Acting For Real: Drama Therapy Process, Technique, and Performance

by Renée Emunah

This second edition takes the reader further into the heart of using drama for healing. Dr. Emunah offers an expanded understanding of her Integrative Five Phase model, a foundational approach that embraces the wide spectrum of possibilities within the playing field of drama therapy. Grounded by compassionate clinical examples, including ones that reach over time into deep-seated issues, the book offers tools for action-oriented treatment, embodied therapeutic interventions, and creatively engaging a wide variety of clients.

This comprehensive text also contains over 120 techniques, categorized by phases in the session and treatment series, and subcategorized by therapeutic objective. Process-oriented drama therapy with group and individuals, as well as performance-oriented forms, are described in vivid detail. New to the second edition is an exploration of drama therapy outside of the clinical arena, including dramatic methods in family life and parenting, and drama therapy geared toward social change.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 1994

Reviews

[MindfulCenterSF]

Our associate therapist Julie Peters names this as a top five must read therapy book

[Whitney]

This book is a great read for anyone interested in the therapeutic possibilities of drama. Emunah lists many approachable exercises as well as a five phase treatment model that she uses with individuals in a phychiatric hospital. (Emunah is also the keynote speaker this year at the national association of drama therapy conference in San Fran!)

[Ashton E.]

I LOVED THIS TEXTBOOK. How often can you say that? I was actually crying in parts of role switching and psychodrama techniques. I just love this work. I love that I get to do this work.
Acting holds a mirror to real life but it also allows you to have these experiences in real time to process and to help you cope before you encounter it outside. I love it.

[Joy]

This book was helpful in learning what a 5 phase drama therapy book is like. Leading a group definitely has an art-form to it, and this book begins to explain how that is done. It also gives many examples of therapeutic drama exercises for a variety of age groups.

[Sally Bailey]

Best overall book on the field of drama therapy!