SWITZERLAND
It is Brigitte Spörri Weilbach who set up the first dramatherapy courses in Switzerland some 20 years ago and who later founded the Dramatherapy training institute (Dramatherapie BildungsInstitut - www.dramatherapie.ch). The training involves an international team of highly experienced dramatherapists who deliver course contents to groups that are made up of students from both the swiss german and swiss french parts of the country.
Since 2012, the full training prepares the students to fulfil the criteria in order to be able to sit the higher professional exam for arts therapists which leads to the official title of arts therapist, and thereby, to state recognition. It is ARTECURA (www.artecura.ch) who 1st established this exam in 2011 and who oversees the arts therapies trainings and associations in Switzerland.
Swiss Professional Association Dramatherapy
(https://dramatherapie-association.ch/en/) is a member of ARTECURA.
REPRESENTATIVE FOR SWITZERLAND IN THE EFD
LUCY NEWMAN
After having completed my school years in Switzerland, I left for England, where I studied 'socially useful theatre'. It's in the context of this work in prisons that i came across dramatherapy and that i went on to do a BA in Arts therapies, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Dramatherapy. After some years of working in the fields of special needs education, youth offending and paediatric mental health, I came back to Switzerland. Since then i have been involved in further work in special needs schools and institutions as well as in private practice. Within my private practice I also work as an arts therapies supervisor. Since 2012 I have been a course leader and teacher at the Dramatherapy Training Institute (Dramatherapie BildungsInstitut - www.dramatherapie.ch). Furthermore, I am a committee member of the Swiss Association of Dramatherapy (verein dramatherapie.ch) which is recognised by the Swiss arts therapies umbrella organisation ARTECURA (www.artecura.ch).