Seminar: Psychodrama in service of Special Abilities Children. Training the Special Treatment Educators

Special education is playing a vital role in the support of children with special needs and consequently in their future integration in the society. The efficiency of teaching methods in special education schools is crucial for student’s future, considering their vulnerable starting point in life.

Psychodrama, being an action method, can be a bridge between the world of special abilities children and the social world because it does not rely on language alone in order to communicate and connect with people. Numerous writers and researchers have emphasised the importance of play in childhood development (for example Piaget 1962; Vygotsky 1962; Winnicott 1971; Dolto 1994) showing that children learn, interact and deal with the world through play and play can only be done through action. It is crucial to speak the children’s language when working with them.

 Psychodrama involves therapeutic action (Moreno 1994), a way of being and acting with the child that will assist him or her to function in more progressive ways. With psychodrama everything is possible. The child can learn at his or her pace, without even realising that he or she is learning and more importantly the whole experience will be enjoyable. Psychodrama focuses on the present and on any interest the child has at any given moment. We can act from a spontaneous and creative state to find a way to meet the child in his or her world, connect with them and start building a relationship with them. Our connections with the children and the relationships we build with them are the most important stepping-stones of their treatment. It is only when there is mutual interest and enjoyment between the worker and the child that the child enjoys and is motivated to learn.