The narration and listening to stories and fairy tales has always been for humanity not only an enjoyable and pleasant process, but also an effective way to interpret the world and pass on knowledge, experiences, and principles to future generations, represented in every era by children, to whom fairy tales are usually addressed.

However, myths do not have only this dimension. In her book "Once Upon a Time..." – Drama Therapy and Storytelling, the experienced drama therapist and author Maria Schubert shows another aspect of them. Through 26 stories and fairy tales, both Greek and foreign, she highlights their usefulness in drama therapeutic practice, as after reading the stories, participants in the session are invited to come into closer contact with what they heard, playing roles and reenacting the stories.

Thanks to the advantage that fairy tales have in speaking about great truths in an indirect and allegorical way, clients find it easier to better understand and resolve their problems, establishing a strong relationship of trust and empathy with their therapist. And this is exactly what the author describes in a carefully crafted and aesthetically pleasing edition aimed at all those who want to explore the magical world of fairy tales from a different perspective, which can be extremely beneficial for adults.

Contents

Part A: The Theoretical Framework

1. About Creativity
2. About Drama Therapy
3. History of Drama Therapy
4. Definition of Drama Therapy
5. The Drama Therapy Scene
6. The Means of Drama Therapy
7. Play and Drama Therapy
8. The Aesthetic Distance
9. Ritual and Drama Therapy
10. The Role
11. The Hero's Journey
12. Fairy Tales in Drama Therapy
13. The Fairy Tale
14. Characteristics of Fairy Tales
15. The Heroes
16. The Storytellers

Part B: The Fairy Tales

1. One Body – The Body Image of the Group
2. Star of the Dawn, Star of Dusk – Obstacles and Conflicts
3. The Daughter of the Moon – Name, Secrets, and Coming of Age
4. The Myth of the Coyote in the Land of the Dead – Loss and Mourning
5. The Puah and the Hoot – Departure, Search, Waiting, Return
6. The Dragon Who Had No Heart in His Body – The Father Dragon
7. The Three Helpers – The Armor
8. Per, Pol and Espen Askelund – The Magical Objects
9. The Seventh Father – The Heritage
10. The Baker Plats – Needs and Wishes
11. The Grandmother Spider Steals the Fire – Obstacles and Helpers
12. The Hare and His Shadow – Fear
13. The Prince-Snake – Transformation
14. The Wild Swans – Knots
15. The Woman Who Lent Her Leg to a Fox – The Cauldron of Creation
16. The Pearl Necklace – The Unspoken
17. The Daughter and Her Soul Mother – Mother-Daughter Relationship
18. The Evil Queen Stepmother – The Leaky Mirror
19. Lemon Tree – The Gaze
20. The Athokatsulo – Independence and Coming of Age
21. Tell It to the Walls – Breaking Walls
22. The Broken Lamp – Playing with Our Weaknesses
23. “And I Entered” – The Threshold
24. The Cage – The Personal Prison
25. The Tail of the Calf – Unlocking
26. How Long Does the Life of a Human Last – Closing Cycles

Find Your Own Story
And We Are Better...

Greek and Translated Bibliography
Foreign Bibliography
Index of Terms
Index of Names
Index of Fairy Tales, Narratives, and Myths