Stillbirth Integration: Dramatherapy Applied to Unresolved Grief

Abstract

This research is a case study of the effect of Dramatherapy with a client who was suffering from prolonged grief following stillbirth. The assumption was that an analysis of the Dramatherapy sessions could shed light on processes that may assist the client in relief of her unresolved grief and integration of her stillbirth, which were necessary in order to get on with her life. The Dramatherapy was based on Jennings’ (1992, 1993, 1998) EPR model. The analysis focused on the dramatherapeutic processes, specifically, dramatic reworking, retelling and projection, that accompanied the client's experience of relief and integration of her loss. The client, ‘Iris’ (a fictional name), is a career woman, who sought dramatherapeutic treatment in the hope that it might help her overcome her overwhelming feelings of distress and sorrow, which made it difficult for her to function, both physically and emotionally. The research examined the first six sessions of a longer-term therapy, during which the client's prolonged grief emerged as a major issue for her. The records kept by a participant observer (the researcher), the products of the client's art work, and audio recordings of the sessions served as the research data. The presentation of the data focused on changes in the client's appearance, body language, vocal presence, emotionality, and issues raised in the sessions.