ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of theatre making in individual dramatherapy with an adopted child. Drawing on current research and clinical material, the author explores the impact of theatre making on somatised traumatic experiences that have not been available to cognitive and verbal understanding. In integrating theories of attachment and neuroscience with theatre and therapy, the author suggests that there is a translation of the embodied trauma to an expressive and more manageable experience for the client. In discovering an empowering language of expression which had been inaccessible, fear is transformed and the body can begin to heal, giving the client a metaphorical containment for experience. The chapter presents a story and piece of theatre created by the client to illustrate the integration of theory, research, and clinical practice.
