Voices of Pride

SUMMARY

This paper demonstrates how drama therapy assists incarcerated women in freeing themselves from internalized oppressive beliefs. In the context of a drug and alcohol treatment program for incarcerated¹ women, the authors assist the women in building three distinct bridges to healing: a new relationship to one's self, to other women, and to the community. Writing exercises, performance techniques, and group drama therapy empower women to express their diverse voices. As the women risk sharing their personal stories and journeys of recovery, they begin to actively envision a different future for themselves. The participants discover talents that offer them an opportunity to experience themselves in a different light, no longer bound by the stigma of being in prison

Key Words:

• Addiction
• domestic violence
• drama therapy
• family therapy
• group therapy
• incarcerated women
• performance
• poetry
• psychodrama
• recovery
• role-play
• substance abuse