Abstract

This heuristic research project explored the use of Narradrama and Somatic Experiencing (SE) in working with traumatic childbirth. At the time of submission, there hadn’t been any publications related to traumatic childbirth in the field of drama therapy. The literature review included the topics of trauma, traumatic childbirth, drama therapy and traumatic childbirth, birth stories, Somatic Experiencing and trauma, the felt sense, Somatic Experiencing and traumatic childbirth, and corrective experiences. The author shared the restorying and renegotiation of her own birth story narrative. She reported on her experiences attending a SE workshop and SE sessions geared toward birth. The author then reported on her experience with a Narradrama process around her traumatic childbirth, using Dunne’s (2006) Eight Step frame. She detailed outcomes from nine Narradrama sessions and included photographs of the artwork created. Beneficial aspects from the sessions for this author were reported as: The use of externalization, the use of different art modalities, the option to work non-verbally, and the open choice of interventions. Challenges with the Eight Step frame was reported as the lack of a trauma informed approach with respect to past, present, and future. The SE components of the research reported to be helpful for the author centered around the felt sense in relationship to support, imagination, and corrective experiences. The major challenge reported around the SE process was its focus on the felt sense. The paper looked at theoretical overlap between Narradrama and/or drama therapy and SE, and highlighted theoretical differences that were apparent from this research. The author stated that this research has brought her professional competency and personal gains. She reported that her trauma symptoms were resolved as a result of the work done in the research. The paper suggested that the interventions and theories it outlines could be further researched with a larger population to see if they are helpful for others. In particular, the author was interested in the further development of an externalized, arts-based T-Model as a timeline drawing of birth stories.