By: Simanta Sarma
Puppet dance is involved in various aspects of Indian folk culture, education, culture, social development, etc. Puppet dance not only stabilizes the mental state of children but also strengthens them emotionally, enabling them to face every aspect of life beautifully within society. In the field of medical science, puppets can be used as therapeutic tools for children. Therefore, paediatricians often keep puppets in their clinics. Puppets are used to manage the puppets in accordance with the child’s mental state during treatment. Playing with puppets allows children to easily become friends with the therapist. During this time, the therapist can engage the child in treatment through puppet shows, laughter, or medications. Sometimes the child does not realize that the therapist is treating them through the puppet. Thus, through puppet therapy, all aspects of human therapy can be achieved in a child’s mind.
In medical science, the use of puppets for therapy, therapy puppets, and therapeutic puppetry are terms that denote the use of puppets for physical or emotional healing, response, or rehabilitation. In medical treatment, puppetry involves puppet creation, puppet play, interactive activities with puppet characters, monitoring and support of puppet performances, and the application of therapeutic values and benefits.
Therapeutic puppetry not only integrates artistic and dramatic elements into puppetry but also facilitates verbal and non-verbal expressions of emotions and thoughts. I generally believe that therapeutic puppetry should be used with children during treatment. However, puppets can be used to express various emotions and achieve different therapeutic goals with individuals of all ages. Puppet therapy techniques can be applied to patients suffering from various illnesses, mental health issues, and other conditions. It is essential for patients to have a joyful and cheerful mind for optimal healing. If the mind is depressed, the patient cannot be healthy. Therefore, using puppets to make the patient happy and joyful is the best way to heal.
In the medical environment, trained therapists, child life workers, etc., use puppets before and after medical interventions and during therapy sessions to support children in coping with medical procedures and stressful situations. As a result, medical interventions are often successful. Puppetry can help children express emotions such as fear, sadness, hopelessness, confusion, and provide coping mechanisms, therapy methods, environments, and support personnel to deal effectively with these emotions. Puppet therapists in various medical settings provide support to individuals in various ways, including providing entertainment, guidance, or interactive activities. In this area, various initiatives are being taken in different medical settings. Specially trained puppet therapists can bring happiness to the minds of patients. Patients find it easy to express themselves verbally. Playing with puppets is considered good for making friends. As a result, especially capable patients believe that some relief will be obtained.
Dr. Dana Chilshie, a paediatrician at Tenchi, believes that puppets can provide trust, comfort, and friendship. Puppet therapy can help children and their families cope with illness and hospitalization fears and emotional stress. Bernie Bernard, a puppet character by Cheryl Chilish, provides an acceptable and alternative path for fear, experience, and depression. Bernie Bernard accepts the role of a patient in the children’s clinic and shares medical experiences with children. As a result, patients can be treated without fear for a long time.
Puppet theater is used in therapy, assisting in language development and sentence transformation. Puppet therapists help improve daily life activities, collaborate with physical therapy, encourage patient engagement and motivation, and provide alternative paths for controlling poisons, diverting attention, activities, and relieving mental stress. Puppet theater therapy is being used for medical purposes in various countries around the world.
Through children in Tenchi, trust and a trustworthy relationship are built using fear and disease creation. Puppet therapy is used to express and share experiences and thoughts, which otherwise can be suppressed. Especially after marital separation, accidents, domestic violence, and children’s abuse experiences, puppet therapy is used as a helpful tool for dealing with trauma.
In conclusion, puppet therapy is effective in various forms of mental therapy and helps to express and manage emotions. Especially in cases of trauma resulting from marital separation, accidents, domestic violence, and children’s abuse, puppet therapy is used effectively in Bernard.
Puppet therapy or therapeutic puppet play is organized for various illnesses using self-inspired puppet play, usually incorporating puppets for individuals. For example, if a child is encouraged to play with puppets for therapeutic purposes, they are often encouraged to select characters from various protected characters. Therapists use selected characters, roles played by individuals, storytelling, narrative sections, and content areas as objectives. This information helps in evaluating mental assessment, enhancing children’s intelligence, personality, and dynamic parental aspects. Then, children are encouraged to use puppet play to explore emotional conflicts or experiences that may lead to deep and powerful reactions to life events or confusion.
Puppet plays can be centered around common themes such as divorce or separation, allowing children to express deep and powerful reactions to life events, and providing enjoyable and therapeutic principles. Puppetry contributes to the development of social competence and utilizes the personal strengths of various puppet team members. In some cases, puppet construction and non-intervention self-inspired puppet shows are organized by children’s groups. The ultimate goal of puppet therapy is to nurture the creativity of each child. The therapy team manages its own puppet construction and designs puppet play activities for designated therapy goals. This approach includes the indispensable idea that puppets can develop the self, part of the self, or represent the direction of self-expression or representation of the environment.
Various types of therapists, including art therapists, technology therapists, music therapists, puppet therapists, drama therapists, and psychologists, use a combination of policies and skills to implement this method, also known as Choice-based Therapy. For this method, it is essential to understand that puppets can engage in emotional conflict or confusion and can express significant mental health benefits for proper evaluation. Puppet therapy, therapist puppets, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation.
In therapy, puppet use, puppet creation, puppet character interaction, and puppet performance monitoring create a unique therapeutic experience and benefit and convenience in a supportive environment. Puppet therapy contributes to the mental well-being of clients through therapeutic artistic and dramatic elements. Puppet therapy practices have been widely distributed and are still in high demand in the field.
Puppet therapy, therapist puppets, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation. Puppetry activities have therapeutic value in various fields. Puppet therapy, therapist puppets, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation. Puppetry activities have therapeutic value in various fields. Puppet therapy, therapist puppets, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation. Puppetry activities have therapeutic value in various fields.
In clinical settings, puppet therapeutic theater artists can incorporate creative art therapy practices to develop a skill in which the clinical goals of puppet therapy are achieved. General therapy goals include increasing verbal and nonverbal communication, cognitive and emotional awareness, enhancing self-esteem, problem-solving, self-control, and developing social skills. In this regard, the puppet therapist’s role is to not provide any guidance on the client’s work or words but rather to follow the client’s lead. The therapist tries to facilitate active dialogue or character-centered storytelling to enhance personal and character-based interaction, and the director’s directions are expected to be followed by the puppet therapist in terms of whether, how, or why to act. This process may be counterproductive for some therapists, especially those who are naturally inclined to engage in creative activities, such as participating freely in the creation of dynamic puppet play, which may not be ideal for strict control of the client. Puppet therapy involves puppet theater artists who have been involved in domestic violence and/or child abuse cases with family members who engage in puppetry therapy to provide
Educationally, puppetry activities have therapeutic value. Puppet characters created in the classroom are seen to promote creativity, language development, socialization, and problem-solving. It also provides an outlet for enthusiasm and emotions, which otherwise may find negative or inhibitory behaviour. Therapeutic aspects of puppetry activities are applied by therapist teachers to enhance the therapeutic value of puppetry activities. Teachers can teach students the educational and therapeutic values of puppetry in art, as well as behaviour or rehabilitation. Puppetry activities are particularly useful for students who naturally engage in creative activities to promote creativity. Teachers can also teach students the need for appropriate mental health in the assessment of violent, suicidal, homicidal, substance abuse, and self-harm behaviours associated with puppet or puppet play. The therapeutic use of puppetry has been widely disseminated in therapy settings and is constantly evolving. Puppetry therapy, puppet therapist, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation.
Puppetry activities have therapeutic value in various fields. Puppet therapy, therapist puppets, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation. Puppetry activities have therapeutic value in various fields. Puppet therapy, therapist puppets, and therapeutic puppet play are terms that refer to the use of puppets for physical or emotional relief, response, or rehabilitation. Puppetry activities have therapeutic value in various fields
The therapeutic puppet theater incorporates artistic and dramatic elements inherent in puppetry into a therapeutic process, allowing for verbal and non-verbal expression. Therapeutic puppetry is often used with children, but it can also be applied with individuals of various ages and in different therapeutic contexts, involving individuals, couples, and families. Puppetry skills can be used in conjunction with various therapeutic goals, and therapists may employ puppetry to assist in play therapy. The selection or creation of puppets for puppet play is essential. The roles of director, playwright, actor/puppeteer, and therapist may be assumed. Therapists may hire puppeteers to assist in puppet play according to the director’s direction. In this regard, the directive on “The Therapist Doesn’t Give Any Instructions or Directives to the Child” implies that the child leads, and the therapist follows.
Therapists creatively incorporate the puppet or object’s personality into the therapeutic conversation or character, and they may wait for the director’s guidance on what to say, how, or why to act in certain ways. This process may be challenging for some therapists, especially those naturally inclined towards creative play participation, as all input from participants in improvisation contributes to the balance of interaction. However, in therapeutic puppet theater, maintaining client control is essential to facilitate more authentic puppet play and storytelling. As a result, therapists can manage emotional conflicts and promote realistic and symbolic management of situations through effective management and handling of environmental and symbolic conditions. Therapists engage with the puppet or object to present a story or conduct “playbacks.”
In any context, therapists may direct work, storytelling, presentation, and group discussions for the benefit of the therapy team members, family members, puppeteers/actors, including ready-made puppets, art therapy-created puppets, puppets created by past group members, or masks or found objects. Therapists can use the puppet or object to tell a story in a unified manner or conduct “playbacks.” In any field, therapists facilitate work directed by the director, develop language/communication skills, memory, problem-solving, cognitive processing, and promote creativity. Through puppetry or drama in motion, therapists can engage all individuals involved in therapy. Internationally renowned clinicians use music, art, and other forms of art to engage puppet therapists effectively. (The author is an Assistant Professor, Sualkuchi Budaram Madhab Satradhikar College, Sualkuchi)
