You’ve probably seen her on TV and you’ve probably also asked yourself the same question: is that an Egyptian Katy Perry? It’s true, the resemblance is uncanny. Her big blue eyes and dark hair are almost identical. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present you the very smart and talented actor-therapist Ingi Abou Zeid.
Abou Zeid is not only known for her on-screen persona. What you don’t know, is that she’s better known for her other off-screen profession, therapy; more specifically, drama therapy.
Drama therapy is definitely not something you hear about everyday. It’s different than conventional therapy in a way because it uses art and objects to create a gap between you and your trauma. “It creates a distance between the issue and yourself. Distance makes clients feel more open and safe to explore. It’s also very fun. For example, sometimes we go as far as making fun of the abuser. Drama therapy helps people gain more insight and go deeper into exploring themselves,” she tells me.
“The way I see it, drama therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on theater and acting tools like role play, embodiment, metaphors, mask making and using objects that facilitate my interactions with my clients; it helps people exorcise their problems and inner traumas outside of themselves.”
Abou Zeid goes on to give an example of an exercise they do during one of her sessions. “I ask my clients about their experience with, let’s say, abuse. I ask them how it felt, then I give them a piece of clay and tell them to create an image or a shape that represents how they feel. This way, instead of just talking to the client about their issue, I turn the problem into something concrete where they can see it and touch it.”
Photo By Safaa El Din
Prior to becoming a drama therapist, Abou Zeid, like most of us, was actually unaware that drama therapy even existed. She stumbled upon the term for the first time in Canada, where her interest in psychology took on a more serious role. “I always read about psychology but I never had the chance to study it when I was in Egypt. I finished my Bachelors in Business and moved to Canada where I developed an interest for psychology. I then went on to pursue another undergrad certificate in psychology.” By that time Abou Zeid was married but her experience with marriage was not a very pleasant one.
“I was in an abusive relationship but when I got out of it, I said I have to learn from my experiences. I told myself that ‘no woman has the right to ever suffer under any kind of abuse’ so my main goal was to work with women, especially those who are or were in abusive relationships.”
Photo By Safaa El Din
Prior to becoming a drama therapist, Abou Zeid, like most of us, was actually unaware that drama therapy even existed. She stumbled upon the term for the first time in Canada, where her interest in psychology took on a more serious role. “I always read about psychology but I never had the chance to study it when I was in Egypt. I finished my Bachelor’s in Business and moved to Canada where I developed an interest for psychology. I then went on to pursue another undergrad certificate in psychology.” By that time Abou Zeid found herself in a marriage, however, that experience wasn’t a very pleasant one.
“I was in an abusive relationship, but when I got out of it, I told myself that I had to learn from my experiences. I told myself that ‘no woman has the right to ever suffer under any kind of abuse’ so my main goal was to work with women, especially those who are or were in abusive relationships.”
Abou Zeid’s life was completely altered once she decided to pursue psychology and went on to explain the life-altering revelations that were buried deep inside her.
“I started connecting more with myself, something opened up inside of me. I remembered that I had a dream to become an actress since I was seven years old. I hid this dream because I was never brave enough to chase it.”
While Abou Zeid was studying psychology, she started taking acting workshops. Her talent in that field began to blossom and that’s when she decided to pursue it on a more professional level. She traveled to LA and went on to study acting at the New York Film Academy.
“I fell in love with acting and when I came back to Egypt, I did an art therapy session and it opened my eyes to the healing power of art.” Abou Zeid went back to Canada to conduct a research about art therapy and that was when she stumbled upon drama therapy in Montreal’s Concordia University. “It was everything I ever wanted because a very big part of me believes in the power of art. Art has magic and drama therapy was basically helping people to heal through art.”
While in Canada, Abou Zeid started her training in a shelter house called Auberge Transition, where she was later hired due to her outstanding passion and dedication to the cause. This shelter house acted as a sanctuary for abused women to get away from their abusers.
“In Canada abused women can call 911 for help. They’re taken to one of these shelter houses where they go through a psychological and physical assessment.” Abou Zeid worked a lot with women and she goes on to explain how drama therapy is a tool for her to fulfill her mission in life which is empowering women.
Photo by Safaa El Din
Balancing two very intense careers can sound and look very intimidating, even though Abou Zeid makes it look easy, but the truth is far from that. “Balancing two careers is a very hard feat. I faced a lot of obstacles, but it’s very rich to have two careers, and I think the most important thing is to have structure. It helps you acquire experience and knowledge.” Her advice is straight and simple: “Don’t limit yourself. Follow your dreams but it’s always important to take some time off for self-care.”
The one thing you should take away from Abou Zeid’s story is it’s either you become a victim of your circumstances or stand up and fight.
