My Approach
To give you some context for my work, I want to start with two questions most people ask when they hear the words “drama therapy”: (1) What’s drama therapy? and (2) What does that actually look like in a session?
(1)
The North American Drama Therapy Association defines drama therapy like this: “Drama therapy is an embodied practice that is active and experiential. This approach can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis. Through drama, the depth and breadth of inner experience can be actively explored and interpersonal relationship skills can be enhanced.”
(2)
And what does it look like in action? Well, at the end of the day, there’s no single answer. It really depends on you, the client: your comfort, your interests, your needs. Some days, we might sit and talk. Other days, we might practice some physical movement, draw or paint, or try a bit of improvisation. There’s no prescription for how it should look. If every session consists of sitting and talking, that’s absolutely okay, and if every session looks like literal theater, that’s welcome, too.
When asked to describe my approach, I usually circle back to six factors: creativity, imagination, embodiment, story, role, and play. These values can be dismissed or diminished in much of the mainstream. Society tends to pit intellect against imagination, privilege work over play, and prefer compliance to creativity. The therapy I practice subverts those assumptions.
Every day, every one of us lives out another chapter of a specific story. In counseling, you’re invited to look at your story, just as you’re living it right now, and see if there are new ways to relate to it, rewrite it, or reframe it. In the midst of that process, I’ll walk alongside you, offering support. I’ll be a witness to your journey, and I’ll hold every step along the way with compassion and care. The story you’re writing? It's worth it.