Dramatherapy - MA

Get professional training in dramatherapy: our emphasis on clinical placements and a range of dramatherapy approaches will prepare you for work in the arts therapies. When you graduate, you will be qualified to work as a dramatherapist in the UK and overseas, and eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK.

• Qualify to register with the Health and Care Professions Council – a legal requirement for practising dramatherapists in the UK
• Study at a world class centre for music and dramatherapy alongside leading experts
• Study in Cambridge, ideally connected for the best placements and practice
• Join our worldwide network of professional arts therapists

Through lectures, practical workshops, case discussions and theoretical studies, our course will introduce you to a range of approaches to dramatherapy. You will reflect on your own practice in group discussions, and be supported by an extensive programme of tutorials and supervisions.

Your studies will focus on intercultural practice, attachment/mother-infant observation and the understanding of how past relationships manifest in current client difficulties – and how they can be worked with through the dramatherapeutic relationship. You will also work with music therapists in lectures and performance work, such as Playback Theatre.

Our experiential teaching will focus on your own dramatic autobiographical process, dramatherapy theory, links between theory and practice, and bi-weekly experiential dramatherapy groups. In these, you will reflect upon your clinical experiences and the process of becoming a dramatherapist.

You will take part in clinical placements in two to three fields, under the supervision of qualified dramatherapists. Your placements could be in community settings, schools, hospitals or hospices, giving you valuable experience of working in a multidisciplinary team and great preparation for employment.

Supported by our team of practising and research-active dramatherapists, including Course Leader Sophia Condaris, Mandy Carr (co-author, Collaborations Within and Between Dramatherapy and Music Therapy) and Dr Ditty Dokter (over 30 years' experience as a practising dramatherapist), you will have access to the latest and most effective dramatherapy approaches with both adults and children, as well as to the best advice for your future career.

_Careers

As a qualified dramatherapist you will be able to work in many different areas, such as the NHS, social services, education, or community projects. You may also choose to work privately or on a freelance basis, with a client base from prisoners to children with learning difficulties.

Successful completion of this course will allow you to register with the Health and Care Professions Council – a legal requirement for practising dramatherapists in the UK.

You will also benefit from our links with the British Association of Dramatherapists and other allied health professions and practitioners, such as psychotherapists, arts therapists and psychiatrists.

Year one, core modules

• Clinical Placements and Experiential Development 1
• Music Therapy and Dramatherapy Multidisciplinary Theoretical Studies
• Dramatherapy Practice and Clinical Skills

Year two, core modules

• Clinical Placements and Experiential Development 2
• MA Therapies Major Project

_Placements

You will spend much of your time on clinical placements in a range of settings, such as schools, hospitals, hospices and other community settings.

_{Specialist facilities}

You will work in our purpose-built therapy centre, which includes state-of-the-art therapy rooms and a large hall. The centre is used for all of our teaching and for our professional therapy consultations.

You can get access, and receive full training in, all of our creative industries facilities, including a fully-equipped drama studio, two other large drama rehearsal spaces, a recital hall, a suite of computer music studios and music practice rooms and a full range of specialised dramatherapy props and equipment.

Our Cambridge campus also houses the Mumford Theatre, a full-size venue for professional touring companies.

_Research

Our dramatherapy staff are internationally renowned researchers and consultants and our music, dramatherapy and performing arts research is recognised as 'world-leading' (Research Excellence Framework, 2014). We hold regular international conferences and support a vigorous community of research students.

Course Leader: Sophia Condaris

Visit the Dramatherapy - MA page on the Anglia Ruskin University website for more details!