It’s the ‘group’ that matters: Dramatherapy working with a group of parents and their children who have profound and multiple learning difficulties

Abstract

This article focuses on the practicalities, playful interventions and value of facilitating a family dramatherapy group at a Special Needs primary school. The group, comprised of four children with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and their four primary carers, is co-facilitated by the author, a qualified dramatherapist, and a teaching member of staff. As the majority of children travel to and from school on a specially provided bus, there are few opportunities for their parents to meet one another. The dramatherapy group provides the parents with the opportunity to speak about the practical and medical aspects prevalent in their family worlds. It also offers all the participants something different: a ‘secure base’ which encourages individuals to take creative risks, attune, and reflect back feelings present within the group as part of a contained and confidential experience. Their unique relationships are witnessed, valued and developed through the therapeutic mediums of drama and movement. The article explores the theory related to the practice, and evidences, promotes and evaluates the rationale for family work with this client group.