Course overview

Our MA in Dramatherapy provides you with professional training in dramatherapy with an emphasis on clinical placements and an introduction to various dramatherapy approaches. Alongside our well-established MA in Music Therapy, through separate and some shared teaching, this course will train suitable, experienced practitioners at Masters level, adhering to UK professional standards.

Our course will qualify you to work as a dramatherapist and, pending official approval, successful candidates will be eligible for registration with the Health Professions Council.

You will be expected to involve yourself in self-reflection in small- and large-group activities, lectures, dramatic activity through role play, myths, story-telling, autobiographical improvisation, case discussion and theoretical analysis. A significant component of experiential learning is undertaken through tutorials and supervision groups, embracing a central teaching style. Clinical placements are key to the experience.

You will benefit from learning about the latest effective dramatherapy approaches with adults and children. Connections between the body and mind will be emphasised and you will draw on your previous training/experience in theatre, drama and the clinical field. Through this experience you will learn how dramatherapists create methods to engage clients in effecting psychological, emotional and social changes.

Additional course information

Dramatherapy uses working and playing actively to facilitate imagination, creativity, learning, insight and growth. Teaching includes:

• improvisation/role play skills in small groups
• focus on own dramatic autobiographical process
• dramatherapy theory
• links between theory and practice
• block clinical placements in at least three fields, including in the community, schools, hospitals, and hospices
• university-based small supervision groups
• clinical supervision by qualified therapists at clinical placements
• experience within multidisciplinary teams
• weekly experiential dramatherapy groups where students reflect upon their clinical experiences and upon the process of becoming a dramatherapist
• supervision and teaching by leading researchers in the field, to prepare for the Major Project/Dissertation in the second year. The dissertation may be research or more clinically oriented, depending on each student's choice.

Module guide

Assessment

Assessment takes place against clear criteria and learning outcomes which you will be made aware of and prepared for. Assessed activities range from formal essay-writing to experiential learning, group learning, clinical improvisation and fieldwork, including clinical placements. You will also be assessed through self-analysis and reflection, in discussion with your personal tutor.

Facilities

Located in purpose-built accommodation, the Anglia Ruskin Department of Music and Performing Arts includes two dedicated fully equipped drama studios and the Mumford Theatre, a full-size receiving house for professional touring companies. Lecture and practice rooms, a recital hall, a purpose-built music therapy clinic and five state-of-the-art computer music studios house a range of specialised technological and other equipment. All computers have full Internet and intranet access and are supported by extensive online facilities and resources.

Students have access to specialised dramatherapy props and equipment, and to other departmental resources.

Special features

Dramatherapy is a newly established course at Anglia Ruskin, situated within our thriving Music and Performing Arts Department. Our drama courses scored 94% in the 2008 National Student Survey, and Music Therapy research was rated 'world-leading' in the recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

Our course offers intensive clinical placements similar to that of a working Dramatherapist. You will have the opportunity to work with patients/clients and gain experiential learning as well as experience other arts therapists.

Links with industry and professional recognition

Investing in this course will enable you to gain a qualification which, on successful completion, will permit you to register with the Health Professions Council (pending the next approval visit). This is a legal requirement for practising dramatherapists in the UK.

Our course also has close links with the British Association of Dramatherapists and other allied health professions through staff members who hold national offices in these organisations. There are strong links with other practitioners, such as psychotherapists, other arts therapists, psychiatrists and multidisciplinary teams. Most teaching staff are also practitioners (employed in a variety of settings) and researchers. This makes for a strong professional profile, and we have established collaborations with institutions across the world, providing a rich interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary milieu.

Work placements

The course offers intensive clinical placements similar to that of a working dramatherapist. You will have the opportunity to work with patients/clients and gain experiential learning as well as experience of other arts therapies.

Associated careers

Dramatherapists are employed within a variety of contexts, such as the NHS, social services, the education sector and in community projects. There are also opportunities to work privately or on a freelance basis.

A qualified dramatherapist is able to work with a broad range of clients, including adults and children with learning difficulties and mental health problems, and other special needs. Settings include prisons, hospices and other related outreach areas, and sometimes with patients in medical environments. The NHS' 'Agenda for Change' has led to improved career paths, with dramatherapists now being employed at levels similar to, or higher than, those of other allied health professions.

Entry requirements:

Degree or equivalent in drama, performing arts or a related subject. Evidence of sustained engagement with drama in a variety of forms (theatre, movement, performance). Minimum of 1 year or equivalent clinical/field work experience preferably with children or adults working in a caring capacity including in teaching, social work, mental health and community drama. Relevant motivation, maturity and ability to reflect on self in relation to others. Two references are required. Non-Academic Conditions: CRB Checks required, Interviews, Occupational Health clearance required

We welcome applications from International and EU students. Please select one of the links below for country-specific entry requirement information.

• International students
• EU students