK, Penguin.

London, P. (1989) ‘No More Second-Hand Art: awakening the artist within,’ USA, Shambhala Publications