A duoethnographic exploration of the diversification of Dramatherapy practice during the Covid-19 pandemic: Considering therapeutic framing and alliance while working remotely

Abstract

The article is written by two Dramatherapists working for a community interest company offering arts psychotherapies and arts for health and wellbeing services to a variety of client groups. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation experienced an increase in client referrals. The multidisciplinary team considered ethical implications to create policies, procedures and ways of working via remote practice. This article considers the diversification of approaches to Dramatherapy when working remotely, including framing and its impact on the therapeutic alliance. It considers clients who began interventions remotely and those who transitioned from in-person working to remote. The article takes a duoethnographic approach voicing Dramatherapists’ personal experiences and reflections of transitioning their practice. Thematic analysis is applied to the therapist’s data set and a small-scale collection of client feedback to enhance meaning-making. Findings are presented through inclusion of therapist and client vignettes, including themes of feeling deskilled, adaptivity, assessing, disclosures, framing, therapeutic alliance and facilitation. Exploration of experiences shared by therapist and clients further informs Dramatherapy practice both now and for the future. The Dramatherapists conclude by identifying that an effective alliance can occur remotely, and that Dramatherapeutic techniques can be diversified into the world of remote practice. In addition, providing remote Dramatherapy could widen the diversity of individuals who can access.