The useless therapist: music therapy and dramatherapy with traumatised children

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of music therapy and dramatherapy with traumatised children in a residential school through examining the therapists’ experience of feeling useless.

Design/methodology/approach

Using clinical examples, the paper explores the therapists’ feelings of uselessness and how this experience informs and enables the progression of the work.

Findings

The paper suggests that feelings of uselessness are a necessary and useful part of the clinical process when working with traumatised children.

Originality/value

This paper offers an insight into application of music therapy and dramatherapy in this environment, and also into the therapists experience of working with highly traumatised children.

Citation

Cropper, K. and Godsal, J. (2016), "The useless therapist: music therapy and dramatherapy with traumatised children", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/TC-07-2014-0026