I was led to dramatherapy by my belief in the transformative power of the Arts, my passion for helping others and my fascination with psychology. I grew up with a love of all art forms and spent my childhood immersed in drama, music, dance and art. Going on to study Drama at university, I focused my exploration on theatre history, theatre for change and applied/community theatre. This led me to my undergraduate dissertation, in which I explored how we can use drama/theatre theory to analyse the actions of people in traumatic/high pressure environments.

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After my undergrad, I went on to teach drama to people with disabilities in Quito, Ecuador. There was no provision of drama previous to my arrival at the day programme, Sinamune, but I quickly saw adults and young people grow in confidence and communication skills - and have a lot of fun - learning about different dramatic styles, creating scenes and playing drama games. The two months ended in a public performance, where the participants showcased the scenes they had created.

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Returning to England, I began working at the Orpheus Centre - a performing arts college for young adults with disabilities. After a period working in the fundraising department, I began working as a learning support assistant, primarily supporting the drama and dance students. This led to many amazing opportunities. I co-directed theatre performances, danced with the students at performances in London's O2 arena and the Southbank Theatre among other venues and started wellbeing groups (including meditation and a drama-based wellbeing group). During my time at Orpheus, I qualified as a Rebound Therapist, leading the college's provision of the therapy. I also co-facilitated a disability awareness training initiative, Thessaly Theatre, providing training for over 200 people across three national organisations (you can see the promotional video I created for Thessaly Theatre, here).

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My next step towards dramatherapy happened during my time at Orpheus, when I assisted on two outreach weeks where Orpheus students spent a week creating a show with school students. The first was with a SEN school, and the second with a school for boys with emotional and behavioural needs. During these weeks I worked alongside a dramatherapist. I continued to see, as I had at Sinamune and Orpheus, the transformative powers of drama in bringing people together, developing people's skills and confidence and allowing people to truly express themselves in ways they don't normally get the chance to, or even know how to.

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This all led up to my application to study MA Dramatherapy at Roehampton University, to which I was accepted and started in September 2019.