TEHRAN – Iran will be celebrating International Drama Therapy Week during several special programs, which will begin on Tuesday.

The programs have been planned by the Drama Therapy Center of Iran (DTCI) in collaboration with the Dramatic Arts Center and the Iranian Association of Dramatic Arts, the DTCI announced on Monday.

Honoring the top ten drama therapists of the year is part of the programs and the best drama therapist of the year will be awarded the Avicenna Medal.

The centers also plan to honor several media, publishers and a psychologist promoting topics on drama therapy.

Tehran and cities in six other provinces will host workshops on drama therapy issues and some DTCI branch offices in the cities will organize dozens of online sessions and release educational videos.

The closing ceremony of the week will be organized at the Hall of Luminaries at Tehran’s City Theater Complex on October 24.

The International Drama Therapy Week is observed every year in 104 countries, which are members of the World Alliance of Dramatherapy (WAD).

Iran’s celebration of International Drama Therapy Week 2021 take place with a one-day delay compared with the WAD timetable for the week.

The WAD is also organizing several online workshops during its weeklong programs.

Joanna Jaaniste, a registered dramatherapist and Adjunct Fellow of Western Sydney University, will hold a workshop on Tuesday.

“Dramatherapy, Storymaking and Mental Health” is the topic of the workshop, during which Jaaniste will be offering mental health clients a fairytale to encourage them to express what they want to take with them on their life journey and what they want to leave behind.  

Vanitha Chandrasegaram, a Malaysian pioneer in the field of Dramatherapy, will hold a workshop on stories of life.

Topics such as “Developing Self Esteem with Young Adults”, “The Village of Grief - A Circular Model for Bereavement”, “Playing with Polarities in the Pandemic” and “Dramatherapy and the Oppressed” will be discussed by experts in other workshops planned by the WAD for the week.  

Photo: This file photo shows people watching a performance during the 12th Marivan International Street Theater Festival on September 10, 2017. (Mehr/Mobin Peymankar) 

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