26.05.11
Theatr-Therapeutic Trends And Integration

THEATR-THERAPEUTIC TRENDS AND INTEGRATION

 

Mgr. Martin Dominik Polinek,

Czech Republik

 

The shift in the paradigm of persons with specific needs care is occurring at the moment. The care system aims at the different dimensions of disability, it attempts to fulfil specific needs of the person in the social and also educative-formative area. The new perspective on care system sets a new objective — inclusion; a society where each person disregarding his/her special needs is its invaluable part. In connection with above described changes in the approach to persons with disability the new special education practice, corresponding with inclusive tendencies, assumes even greater importance than before. It consists particularly of therapeutic-formative methods which represent reliable means for achieving special education objectives. The expressive psychotherapies using art as the means to reach the education, remedial and integrative objectives are becoming more and more important among therapies. Most of them have already got theoretical basis due to which they can be considered an exact scientific discipline (e.g. art-therapy, music therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy).

 

Methods of theatro-therapy (expressive psychotherapy dealing with preparation and presentation of a theatre play with therapeutic objectives, which in comparison to other expressive psychotherapies is closest to the art) have been constantly used within the persons with specific needs care system in the last few years. It is the latest expressive therapy and as such it has not developed theoretical basis in detail yet (target groups, methods, definition of interdisciplinary relations).

 

The report attempts to describe some of the theatro-therapeutic trends in the persons with specific needs care system in the Czech Republic and consequently contribute to development of theoretical basis of the discipline. It aims particularly at: the attitude to overall direction of theatro-therapy (whether it is closer to art or therapy), the attitude to general objectives of theatre-therapy (artistic, therapeutic, educational and integrative), the definition of specific objectives of theatro-therapy, the generalization of methods and structure of theatro-therapeutic intervention, inclusion into the persons with specific needs care system and last but not least professional competencies of theatro-therapy workers.

 

Source: Актуальні проблеми навчання та виховання людей в інтегрованому освітньому середовищі. Збірник наукових праць № 6 (8). 2008


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