Date of Award

Spring 5-20-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Jason Frydman, PhD, RDT/BCT, NCSP

Abstract

TraumaPlay is a specific play therapy model designed to meet the unique needs of children with exposure to traumatic and/or adverse experiences through clearly identified treatment components. With this, drama therapy has also been considered as a viable treatment option, particularly in the school setting, for children with exposure to traumatic and/or adverse experiences. Additional literature has identified overlaps between play therapy and drama therapy practices. As such, the aim of this thesis was to propose a method which explores whether the drama therapy core processes can be integrated with TraumaPlay’s foundational treatment goals to augment the therapeutic process of a child with exposure to traumatic and/or adverse experiences. This method was implemented during two sessions of individual school-based counseling with one child who has a known trauma history. The results of this process showed promising outcomes for using the core processes of distancing, dramatic projection, embodiment, dramatic reality, and dramatic play to amplify positive coping skills, soothe the physiology, increase emotional literacy, address the thought life, and make positive meaning of the post-trauma self. This exploration suggests that the integration of drama therapy core processes with TraumaPlay components has the potential to augment the therapeutic process of children who have experienced trauma and/or adverse experiences.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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