Sesame approach (Lindkvist)

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Marian Lindkvist · 1964 · London, England

What it is

Sesame is a named British school of dramatherapy, not a single manualised protocol. Marian "Billy" Lindkvist founded it. Sources spell her surname both Lindkvist and Lindqvist. Lindkvist was an actress. Her touring company, the "Sesame Kats", took drama and movement into hospitals and institutions.…

Format

• At least 72 sessions of personal therapy, with Jungian analysis recommended for the individual part.
• At least 30 sessions of group dramatherapy.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Professional frame. In the UK, Sesame is practised as dramatherapy. "Dramatherapist" is a title protected by the HCPC. The recognised route is the two-year full-time MA Drama and Movement Therapy at Royal Central, which leads to HCPC registration. Requirements during that training include:
• Short courses do not qualify you to practise as a therapist. These include Royal Central's introductory course, the Irish certificate and a CPD course for HCPC-registered professionals. The Irish validation document says the certificate "does not alone qualify" graduates to practise professionally.
• If you are a psychotherapist without dramatherapy registration, you may use Sesame-informed story and movement elements within your existing scope. Do not present yourself as a Sesame or drama and movement therapist. Do not use the touch-based Movement with Touch and Sound work without Sesame training.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Members who cannot cross the threshold: offer an observer or musician role.
• Use observations to guide your choice of tasks. Do not use them as diagnostic labels.
• Shame about one's voice. Keep sounds collective so no one is exposed. Keep loud shouting brief.
• Over-arousal, exclusion and unwanted contact. It is working when children wait, respond to each other and laugh.
• Religious or cultural rituals belong to their communities. Draw on general ritual forms, not borrowed sacred ceremonies.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.