Stuck in a Role

In her beautifully written new book, Stuck in a Role, Diana Feldman meticulously offers her formidable method of working with traumatized children through drama and theatre. In discussing her ENACT methodology, Diana lays out its theoretical framework, building upon Bessel Van der Kolk’s notion of developmental trauma and many of the key building blocks of drama therapy. She has deeply touched thousands of young lives in her 30 years as a pioneer in drama therapy. In this book, she provides abundant examples to illustrate how and why the ENACT method is so powerful. This book is a gem and should be read by all who aim to integrate creative methodologies in education, health, medicine, theatre and therapy. Robert Landy, PhD, Professor Emeritus, New York University In Diana Feldman's Introduction in Stuck in a Role, she details specific ways that the ENACT practices of this book make a dramatic difference for teachers, teaching artists, administrators, therapists and counselors, and parents. She's exactly right; she's understating what a difference this book can make—I know this work, I know what ENACT has accomplished, and I know the difference this book can make for the lives of so many struggling young people. Diana Feldman developed these approaches over decades of masterful practice, and now she thoughtfully and effectively offers these tools to the wider field. We need these tools, and this book delivers. The increases in young people's emotional and psychological stress and trauma are no secret to educators and parents, and it is my fervent hope this book finds its place as a powerful answer to the questions of how to help our most troubled young people. Please study this book carefully and use the solutions it provides. Eric Booth, author, global educator and youth creativity advocate After reading Stuck in a Role, we understand how ENACT enables teens to get a second chance in life. As Stuck in a Role points out, being a teen comes with a complex set of development behaviors which by adding layers of trauma and emotional neglect only compounds their troubles hoisting up a slew of red flags for the adults who work with them. Teachers and parents often label the disruptive youth and relate to them 'as if' they are that particular behavior or diagnosis. The second chances that Diana Feldman illustrates shows us how to get out of the role they are given by others and find their authentic, viable self, that can safely transition into young adulthood. When we say 'acting out' we often think of negative behaviors. In reality, youth are acting out their inner conflicts unconsciously trying to undo the damage that has been done to them. By becoming more aware of their feelings in a safe theatrical fashion, students in the ENACT program are able to make better choices in relation to others and themselves. As the inaugural Director of School Mental Health for 15 years in the NYC public schools, I was able to witness firsthand the powerful work of ENACT and the improvement of the students in the program. This book is more than role-play suggestions. Through nuance, connection and compassion, youth become equipped with alternative means in decision making and engaging others in a non-threatening objective manner. Stuck in a Role reminds us that the body is the first ego the child uses to mediate reality and fantasy. For those students who have experienced trauma their memories and experiences are contained within - ENACT exercises free up the body so that the emotions come out - a way to verbalize the unspoken. Reading Stuck in a Role, I couldn’t help thinking of the roles assigned to us, these assigned identities and how in our adult life, we need to shake them off seeking that ever present but hard to obtain, true self. We witness students entering her classes in one assigned role and through the art of drama leave with a new, more positive one. Diana Feldman lays out Stuck in a Role in an easy-to-follow structure making complex concepts accessible no matter what your level of expertise so that you too can partake of the tools and interventions for your students, patients, and children alike. By offering the basics of how the brain, emotions, and trauma works as a bundle within the troubled youth, Feldman gives you the keys to unlock the root causes of the trauma and the deprivation the students experience. This will become an indispensable book for years to come. Schools have to deal with crises and emergencies every day, however, a lot more drama takes place and staff has to discern which is which. Stuck in a Role supports teens to experiment with managing their feelings in a safe holding environment allowing them to experience new emotions without getting hit, yelled out or dismissed. By incorporating the ENACT method, students are able to verbalize their pent-up emotions, name it, and analyze the causes. This newly found awareness allows them to accept the emotion normalizing it as part of the human condition. Scott Bloom, Director of Special Projects & Initiatives, New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center (NYPCC) Finding a way to connect with troubled teens is a complicated task. Diana Feldman has mastered that task, and, in this book, she generously shows us how it can be done. ENACT, the powerful program that Feldman has implemented for 30 years in public schools, is a method using drama therapy that helps students with emotional and psychological pain due to trauma, feel a renewed connection to themselves and others while helping them understand that they are an agent of change in their own lives. Through lively classroom scenes and case vignettes, Feldman illustrates how she helps students understand and have compassion for their behaviors such as aggression, chaos-making, distraction and hopelessness. She helps them realize the underlying meaning underneath their seemingly destructive actions and gives them the sense that they can rewrite their stories and take on new, more positive roles. One can tell from her empathic, attuned writing that Feldman is an adept therapist and talented actor who can really ""read the room"". Feldman gives plenty of pointers and guidance for the reader who would like to implement the program or even try out some of the useful activities as a way to help students connect and understand themselves better. If schools implement Feldman’s ENACT program in ""behavior disordered"" classrooms, our schools would have students who could turn their hardships into healing and make positive contributions to society. I recommend the book to anyone working with children. Dafna Lender, LCSW, Certified Trainer and Supervisor/ Theraplay and DDP, EMDR Therapist Consolidating years of knowledge from working with hundreds of thousands of youth, Stuck in A Role is a must have resource for any educator or teaching artist looking to use drama to develop students' social emotional skills. The central premise of the book, that students who have experienced trauma are ""stuck in a role"" reminds us all of the power of the arts to help students reimagine the person they are and learn to interact with themselves and the world in ways that are constructive, empowered, and ultimately healing. Stuck in a Role draws from extensive psychological research around attachment theory, developmental psychology and neuroscience to present a compelling case that every child can grow their social emotional skills, and that drama is an important avenue for that development. From research, to practice, to individual case studies, this is a book that will sit within arm’s reach on my shelf to inform my work. David Adams, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Assembly and CASEL Board Member Diana Feldman’s book, Stuck in a Role, takes the reader into the minds and emotions of teenagers using the lens of trauma and attachment theories, revealing their complexity and poignancy. Feldman is perhaps the most experienced practitioner of drama therapy in schools in the world, and she brings her expertise and insight to every page. Filled with detailed case examples, lesson plans, theatre games, and step by step instructions, this book provides therapists, theatre artists, school counselors, and teachers the necessary information to develop effective programs for struggling teens. Written in an especially clear and organized style, the book reminds us of the eager, yearning, passionate moments of adolescence, and the wonder in that transition from childhood to adulthood. Diana Feldman’s work is a must-read! David Read Johnson, PhD, RDT-BCT, Institute for Developmental Transformations In Stuck in a Role: Releasing Trauma in Teens, Diana J. Feldman presents a groundbreaking approach to healing troubled adolescents. Drawing on 30 years of experience as a drama therapist in New York City schools, Feldman presents the powerful ENACT model, which harnesses the transformative potential of theater to address both individual and collective trauma. This book illuminates how teens often become trapped in a variety of accommodating and protective roles developed to navigate challenging environments, inadvertently reinforcing negative behaviors. Feldman's innovative method employs play, experimentation, and rehearsal to help young people break free from these confining roles, build crucial relational skills, and find new ways of being. ""Stuck in a Role"" offers a vital resource for educators, therapists, and anyone seeking to understand and support traumatized teens. Jack Saul, PhD, Director, International Trauma Studies Program, author of Collective Trauma, Collective Healing Theater gives teens a voice; they can say through a role, what they cannot say in real life. It is wonderful that Diana put her successful program ENACT into a form that can allow it to be used more widely to heal teens and to ignite their passion for personal expression going forward. Tian Dayton, PhD, TEP, RTR, Creator of Relational Trauma Repair (RTR) and author most recently of Treating Adult Children of Relational Trauma