Evaluation of dramatherapeutical process for clients with neurotic disorder

Dramatherapy offers healing through involvement in dramatic reality. The space of pretend play that dramatherapy creates provides an opportunity for experimenting safely with new behaviours and roles. Stepping in and out of the metaphor of a story and playing on the verge of truth and lie provide personal experiences of insight and catharsis. The connections of thought and emotions that happen in dramatherapeutic activities are an important part of treatment of people with neurotic disorders, as they address the need of the psychosomatic nature of the disorders. Dramatherapeutical process is individual and it happens as an inner change, within the person. Therefore, similar to psychotherapy, evaluations of dramatherapeutical processes are usually based on observations of changes in the behaviour of clients. To capture the specific potential for change of engagement in dramatic activities, development of dramatherapeutically specific observation scales is necessary.