Dramatherapy in Schools and Community Youth Settings:

I have been working within schools and community setting for the past 16 years.

Dramatherapy is particularly helpful to children and young people as it is a safe, gentle and sometimes non verbal form of psychological therapy, within which young people can express themselves creatively and explore their emotional world for the benefit of their lives at school, at home and within their communities.

Therapy sessions are weekly and depending on the age and of the pupil are 45 minutes for one to one sessions and 1 hour for a group of between four and six young people. Although sessions are confidential as this allows for more trust within the therapy space, regular feedback is provided on a general basis. However, it is made very clear that to all young people that if I have any concerns for their physical or emotional well being, I will be informing another adult and take safe guarding very seriously.

I can offer:

Individual and group therapy.

Short and longer term sessions.

Thorough assessments.

Outcome reports.

Regular verbal and written communication with family and teachers and other agencies where relevant.

Dramatherapy can help with:

Self-esteem, confidence building, relationships, concentration, familial issues.

…and mental health issues such as:

Anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress, depression, bereavement, bullying, self-harm etc

School Testimonials.

‘‘.........thank you for all you have done, and are doing. There are large numbers of students who have gained considerably from your care, input and support, and for that we are extremely grateful. We are also really appreciating your helpful feedback on the students, which is helping us to support them appropriately during the week.”

— Mrs Del Cooke - Head Teacher, Henrietta Barnett School Hampstead Garden Suburbs.

‘‘Susanna’s support for the most vulnerable offers a level of expertise and therapeutic experience that we don’t have at our school. Her professionalism and kindness help them to understand and cope with some of the difficulties they face and they are able to manage more emotionally and focus on their studies.”

— Maureen Holder - Head Mentor, Tudor School, Finchley.

The Priory Hospital Adolescent Unit:

Weekly sessions with young people living on the unit with acute mental health problems.

Therapeutic Workshops for Adopt London West with groups of 10 young adoptees covering various therapeutic themes.

Aims to:

• Increase young people’s feelings of safety by offering structure, creating a predictable environment and offering consistency in relation to arrival/departure times during the workshop.

• Enhance Self-Regulation by supporting the building of relationships and promoting the group to identify, label and cope with affect building and supporting ‘in the moment’ regulation skills, but also offering the individual support to develop young people’s ability to manage emotions while drawing on techniques.

• Help young people develop a positive self-image and improved self-esteem by helping young people develop new skills, being a part of a group and working together.

• Give young people a greater sense of control by giving each one a role within the workshop.

• Support the Development of Secure Attachment building relationships through natural interactions in a positive and safe group experience.

Testimonial from the Social Work Team:

At Adopt London West we have run 3 therapeutic drama workshops with Susanna over the past couple of years. As social workers we love working with Susanna and the workshops have had such positive impacts on the children who have attended. Susanna brings incredible energy, creativity, compassion and expertise when she runs these groups. The combination of Susanna’s extensive group work experience, her expertise in trauma and attachment and her many years of experience as a drama therapist mean that she runs these groups with great confidence and she is able to hold and work with the complex dynamics, emotions and behaviours in the room.

 We have loved Susanna’s creative ideas and how flexible and nimble she is; she plans a lot of activities so that if something isn’t gelling for the children, she can quickly move on to something else. She creates different zones in the workshop space and allows children to join in in whichever way they are comfortable which was really refreshing for them. As staff we also felt well supported and well held by Susanna who showed great leadership in running the groups whilst genuinely collaborating with us, and with the children on ideas.

Testimonials from parents:

“I wanted to reach out and say a huge thank you to Susanna, you and the team that facilitated last week’s drama workshop. My son appears far more confident and relaxed! He also felt able to disclose an incident of bullying that has been worrying and affecting him at school. I believe this is directly related to the level of trust, acceptance and empowerment he felt, and as the week progressed he grew in confidence enough to be able to recognise and speak out about the hurt he has been experiencing.”

“Thank you for inviting my son to join the workshop and for providing him with an incredible experience and supportive environment, showing him he can be who he is, and be proud of that.”

 “I wanted to congratulate you and team for such a successful and excellent Easter holiday camp. ‘my daughter’ looked forward to every day with great excitement, (that was really refreshing to witness) and her mood has been much lighter since attending!”