One In Five for Sunday 1 November 2009

You could call it a labour of love. Helping people explore issues that them, but who have difficulty in voicing what they are. Later, we meet up with Bas Vanderhoven who's using drama therapy to help people who literally cannot speak. But first, Gareth Watkins talks about his plans to document the personal stories of people from the Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered, and intersexed communities. That's LGBTI for short. Thanks to this year's Mental Health Foundation's Media grants, Gareth Watkins says he'll be able to create five digital stories. That'll enable members of the LGBTI communities to see how they can deal more positively with experiences like depression, anxiety and self harm.

Imagine getting angry or frustrated with a situation but you couldn't tell anyone because you can't or won't speak. Imagine bottling up unhappy feelings or thoughts for all your life. Think about what fears and anxiety that might create with no way to deal with them. Well, that's a reality for many disabled people who're unable to verbalise what's happening for them. That's where drama therapy comes in. Not a common method in this country, its application here is often dependent on someone who comes from that part of the world where it's more in use. Enter Baz Vanderhoven. From the Netherlands, Baz Vanderhoven says he got funding to run one drama therapy season for people who're non-verbal, with intellectual and physical impairment and who're supported by Tautoko services. Baz Vanderhoven says drama therapy wears the label proudly.