Pioneering Play and Dramatherapist Dr Sue Jennings on Healthy Attachments and her theory of Neuro-Dramatic-Play (NDP)

“True empathy is part of a very genuine understanding of the other person. And we learn this through dramatic playing which we can observe in the first few hours after a baby is born: they will try to imitate the expression on the mothers face…the baby is responding as if they are the mother; this ‘dramatic response’ continues to develop in those early weeks and months, like a life rehearsal for the development of empathy.”

December 7, 2010July 4, 2017Arts therapies

Video: Watch the Book Trailer for ‘Performing New Lives’ by Jonathan Shailor

This moving video about the new JKP book, Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre, was made by author Jonathan Shailor, and chronicles the uplifting and profound…

November 24, 2010Arts therapies

JKP author Jonathan Shailor on the benefits of prison theatre and his new book ‘Performing New Lives’

“Prison theatre works because it provides a sanctuary apart from the harsh prison environment, where it is safer to be vulnerable, to self-disclose, and to experiment with new ways of expressing oneself and relating to other people. There is both support, and structure. We have a play to perform. We are accountable to one another. In programs that culminate with performances for prison audiences, and (especially) public audiences, there is an opportunity for prisoners to display and celebrate the culmination of their weeks or months of hard work. They can show themselves to themselves in the mirror of the audience, as people of value, as people who can make a contribution.”

November 17, 2010Arts therapies

Creative Expression Activities For Teens – An Interview with JKP author Bonnie Thomas

“Anyone can benefit by telling their story and being heard, whether it’s through art, narrative, or other means of communication…Everyone has a story and all of these stories are sacred. There is healing and connection in telling these stories to someone who takes the time to listen. Art is a wonderful venue for telling these stories.”

November 15, 2010July 4, 2017Arts therapies

Celebrate ‘Movember’ with a Sample Activity from Bonnie Thomas’ new book, Creative Expression Activities For Teens

Have a giggle – and raise awareness! – with this activity from Bonnie Thomas‘ new book, Creative Expression Activities For Teens! This book is bursting with art and journal…

November 1, 2010July 4, 2017Arts therapies

JKP author Jonathan Shailor announces ‘Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre’ Book Tour dates

Jonathan Shailor, Editor of the new JKP book Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre, kicks off his U.S. national book tour next week in Sacramento, California.…

October 7, 2010Adoption and Fostering

Announcing the new JKP Complete Catalogue: Autumn/Winter 2010-2011!

We are pleased to announce that our new Complete Catalogue is now available! Inside you’ll find new and forthcoming titles on our full range of topics. Click to browse…

October 6, 2010Arts therapies

‘Creative Care and the Capacity to Play’ – An excerpt from The Creative Arts in Dementia Care, by Jill Hayes with Sarah Povey

“In working in dementia care we need often to let ourselves become foolish, unconventional, stop making sense. I have been thrilled to meet staff who at the drop of a hat will dress up, play the guitar, sing uproariously…or who have the capacity to sit quietly with someone without an agenda. It is this joy of the crazy and the still, this lightness of being, which is refreshing and life-promoting in the work that we do. We can play with balloons, blow bubbles, doodle, improvise. We don’t have to make a finished product. By creatively and somatically being with a person we can instil a sense of safety, of physical and emotional security.”

June 24, 2010Arts therapies

Andrew Nelson on the positive effects of Role Play in the lives of young people with autism and their families

“I never assume that I know exactly how individuals with autism think, feel, sense, or experience the world. My main goal when using role play with parents, para-professionals, and teachers is to get people thinking about things from a different angle and to encourage them to walk in the shoes of the people they support.”

March 30, 2010May 8, 2017Arts therapies

Chris Nicholson on Creative Therapeutic Approaches with traumatised young people

“Through sensitively handled, creative interaction and by the use of ‘creative’ approaches with traumatised young people their characteristic rigidity begins to loosen. New possibilities emerge, the mutative nature of create endeavours. In time, they may be able to see painfully familiar situations in different and helpful ways that can lead to their forming a new response.”