Psychotherapist Dana Truelove will be offering a unique mental health event that incorporates theatre in the Glebe. Starting June 8, and continuing every Sunday this month, Truelove will be hosting a Drama Therapy Group from 10-11:30am. She has been practicing for the past ten years, working with folks to develop their self confidence, social relationships, personal growth, and healing.
Truelove says that she has also been involved with community theatres like the Ottawa Little Theatre and was also involved in the creation of the Kanata Acting Studio and Ottawa Acting Studio. This Drama Therapy Group is truly a combination of Truelove’s two passions.
Photo of Dana Truelove. Photo provided.
Apt613 spoke to Truelove to learn more about this event.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Apt613: Could you briefly describe what this event is and what folks can expect?
Dana Truelove: Fortunately there’s a lot of talk out there about mental health these days, and the importance of therapy — but usually the only type of therapy we are offered, or are presented with in the media, is the traditional, ‘sitting down and talking’ type of psychotherapy. This Drama Therapy group — while a fun and social creative outlet — is also bona fide psychotherapy, and we’ll be following all of the ethical standards of practice such as informed consent, confidentiality, and so on.
We’ll be doing up-on-your-feet activities like improv, role plays, body and breath work… Participants will also be invited, if they like, to bring a real situation they’d like to process with the group, whether it’s a past trauma, or a current challenge they’re facing, a relationship issue, whatever it may be. I’ll direct the group through essentially a dramatic enactment, to explore different ways the person may approach or process the issue.
My plan is to make sure the group atmosphere is comfortable, inclusive, and not only respectful, but caring and compassionate. No one will be pushed to participate in any way that they don’t want. It will be healing and cathartic, but also fun.
Event details for Drama Therapy Group. Photo provided.
Apt613: This sounds like a very interesting access point for mental health support. What was the idea behind this therapy group?
Truelove: I’ve experienced and witnessed countless examples of how theatre and acting can absolutely transform people, get us out of our shells, connect us to each other, and just help us to learn more about ourselves and who we want to be. Not to mention how cathartic and fun it can be to give ourselves permission to behave in ways that we don’t usually!
In my work and studies as a psychotherapist, I came across the field of Drama Therapy and Psychodrama. When I realized this was an actual therapeutic approach, with specific techniques, and training and research out there to explore… I immediately knew, “This is something I have to do.” Over the past couple of years I’ve been doing trainings and just setting things up logistically to be able to start offering this.
Apt613: What is it about theatre or performance that you find therapeutic or helpful in the therapeutic space?
Truelove: What could be more therapeutic than getting out there with other like-minded people who are all willing to be open and vulnerable and share in a creative process? I’ve always loved how acting is an art form that focuses on the beauty in human beings — the different types of characters and people, the different ways we express ourselves and interact — the complicated human experiences that are going on inside us, and the ways we process our emotions, whether it’s through humour, crying, yelling, all of it.
Apt613: Anything else you’d like to add, or something I might have missed?
Truelove: This first four-week session is mostly full, but there are a very limited number of spaces still available. Anyone interested can email me, and we’ll schedule a brief, confidential call. During these calls I’ll just chat with the person to answer questions, get a sense of what they’re looking for, and see if the group would be a good fit for them.
For more information about this event, you can check out Truelove’s website. The Drama Therapy Group will meet at 738 Bank Street every Sunday this month starting June 8 from 10-11:30am.
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