K-State drama therapy students reach out to community as part of program.
One of the requirements for K-State’s Drama Therapy program is for each student to complete 800 hours of internship.
Sally Bailey, director of the K-State Drama Therapy program, said to meet this requirement, many students get involved with schools in the Manhattan area.
Bailey said students have been particularly successful with working with kids on the autism spectrum of all ages.
“The school system has really gotten behind making opportunities for their children to experience drama therapy in appropriate age groups,” Bailey said. “Interns work with K-12 students after school during the regular school year and at summer camps during the summer.”
Outside of the school system, Bailey said a previous student set up an emotional intelligence drama group with teenagers through the Manhattan Arts Center.
“A lot of their parents were faculty members, and they would come up to me and say, ‘That class has made such a difference in my kid. Instead of coming home and slamming the door and going into their bedroom, they talk to me now!’” Bailey said.
Many other drama therapy students have interned at Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community and Via Christi Village, working with older adults with and without dementia.
To learn more, visit K-State Drama Therapy.
