General Information
 
Drama therapy integrates the methods of drama and theatre with those of psychotherapy to facilitate personal change. Engaging in therapy with diverse populations, drama therapists assist clients in attaining goals which may include personal and emotional growth, ego development and psychological integration, behavioral change, the development of social skills, and improvement in quality of life.  
 
The roots of drama therapy are as ancient as humanity's earliest known healing rituals, which commonly made use of masks, storytelling, enactments and catharsis. Drama therapy is also deeply indebted to the pioneering work of psychiatrist J. L. Moreno, who, in the early twentieth century, founded the field known as psychodrama, although drama therapy complements and is different from psychodrama. Influenced by experimental approaches to theatre, group dynamics, role playing and psychology in the 1960's, drama therapy truly emerged as a creative arts therapy in the 1970's. Today, it is a unique psychotherapeutic discipline practiced with children, adolescents and adults in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, rehabilitation clinics and community centres. There are presently academic training programmes in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Israel and the United States. The National Association for Drama Therapy (U. S. A.) was established in 1979 and the British Association for Dramatherapy in 1977, and there is a growing international body of professional drama therapists who are advancing research and practice in this exciting branch of the creative arts therapies. 
 
Drama Therapy at Concordia 
Undergraduate introductory courses in drama therapy have become well established at Concordia since their initial introduction in the early 1980's within the Drama in Education Program (DINE). The courses TDEV 421 Introduction to Drama Therapy, and TDEV 302 Theatre with Diverse Populations have been instrumental in generating student demand for a graduate program that provides the qualifications necessary for professional practice.  
 
The MA in Creative Arts Therapies, Drama Therapy Option, is an intensive two-year preparation for professional competence in the implementation of the dramatic arts in therapy. It is designed to educate and train drama therapists who will function as competent primary or adjunct professionals in their field with a strong sense of ethical and social responsibility. As mentioned above, the Drama Therapy Option was designed to meet the program requirements of the Education Committee of the National Association for Drama Therapy, and formal approval by the NADT was awarded in 2000. 
 
Practicum placements in drama therapy are central to student learning experience. Practicum experience entails observing and working with health care professionals, as well as direct contact with patients. Skill in the implementation of the principles and practices of drama therapy is developed on site in fieldwork/practicum placements that are extensively supervised by a variety of experienced practitioners. Practicum sites for drama therapy students include hospital and health care institutions, community centres, geriatric facilities, and schools. Ideas for research which emerge from this hands-on experience become the basis for case studies, research papers, and special projects. 
 
Career opportunities for graduates in drama therapy exist in hospitals, community centres, rehabilitative centres, counseling agencies, schools, family and child guidance agencies and universities. 
 
For general questions, check the Frequently Asked Questions section on this website. If you cannot find an answer there, please see the Contact us area of this website. For advisement tel: (514) 848-2424 ext.5214 
email: infodt@alcor.concordia.ca