Abstract

The following is a descriptive exploration of the therapeutic process of a group of five adolescent girls suffering from a restricting-type eating disorder that I worked with for six weeks in the context of a drama therapy internship. The study aims to describe the combined use of the concepts of kinesphere and scenework to meet therapeutic goals. The kinesphere is the amount of space that can be reach by one’s body and that makes up the notion of one’s personal space bubble. This idea was combined in short, semi-improvised scenes to address some of the main issues faced by clients with anorexia nervosa; namely, the impaired relationship with one’s body and its interaction with social relationships.
The paper uses the perspective of impaired family and social relationships, distorted body-image and self-objectification, and internalization of emotions to describe the presentation of anorexia nervosa. Theoretical as well as empirical support is presented for the use of dance/movement therapy and drama therapy techniques to address these main issues and a description of the group’s progress through the six-week process is presented.
The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding as to how drama therapy and dance/movement therapy can be used in combination to potentially better address the pervasive symptoms of anorexia nervosa.