Drama Therapy: Getting Into Deeper Material
As I grew into a young adult and working actor, I realized that what I really liked about performing was getting to relate to people—hearing their stories both on and off the stage. After developing a strong foundation and appreciation for acting, I started gravitating towards something else, something that allowed me to have rich, deep, mind-altering, and life-changing conversations as a result of diving into deeper material. This led me to study drama therapy and get my degree in counseling psychology.
After grad school, I had many different agency jobs that include working with children suffering from trauma, adults recovering from psychiatric disruptions, and adults and elderly people living in long-term care facilities. Ultimately I decided to move away from agency work in order to have more freedom. Since then, I’ve continued to layer my practice with the arts and have found a deep connection to guided imagery and depth hypnosis.
Ready Is Good Enough
I do a great deal of work around perfectionism. The key paradox—worrying so much about being perfect that you miss out on simply living—reminds me of theatre. You plan and plan, create sets, design the lights, and select costumes; the actors get cast and they rehearse with a director; and then you perform. Everyone hopes for perfection. This might be what the audience came for, yet there’s something exhilarating about watching a play or TV show where you know something went a little wrong. What will they do? My favorite parts of Saturday Night Live or I Love Lucy are when you can tell they have started to improvise.
It’s incredible to feel polished and practiced. To feel ready. When you’re ready, you don’t need to be perfect. When you’re prepared, all your tools are at your disposal, to help navigate whatever arises on stage or in life.
I share these tools with my clients because I believe they can ease suffering and promote better self-awareness. Because they make it easier to process and work through difficult moments that inevitably arise. Once we have them at our disposal, we no longer need to be “perfect” or constantly chase a fleeting sense of achievement. We can simply be.
What does it truly mean to “be”? For me, it’s a belief that you deserve to take up space and feel like there’s room for you in the world. We’ll discover this room for you together.
Photo credit: Vincent Carrella