A creative resource to engage clients in their dramatherapy journey

Roundabout has been using group and individual books in sessions with older people for many years. The group or individual book has come to be a vital, interesting and beneficial focus in the dramatherapy sessions. It is a record of the work, creating a link between sessions, and acts as a visual and tangible memory aid from week to week. It can be a wonderfully creative and useful evaluation tool, as it tracks the development of clients and their engagement in the sessions. It gives value to the lives and experiences of individuals, increasing their imaginative and creative abilities.

Resources needed

Spiral Bound Book with good quality card pages. A4 or slightly larger for group; A4 or smaller for individuals

Scissors

Glue

Pictures

Photographs

Stickers

Poems

Stories

Introducing and developing the Book

The book is usually introduced in the very first session and an explanation given to the group or individual about how it might be used from week to week. A good way to start can be to create the front page, with the name of the group (discussed with the group members as to what this should be), each person’s name (signed themselves if possible), and decorated with stickers, etc. Over the course of the weeks/months, each topic or theme is recorded into the book. Eventually it will be full of the discussions, memories, photos, stories, artwork, poems, etc., that have taken place throughout the dramatherapy work.

Each book that is created with every group or individual will be unique, reflecting the diversity of the members and serving as a colourful, rich and tangible record of the group or individual’s progress.

At the end of each project, Roundabout copies the book, and returns the original to the home or individual. Copies of pages or the whole book are used (if consent has been given at the beginning of the project by the client or group) for showing to funders, used in evaluation or research, or in workshops that help to illustrate the potential for dramatherapy work with older people.

Quotes from clients

“Today was very good. We’ve had music, words, poetry – an array of goodness.”

“It’s been a very happy time, and very sad that it’s going to come to an end. I look forward to seeing the book.”

Quotes from staff regarding use of the Group Book after a project has finished

“The group books and reports were a very pleasant surprise … we have been showing them to the families and residents. We will cherish them.”

“My residents are fascinated by it. I think by seeing themselves in the book, it has made them feel special.”