Unknown2025-11-042025https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/14490Trauma experienced during early relational and neurological development, can leave enduring imprints on the body, mind, and sense of self. Traditional models of intervention are often symptom focused and rely on verbal processing and cognitive insight. Such interventions may be inaccessible or insufficient for individuals whose trauma is held somatically, or whose nervous system remains dysregulated. This systematic review explores how dramatherapy—a relational, embodied, and creative form of psychotherapy—can support the transformation of developmental trauma across the lifespan. Seven peer-reviewed studies were analysed, spanning participants aged 4 to 70. Findings reveal that while dramatic play, sensory engagement, and symbolic expression can offer potent avenues for regulation and meaning-making, therapeutic outcomes are strongly influenced by the temporal distance from trauma, the client’s developmental stage, and the socio-political context in which therapy occurs. Dramatherapy emerged as particularly effective in fostering safety, attunement, and gradual integration through embodied and symbolic exploration means—especially for those unable to articulate their experiences directly. Though limited by the heterogeneity of included studies, the review highlights dramatherapy’s unique capacity to meet trauma not just where it began, but where it is still lived. It considers the case for the recognition of developmental trauma as a distinct category requiring tailored, bodyinformed interventions. Additionally, it positions dramatherapy as a uniquely versatile modality capable of working with the diverse needs of trauma experienced individuals.Thesis