Drama Therapy Counseling as Mental Health Care of College Students

Abstract

(1) Background: This study aims to apply drama therapy to a counseling group to address the mental health problems of college students in Taiwan due to the increasingly serious psychological problems that have happened in recent times. Based on the healing factors in drama therapy, we applied such therapy activities to four counseling groups composed of 12 high-risk students from Taiwan. (2) Methods: “Questionnaire-based assessment, participant self-assessment and participant attitude assessment” methods were used to evaluate the six mental health indicators of the participants in the evaluation of drama therapy’s effect and the groups’ pre-test and post-test (the first group and the last group). The six indicators were self-awareness, self-expression, interpersonal and communication skills, self-cognitive reconstruction ability, social role ability, and decision-making ability. Data were collected and assessed for the frequencies and percentages of each indicator item. Sets of paired-samples t-tests, independent t-tests, and two-way repeated measures ANOVAs were employed to evaluate the different designs. (3) Results: The results revealed that drama therapy could deliver significantly positive effects for and improve the six mental health indicators of the participants. Males’ self-awareness and decision-making actions were more positively affected than females. (4) Conclusions: The study helps to provide a path of establishing the mental health module of drama therapy in the education sector in Taiwan.

Selected Papers from 2019 IEEE Eurasia Conference on Biomedical Engineering, Healthcare and Sustainability (IEEE ECBIOS 2019)

“…Chang et al reported "Drama Therapy Counseling as Mental Health Care of College Students" [4]. This study aims to apply drama therapy to a counseling group to address the mental health problems of college students in Taiwan due to the increasingly serious psychological problems that have happened in recent times.…”

A Pilot Remote Drama Therapy Program Using the Co-active Therapeutic Theater Model in People with Serious Mental Illness

“…Through the use of theater processes such as improvisation, embodiment, and performance, participants can explore ways to create intimate and transformative spaces and tap into innate qualities that they can outwardly express (Emunah, 2019 ). Drama therapy implemented for high-risk college students, notably those who experienced a major stressor in their lives, participating in a counseling group resulted in increased self-awareness related to the ability to manifest inner feelings which were previously difficult to express aloud (Chang et al, 2019 ). Individuals with schizophrenia who participated in drama therapy demonstrated improvement in domains including dramatic development and fluency of speech when compared with those who received standard inpatient care (Nitsun et al, 1974 ).…”

Psychodrama Group Therapy for Social Issues: A Systematic Review of Controlled Clinical Trials

“…This psychotherapeutic technique offers a broad range of possibilities when applied to mental healthcare programs, and reports have been published of effective interventions with clinical patients suffering from different psychological disorders, e.g., [ 10 , 11 ] and people with subclinical symptoms, e.g., [ 12 , 13 ] and as part of personal development plans aimed at, for example, improving social skills, boosting self-esteem or changing attitudes, e.g., [ 14 , 15 ]. Another set of interesting studies are those carried out at a community level focusing on interdisciplinary prevention programs implemented in schools, e.g., [ 16 , 17 ].…”