ABSTRACT
Drawing upon key concepts of dramatherapy and the NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM), this chapter presents an integrative therapeutic model for healing developmental trauma. It specifically suggests how dramatherapy as a creative-expressive therapeutic approach and NARM as a mindfulness-based therapy developed to address developmental trauma can complement one another to improve clinical outcomes. The chapter begins by presenting an integrative theoretical model based on NARM’s framework on developmental needs and their relation to developmental trauma, and dramatherapy’s Embodiment-Projection-Role (EPR) model in dramatic development. It then proposes an integrative model of practice drawing upon NARM’s mindfulness-based interventions and the four pillars in therapy, and dramatherapy’s core processes to healing. In addition, the author discusses the relational aspect of healing through the lens of embodiment, exploring how therapists’ somatic responses in therapy may inform their practice as well as wellbeing when informed by this model of work. Overall, the chapter outlines this integrative therapeutic model by offering a comprehensive understanding of clients’ difficulties under a developmental perspective and a pathway towards embodied interventions based on dramatic development to support healing. Lastly, suggestions on evaluating the application and efficacy of this integrative model in clinical practice are made.
