Who's that behind You? What Do We Knowingly Or Unknowingly Bring from Our Heritage that Colours the Way We Interpret and Practise Dramatherapy?

Abstract

The current article reflects on how cultural influences can impact on the work of someone who has never been wholly immersed in their own culture. It considers this from the position of a Dramatherapist currently working with young people with mental health difficulties.

It touches on the areas of formative experiences and how they may be assimilated or rejected to produce ‘cultural templates’ that we may choose to adopt.

It concludes with the idea that ‘our culture’ is composed of the many things we personally choose to adhere to and therefore it is much more of an individual statement than is generally accepted.

This article is a redrafting of the keynote workshop presentation made for the BADth Equal Opportunities Subcommittee Workshop Day on April 25th 2009.