Neuro-Dramatic-Play in Forensic Settings

Neuro-Dramatic-Play Ltd provides easily accessible resources in the fields of Play and Drama Therapy for teachers, clinicians, therapists, social workers and parents including Training (online and in person),  Consultation, and Publications.

Neuro-Dramatic-Play Ltd

Dr Rowan Mackenzie - practitioner, academic and Artistic Director of Shakespeare UnBard - leads this live online course.

NB This is a two-part course. The first part is on Saturday 20 April at 1400-1700 (UK time). The second part is on Sunday 21 April at 1400-1700. Your ticket is for both parts. Both parts must be attended to complete the course.Intro: Neuro-dramatic play can continue throughout an adult’s lifetime and this module focuses on the use of theatre of resilience within forensic settings to enable participants to develop positive autonomy, emotional resilience and build on their aspirations for the future. Using trauma-informed pedagogies to form collaborative theatre companies in spaces such as prisons can free up people affected by trauma both inflicted and experienced to move forward with their lives and to develop a self-identity which is more than the worst thing they have done. Drawing on elements of theatre, rhythm and creativity to explore the ways in which NDP can support emotional growth in adults of all ages.Forensic settings: There are over 10.35 million people incarcerated globally, with over 2 million of those in the United States (accurate global figures are not available as not all countries and territories declare these figures). 95% of those in prison are male. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom had the highest incarceration rate per capita in Western Europe (159 people per 100,000 in England) with over 87,500 people in prison or young offender institutions. Additionally, there are approximately a further 8,000 people who are classified as ‘restricted patients’ within secure psychiatric hospitals and units.Forensic settings are traditionally very much hidden spaces about which little is known by the general public beyond media stories, film and TV representations. The media encourages society to vilify and other those convicted of crime, to set them apart from law abiding citizens and to judge them both during their sentence and upon their subsequent release. And only circa 70 of the people held in forensic settings are subject to a whole of life order, meaning they will never be released. The others will all be returning to communities, whether in a matter of weeks, months or years.Incarceration is dehumanising by it’s nature – as Michael (pseudonym), one of the men I work with describes:Upon crossing the threshold of prison we instantly become less, we are stripped of our clothes, our dignity and even our humanity. Our lives prior to incarceration instantly rendered worthless.Those held in forensic settings are stripped of their autonomy and often feel that their identity is also subsumed by the institution (if it was not already fractured or shattered by the process of being found guilty and sentenced). Family relationships are often damaged, sometimes irrevocably, and many of those held in prisons and psychiatric units feel isolated. The level of mental illness within prisons is exceptionally high, with support and treatment limited by insufficient resources. Vulnerability in prisons is something to be stringently avoided in order to protect yourself from bullying and extortion and for many a mask of bravado is worn almost constantly.So, what place does theatre and neuro-dramatic play have in such a harsh environment? Asking people to make themselves vulnerable by engaging with drama in such a challenging setting is surely a challenge? And coupled with this, is the ongoing challenges of the regime and security which permeates every element of working in these institutions. This module explores the ways in which using role and embodiment can enable incarcerated people to understand their own lives and experiences more fully and to develop positive autonomy and emotional resilience.Learning Objectives:<ul><li>Broadly understand the context of forensic settings and the challenges they pose to the mental wellbeing of those held within them;</li><li>Understand the importance of trauma-informed principles underpinning work within forensic settings;</li><li>Develop an awareness of the ways in which neuro-dramatic play and therapeutic theatre (including rhythmic play, role and embodiment) can be used with those who have both inflicted and experienced trauma;</li><li>Through case studies, understand more about the ways in which incarceration should be a deprivation of liberty but should never be a deprivation of humanity;</li><li>Design a session which would be appropriate for use within a forensic environment, whether for children or adults, using the knowledge from the module;</li><li>Reflect on the ways in which your own practice can incorporate the learning from this module, even if your work is in alterative settings.</li></ul>Neuro-Dramatic-Play: Neuro-Dramatic-Play is an attachment based intervention that focuses on early playful relationships. Through play it emphasises a combination of basic trust, security and ritual, with stimulation, exploration and risk. Ritual and risk form the basis of children both feeling safe with the desire to explore: the Ritual-Risk Paradigm. It is an ideal approach for working with children who have been traumatised, neglected or abused, as well as children who experience meltdowns.This course is recommended for:<ul><li>Activity worker in care settings</li><li>Counsellors</li><li>Therapists</li><li>Social Workers</li><li>Play Therapists</li><li>Art Thearpists</li><li>Drama Therapists</li><li>Family members</li></ul>This course is worth 6 CPD points. You will be sent a certificate of participation and the course presentations after the event.This module can also be taken as part of the Advanced Diploma in Neuro-Dramatic-Play. The other modules that form part of that course are:<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-therapy-and-trauma-an-ndp-online-course-tickets-877860112227?aff=oddtdtcreator" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-therapy-and-trauma-an-ndp-online-course-tickets-877860112227?aff=oddtdtcreator">27 &amp; 28 April 2024: Art Therapy and Trauma</a> <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/social-theatre-theatre-for-change-an-ndp-online-course-tickets-877872760057?aff=oddtdtcreator" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/social-theatre-theatre-for-change-an-ndp-online-course-tickets-877872760057?aff=oddtdtcreator">4 May 2024: Social Theatre - Theatre for Change</a> <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/childhood-and-identity-understanding-gaslighting-an-ndp-online-course-tickets-877894103897?aff=oddtdtcreator" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/childhood-and-identity-understanding-gaslighting-an-ndp-online-course-tickets-877894103897?aff=oddtdtcreator">6 &amp; 7 July: Childhood and Identity - Understanding ‘Gaslighting’</a>

Your TrainerRowan Mackenzie is both practitioner and academic, working with specialised communities. Her research interests are interdisciplinary, focusing on theatre practices with incarcerated people and people with mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse issues and experiences of homelessness. She is founder and Artistic Di­rector of <a href="https://hmppsinsights.service.justice.gov.uk/shakespeare-unbard/" title="https://hmppsinsights.service.justice.gov.uk/shakespeare-unbard/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Shakespeare UnBard</a>, which facilitates collaborative the­atre companies in a number of UK prisons, and Co-Chair of the Shakespeare Beyond Borders Alliance. She is the recipient of many national and international awards for her work, including the pres­tigious Butler Trust award. She has published numerous chapters and essays on Shakespeare in prisons, Shakespeare with learn­ing-disabled actors and the heterotopic potential of applied theatre. She lectures in applied theatre and criminology at multiple universities. Her monograph Creating Space for Shakespeare was published by Bloomsbury Arden in March 2023.

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Neuro-Dramatic-Play in Forensic Settings

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