Dramatherapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses creative and embodied approaches to support emotional wellbeing, self-understanding and change. It is not about being “good at acting” or performing in front of people. You do not need theatre experience. You do not need to be confident, outgoing or dramatic. Dramatherapy simply uses the tools of theatre and creativity to help people explore what may be difficult to put into words.
When we go to the theatre, we know that the experience is never created by one thing alone. There may be actors, characters, props, music, movement, lighting, setting, costume, audience, rhythm, silence, a director, and a particular genre or mood. Dramatherapy draws on these same elements, but in a therapeutic way.
A dramatherapy session might include story, metaphor, objects, image-making, role, movement, play, conversation or reflection. Sometimes the work is quiet and gentle. Sometimes it is active and expressive. Often, it is both.
The Mind-Body Connection
We are not just thinking minds. We are also bodies, nervous systems, relationships, histories and imaginations. Increasingly, research recognises that emotion, memory, stress and trauma are not held only in our thoughts. They are also experienced through sensation, posture, breath, movement, tension, energy, numbness and activation.
This is one reason creative and embodied therapies can be so powerful. Sometimes talking directly about an experience feels too much, too exposing or too soon. Dramatherapy offers another way in. Through metaphor, story, movement or symbolic play, a person can explore something at a safe distance. The work can be deep without being overwhelming.
Dramatherapy sits within the wider family of creative arts therapies and embodied psychotherapies, where there is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of creative, relational and embodied approaches in supporting mental health and recovery from trauma.
Some useful reading on the mind-body connection and creative therapies
UK Research & Organisations
- Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR) Research suggests that creative arts therapies — including drama, music, art and movement therapies — can be effective interventions for children and young people who have experienced trauma. Read more →
- University of Worcester Research exploring arts-led approaches to trauma, memory and healing, highlighting the importance of creative and embodied approaches in supporting recovery and wellbeing. Read more (PDF) →
- UK Higher Education Research on Creative Therapies Research examining the role of arts therapies in supporting emotional wellbeing and resilience in educational and community settings. Read more (PDF) →
International Research
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health An overview of research into mind-body practices and brain-body interactions. Read more →
- Embodied Cognition and Psychotherapy Research exploring how our thoughts, emotions and experiences are deeply connected to our bodily experiences and relationships with others. Read more →
Dramatherapy is Collaborative
A dramatherapy session is collaborative. The therapist does not direct you like an actor on a stage. Instead, you and the therapist work together to find a way of exploring what matters to you. This might involve:
- talking
- using objects
- creating a scene
- working with characters
- drawing
- movement
- story
- metaphor
- or simply noticing what happens in the body
For example, someone might explore an anxious part, a protective part, a playful part, a critical part, or a younger part of themselves. This can connect with parts-based approaches such as Internal Family Systems (IFS), where different aspects of the self are understood as having roles, needs and intentions. In dramatherapy, these parts can sometimes be externalised through objects, roles, images or characters, making them easier to understand and relate to.
Trauma-Informed and Safe
Dramatherapy is trauma-informed. This means the work moves at a pace that feels safe enough. Choice, consent and collaboration are central. You are not forced to:
- act things out
- revisit traumatic memories
- perform
- or disclose anything before you are ready
The focus is on supporting regulation, connection, curiosity and meaning-making.
It’s Not Scary — It Can Even Be Fun
Many people worry that dramatherapy means acting or performing. It doesn’t. Therapy does not always have to feel heavy to be effective. Play, imagination and creativity can help people reconnect with parts of themselves that may have been shut down by stress, anxiety, trauma, grief or life transitions.
Dramatherapy can create space for:
- humour
- creativity
- playfulness
- experimentation
- confidence
- curiosity
- and surprise
— as well as sadness, anger, fear or grief.
Who Can Benefit from Dramatherapy?
People seek dramatherapy for many different reasons, including anxiety, low mood, trauma, attachment difficulties, identity, grief, neurodivergence, relationship difficulties, stress, emotional regulation, eating disorders, and life transitions.
It can be especially helpful for people who:
- struggle to find words for their experience
- feel stuck in talking therapy
- or sense that their difficulties are held in the body as much as in the mind
Dramatherapy Can Be Offered in Different Ways
Dramatherapy can be offered through one-to-one therapy, group therapy, couples therapy, family work, schools, community groups, and workshops or organisations.
Some people prefer individual therapy, where the work is focused entirely on their own needs. Others benefit from group dramatherapy, where shared stories, witnessing and connection become part of the therapeutic process.
Dramatherapy Training in Scotland
I began my dramatherapy training in 2014 at the University of Roehampton in London. At that time, there was no dramatherapy training course available in Scotland, so anyone based here who wanted to train had to travel elsewhere.
I am so happy that this has now changed, with the opportunity to train in dramatherapy here in Scotland at Queen Margaret University. It feels important and exciting that future dramatherapists can now develop their practice closer to home and within a Scottish context.
I would warmly welcome new dramatherapy trainees to get in touch with me. Whether you are curious about the profession, beginning training, or looking to connect with other arts therapists in Scotland, I would be very happy to hear from you.
I also offer personal therapy for trainees undertaking professional training in:
- Dramatherapy
- Art Psychotherapy
- Music Therapy
- Dance Movement Psychotherapy
- and Play Therapy
Training in the therapeutic professions can be both rewarding and demanding. I provide a creative, reflective and supportive therapeutic space to accompany trainees through their personal and professional development.
Finding a Dramatherapist in Scotland
In Scotland, dramatherapists are allied health professionals and should be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This means they have completed recognised professional training and are required to meet standards of safe and ethical practice.
At its heart, dramatherapy is about creating a safe, imaginative and relational space where people can explore themselves more fully. It uses the language of theatre, but the aim is not performance.