Theatre has always been seen as a sort of “purifying ritual” (not for nothing, Aristoteles used to say that the theatre goal was, precisely, catharsis), a form of psychotherapy, meant as an expression of human soul, with all of its shades and contradictions. The theatre-therapy arises from this perspective: a path of cure and personal growth based on a “mise-en-scene” of your own past through improvisation performance, combining acting (first, the famous Stanislavskij method) and psychology (from Winnicott to Freud and Jung).

Theatre-therapy can be used almost for everybody, from children to elderly people, including people with psychic disabilities. Of course, the therapy’ goals change based on its addressees: with children, the focus in mostly on an educational perspective, while, when it comes to disabled people, the goal is rehabilitation. But, generally, the main goal of this technique is harmonizing the relationship among body, voice and mind, in the relationship with other, yourself and your own creativity. How does it work, concretely?

Guided by a theatre-therapist, a specialized psychologist and actor who has attended a specific three-year course, people are helped to express their past, gradually overtaking any block to harmonize with themselves and with the others and socialize, using body, voice and mime. In case of neurotic or borderline people, the therapist’ task is to help them developing their adult self. Throughout the sessions of the theatre-therapy path, people get to know themselves and the others, face their own fears and weaknesses, become aware of their own limits, learning not to judge themselves nor the others, accepting themselves and the others just the way they are. That’s possible also thanks to improvisation, that enables to express in a freer way their own past, protected by “pretending” to be someone else.

Theatre-therapy paths are wide spreading more and more, all around Italy. If you want to stay up-to-date about all the activities, please visit the FIT (Italian Theatre-Therapy Federation) website. Are you ready to go on stage?