Research Colloquia

The research colloquia are open, quarterly events led by Anke Schäfer. Registration is required for participation. Please use the form below.

Note: The research colloquia in 2025 will no longer take place on Thursday evening, but on Wednesday evening!

Upcoming research colloquium:

Save the date

Wednesday (!), March 19 at 7 p.m. (UTC/GMT+1):

 „Wij gaan een hut bouwen“/ „We will build a hut”: the TESS Ego-Strength Scale in Drama Therapy with children

With: Mathilde Tubben (NL)

In our upcoming research colloquium, we will learn about the construction process of the Tubben Ego Strength Scale (TESS), a reliable and validated observational instrument that measures the social-emotional development of children aged 7 to 12 years by having them build a hut.

In the second part of her presentation, Mathilde will demonstrate how the TESS scale can be used in clinical practice. She will tell us how she trains and teaches dramatherapy students and practicing dramatherapists to use TESS for diagnosis – and how much joy this can bring! Mathilde loves to interact with the audience. So you can expect a lively presentation with small tasks in between. She wants to further inspire you to use the TESS scale as a diagnostic tool, showing the possibilities this diagnostic tool she developed offers in our profession to make a real difference in our practical work with children at the same time. – The exciting thing about TESS for us is that the process of diagnosis is inextricably linked with a therapeutic method. All in the spirit of a practice-based understanding of research.

Mathilde Tubben works as a drama therapist and psychologist in the Netherlands. She has also worked as a lecturer and supervisor for the drama therapy course at NHL Stenden. Her TESS research was conducted in collaboration with Utrecht University. In addition to her clinical work, she now teaches students and dramatherapists how to use TESS.

To register use the form below

Feel welcome to have a look on the documentation of our past research colloquia

Research circles

1 Research Circle “We do Research! – Doing research!”
In this new working group we develop specific and practice-based ideas for possible research projects in daily drama therapy practice.
Informed by arts-based approaches, this group is supervised by Sabine Koch and Anke Schäfer when required. – First online meeting planned in February 2024. Take part, join us!

Contact: Björn Kaltwasser, info@bjoern-kaltwasser.de

2 Research Group ‘Climate Change & Drama Therapy’:

Climate change has enormous implications for people’s existential security, mental health and our psychosocial fields of work. In this workshop we will explore how this affects our understanding of drama therapy and our own therapeutic stance.
Contqct: Daniela Debald, debald@theatertherapie.org

Special research group on ritual research

Contakt: Ingrid Lutz, lutz@theatertherapie.org

If you have further suggestions for research circles, contact us. A working group should consist of about five people and meet quarterly. The findings that emerge at the meetings can be documented and be discussed in a special annual research circle colloquium.

Possible research circle topics could be (e.g.):

  1. Funding for drama therapy / “Theatertherapie” research projects
  2. What can research by non-academics look like?
  3. What could research tandems look like? Academics in exchange with practitioners

Please submit further suggestions: schaefer@theatertherapie.org

    Registration for the Research Colloquia

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