Assessing Drama Therapy as an Intervention for Recovering Substance Users: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Leather, J and Kewley, S Assessing drama therapy as an intervention for recovering substance users: A systematic review http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/10504/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. AbstractThe aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the quality and efficacy of drama therapy interventions used to support and promote the recovery process in substance users. Seven databases plus two journals were searched; three studies met the inclusion criteria. It was found that drama therapy interventions commonly consist of expressive activities such as role-play and improvisation, along with group reflection to improve communication skills, emotional awareness, and metacognition. Findings were encouraging with two studies reporting that participants maintained or improved abstinence goals; quality of life was reported to be significantly higher post-intervention compared to the control group (one study); and social and occupational engagement significantly improved post-intervention and was maintained at a six-week follow up (one study). These results however, should be interpreted with caution. Methodological inadequacies and the small number of published studies available, make it difficult to determine with confidence the efficacy of these interventions.

Commonality of Emotional Trauma in Performing Arts: Implications for Training Programs

“…The use of performing arts allows some to correct or make sense of these issues in their internal world, which can translate into external originality, especially in the form of performing arts. If this method of resilience becomes developed and honed, either through encouragement or sheer engagement, it can become a source of lifelong interest (Faccio et al, 2013;Leather & Kewley, 2019).…”

“…One of many is being intentional with developing resiliency skills and consciously using negative experiences for interpersonal growth (Ben-Porat, 2015;Tassie, 2015). It may be in this vein that the use of performance arts as a means of purposeful growth may occur (Harden et al, 2015;Leather & Kewley, 2019;Palidofsky & Stolbach, 2012;Smigelsky & Neimeyer, 2018).…”

Effectiveness of drama-based therapies on mental health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies.

“…Moreover, another systematic review of only three quantitative studies examined the effectiveness of drama therapy (single-group pretest-posttest design), theater-based intervention (single-group pretest-posttest design), and psychodrama (RCT) on substance use recovery (Leather & Kewley, 2019). While the drama therapy study reported no significant results, the psychodrama study only showed a significant increase in quality of life.…”

Effectiveness of Drama Therapy on Social Skills of Autistic Children

“…Conn (2017) found that drama can enhance autistic children's ability to express themselves freely in social interactions and improves their performance in the environment. Other research results showed that drama therapy, as a treatment technique for individuals with autism, could enhance their social skills and facilitate environmental communication (Jonsson et al, 2019;Leather & Kewley, 2019;Trudel & Nadig, 2019). As the research in this area is still scanty, there is a need to determine the effectiveness of drama therapy on psychological variables in autistic children.…”