Speech and Drama

In our understanding, anthroposophic therapeutic speech and drama therapy is defined as follows:

Artistic speech was developed at the beginning of the 20th century through the collabo-ration between the actress Marie Steiner-von Sivers and the spiritual scientist Rudolf Steiner and led to new forms of recitation and drama. At the same time, the foundations for a pedagogical and therapeutic expansion of this art were laid.

Therapeutic Speech and Drama Therapy is an artistic therapy of Anthroposophic Medi-cine, which has its centre in the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, Dornach.

The foundations are Rudolf Steiner's anthropology (study of man), medicine expanded by anthroposophy, the effectiveness of the macrocosm and its spiritual approach as well as the effectiveness of various linguistic-artistic means on the mind-soul-body structure of the human being.

In this form of therapy, the elements of language such as sound qualities, rhythms, bre-athing and voice control are developed and trained in addition to the content of the lan-guage. This increases the ability to experience and express oneself, the perception of oneself and others and, in particular, a new way of hearing. In the therapeutic applicati-on, these elements and means, as well as meditative and dramatherapeutic elements, are used both receptively and expressively with the help of body movements.

Therapeutic Speech Therapy works on the level of the physical-etheric, the soul and the spirit and is used here in a differentiated therapeutic way to balance one-sidedness in the speech and constitution of children and adults. This balancing takes place in two ways: by harmonising the speech process itself and by working with the therapeutic po-wers of the sounds and speech elements.

Training and further training courses adhere to the benchmarks for training in anthropo-sophic medicine1 and therapists endeavour to be registered with the relevant professio-nal associations in their countries. They are therefore required to undergo further trai-ning.

Lectures by Michaela Glöckler on therapeutic language design

Language loss and language gain

Language development  humanities and neurological

You can find further information on therapeutic speech design at:

www.therapeutische-sprachgestaltung.ch