The Drama Therapy Decision Tree: Connecting Drama Therapy Interventions to Treatment

This book provides the reader with a thorough understanding of drama therapy methods through the provision of examples so therapists can select the most appropriate methods and apply them themselves. The authors provide a common language for communicating what drama therapists do in terms of diagnoses and interventions, especially for new students in the field. There has been no systematic method developed for drama therapists and drama therapy students for selecting the most appropriate drama therapy technique or method for clients. Typically, students leave university and have to work out how to plan treatment through trial and error. This book is not intended as an instruction manual, but the authors of this book have identified and analysed how they approached this task themselves, and they explain how the theory learnt at university can be put into practice. Their desire is to give early career drama therapy professionals a reliable and effective tool for making the best clinical decisions they can. This book is not only an educational tool, but also a practitioner’s reference tool for planning how to address the socio-emotional needs of their clients. Readers will find this timely book offers structure to drama therapy teachers and students alike. It explains the basic tools that drama therapists use in all therapy situations, starting with the therapeutic process, then moves on to identify the core healing concepts that make drama therapy so powerful and unique. The diagnostic systems used by all mental health professionals (DSM-5 and ICD-11) are integrated by relating the core healing concepts and tools to the symptoms of diagnoses. The basic treatment planning process is also discussed. The book then explains how these components are used together systematically through a series of questions (that the therapist asks themself) in order to identify the most appropriate type of intervention for the client. Finally, the book offers several examples of how this system can be applied to a variety of common diagnoses. The appendices provide resources about drama therapy in terms of theory, approach and specific population. Of primary relevance to teachers and students of drama therapy, and drama therapists and integrative arts therapists in training and early career stages. May be useful for other professionals interested in drama therapy and related creative or therapeutic practices where theatre and drama are used. Note: in the US context there is a wider range of related practices, which are often regarded as part of drama therapy.

About the Author

Sally Bailey is Professor of Theatre and Director of the Drama Therapy Program at Kansas State University. She is a recipient of the North American Drama Therapy Association's Teaching Excellence Award, Service Award, and Gertrud Schattner Award.

Paige Dickinson is associate professor in the Creative Arts Collegium at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her research focus is on pedagogy and professional development in the field of drama therapy. She is the recipient of the John Satterfield Outstanding Mentor Award.

Sally Bailey is a registered drama therapist, professor of theatre and director of the drama therapy program at Kansas State University. Her book Barrier-Free Theatre (Idyll Arbor, 2010) received the American Alliance for Theatre in Education’s 2011 Distinguished Book Award. Her recent books include The Drama Therapy Decision Tree (co-authored with Paige Dickinson, Intellect, 2021), Drama in the Inclusive Classroom (Routledge, 2021) and Careers in Creative Arts Therapies (Routledge, 2021). A past president of the North American Drama Therapy Association, she is the recipient of the 2006 NADTA Gertrud Schattner Award and the 2018 NADTA Teaching Excellence Award.