ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the use of role in Theatre of Attachment practice with foster, adoptive, and kinship families. The various roles played by the practitioner include those arising in fictional context and the real life roles for facilitating the children’s secure attachment to their caregivers. This involves managing time parameters, collaborating, giving advice and controlling the borders, hence contrasts to the neutral ‘use of self’ adopted traditionally in therapy. The emphasis is on modeling empathy, and intuiting responses, taking particular notice of non-verbal communication. The adoption of role in dramatic play enables the person to be many things, therein expands their horizons. The children try out different ways of being as they inhabit the various roles of hero, authority figure, expert, and in play with dolls, that of ‘healer’. Various applications of sculpting are promoted for enabling the children to enter dramatic role. The practitioners’ use of self to facilitate play helps children who are stuck to move forward. The parents are encouraged to emulate this scaffolding of the play and spontaneously entering fictional role, exchanging roles and using the safety of the story context to demonstrate ways to repair disruptions in relationships.
