Action, sensory stimulation and narrative imagination: applying Odin Teatret’s training in the management of the recovery process of post-stroke patients

Abstract

The aim of the experimental project we present is to study the clinical efficacy of a performing art workshop in the rehabilitation process of post-stroke patients, in the frame of the specialized Physical and Medicine Rehabilitation Units in Saint-Denis Casanova Hospital. The distinctiveness of the project lies in the multicultural and social identity of the mixed group of patients aged between 40 and 60. The goal of this specific art training with a psychotherapeutic focus is to help stroke survivors to achieve the best possible quality of life. The method consists in a systemic stimulation of cerebral plasticity through exercises based on the principles of Theatre Anthropology and practical experience acquired from Odin Teatret performers and ISTA sessions. The ‘theatrical’ work is constructed through an integrative and interactive systemic process from which sequences of physical and vocal actions are elaborated which in turn generate images and a story. The exercises involve the elementary level of organization of the ‘theatre’. They combine action, sensory stimulation and narrative imagination in a circular path of reinforcement. As for the patients that we consider as performers, the reference to the theatre is considered as a ‘free and open space’ in order to allow them to best mobilize their psychic resources.