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drinkanddrugsnews
| September 2012
Recovery |
Art therapy
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
T
hat we all have our roles in the theatre of life is not a new concept. The
Bard himself tells us that ‘one man in his time plays many parts’. If you
like, it’s fundamental to the concept of recovery – nobody has to live in
only one role. We know recovery is possible. Given the opportunity,
we’re all capable of expanding our repertoire of roles and adjusting the lens
through which we view the world. We are multi-dynamic individuals with the
ability to connect with under-used aspects of our multi-layered selves.
We all organically step in and out of many roles every day – mother,
daughter, sister, aunt, friend, lover, peer, consumer, survivor, and inner-self. In
each scenario there are a host of complex boundaries to negotiate but
sometimes, as life unfolds, we find ourselves stuck in very restrictive roles.
With this concept at its centre, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Mental
Health Trust’s dual diagnosis network embarked on a journey to create a
therapeutic theatre project as part of Haringey’s ‘Recovery Pride’ event (
DDN
, May,
page 16), a creative partnership generously supported by Haringey’s DAAT and
recovery champions and open for pan-borough drug and alcohol service referral.
The dual diagnosis network is – despite the public sector spending cuts – an
expanding team and recognised as a vital component in the delivery of recovery-
consistent, risk-aware substance misuse interventions across Haringey and
Enfield. The network operates a ‘hub and spoke’ model, with specialists
embedded at each stage of the client’s mental health treatment journey, and in
December last year the call went out to ‘try something new in 2012’. The remit
was for potential cast members to script a self-generated narrative and
ultimately produce a performance piece in the context of ‘stigma’.
The wider aims of the project were to improve confidence, deepen
understanding of recovery and the implications of stigma, develop team-
working skills and demonstrate improved health and wellbeing. Arguably a tall
order, but the subsequent project evaluation unarguably identified that all
required boxes had been positively ticked.
*****
The initial driving force came from myself – a drama therapist within the dual
diagnosis network who sits on Haringey’s recovery champions steering group –
and Sarah Hart, DAAT joint commissioner and recovery champion. The ensuing
energy was soon revved up by each brave new member who ventured out of
their comfort zone to sign up to getting the show on the road. Eight potential
performers and a photographer stepped up to the proverbial plate and
committed to the process.
What evolved between 10 January and 30 March was a genuine privilege to
witness, as a narrative emerged in the empty space allocated to us in the former
arts therapies department of St Ann’s hospital. The project inspired impressive
levels of commitment, with a diverse group of women and men aged between
26 and 62 devising a therapeutic theatre performance that explored the
perspectives and inner dialogues of 24 hours in recovery.
The final performance was witnessed by an audience of more than 200
family members, friends, industry professionals, local politicians and many,
many peers, and before the final curtain viewers were invited to have dialogue
with the artists. There was a tangible and genuine sense of community and
appreciation for the honesty of the work that had been shared. As a result there
are now plans to offer clients a therapeutic theatre intervention as part of
Haringey’s drug and alcohol treatment pathways, aimed particularly at those
transitioning from problematic to stabilised drug and alcohol use or abstinence.
The project has reinforced the value of arts in mental health and the power
of the arts and arts therapies as a means of overcoming the stigma experienced
All the world’s a stage
The arts can play a vital and powerful role in recovery, says
Katrina Lahmann