How the archetype of the Latvian werewolf can inform dramatherapy practice

This article examines the Latvian Vilkatis (‘werewolf’) through an autoethnographic and historical approach, tracing its origins from ancient myth to its presence in contemporary cultural imagination. This study highlights the werewolf’s role as a liminal figure embodying otherness, resilience and transformation. Drawing on Agamben’s concept of homo sacer , the Vilkatis is positioned as an archetype of the outcast, excluded from both legal and social order, yet embodying a form of moral agency. Situating this within the framework of dramatherapy, this article argues for the archetype’s potential to support identity exploration, integration of personal and collective shadows and therapeutic transformation for individuals and communities in states of exile, crisis or transition.