In‐session behaviours and adolescents' self‐concept and loneliness: A psychodrama process–outcome study

Abstract

As adolescents spend many hours a day in school, it is crucial to examine the ways in which therapeutic practices in schools promote their well-being. This longitudinal pilot study examined the contribution of school-based psychodrama group therapy to the self-concept dimensions and perceived loneliness of 40 Israeli adolescents (aged 13-16, 60% boys) in public middle schools. From a process-outcome perspective, we also examined the understudied trajectory of adolescents' in-session behaviours (process variables) and its associations with changes in their self-concepts and loneliness (outcome variables). Psychodrama participants reported increases in global, social, and behavioural self-concepts and a decrease in loneliness compared to the control group. In-session productive behaviours increased and resistance decreased throughout the therapy, but varied process-outcome relationships were found. The study suggests that conducting further research into the process-outcome relationships in psychodrama group therapy is warranted to pinpoint specific mechanisms of change. Suggestions for future studies are provided.

Integrative systematic review of psychodrama psychotherapy research: Trends and methodological implications

“…This study included three groups and compared the effects of group PD with anti-depressant medication to the effects of a group with antidepressant medication alone and to a healthy control group of volunteers with similar ages and education levels. The second study involved adolescents at risk that was conducted at a middle school in Israel [45]. This study included two groups and compared the effects of group PD to a waiting list control group.…”

“…Regarding the treatment, the study at the university polyclinic had a loosely structured treatment with a session duration of three hours per week, for 16 sessions [19]. The study at the school did not follow a treatment protocol, and session duration was 1.5 hours per week for 16 to 20 sessions [45]. In both studies, information concerning the qualification of the therapists was provided and both studies indicated that the therapist was given clinical supervision during treatment implementation.…”

Psychodrama’s Role in Alleviating Acute Distress: A Case Study of an Open Therapy Group in a Psychiatric Inpatient Ward

“…The current study contributes to our understanding of the potential of psychodrama group therapy in dealing with the distress and isolation of acute psychiatric inpatients. Current literature describes how the unique features of psychodrama therapy are useful in fostering spontaneity and creativity ( Farmer, 1995 ; Roine, 1997 ; Blatner, 2000 ; Schacht, 2007 ), and in treating particularly difficult populations where traditional psychotherapy is limited ( Karp, 1994 ; Vieira and Risques, 2007 ; Karatas, 2011 ; Orkibi et al, 2017 ). The unique contribution of this study is the intimate encounter that it provides to researchers and practitioners through holistic and naturalistic, in-depth investigation in a real-life setting, with manifestations of the distress accompanying psychiatric hospitalization, the processes that take place within an inpatients therapy group, and with therapeutic dimensions such as psychodramatic sharing, which are rarely dealt with by the existing literature.…”

“…The psychodramatic stage allows individuals to approach their feelings and thoughts in situations where the verbal dialog of analytic psychotherapy is limited ( Farmer, 1995 ). Psychodrama group therapy is especially beneficial for evoking spontaneity and uncovering creativity in emotional distress cases ( Holmes and Karp, 1991 ; Roine, 1997 ; Blatner, 2000 ; Schacht, 2007 ; McVea et al, 2011 ) and in treating difficult populations, such as at-risk adolescents, alcoholics, drug addicts, sexual offenders, and those coping with anorexia ( Karatas, 2011 ; Karp, 1994 ; Hollander and Craig, 2013 ; Orkibi et al, 2017 ). Another advantage of psychodrama is its effectiveness in treating a wide range of psychopathologies, including depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other related phenomena such as self-stigma in people coping with mental illness ( Vieira and Risques, 2007 ; Belil, 2010 ; Gatta et al, 2010 ; Orkibi et al, 2014 ).…”

Studying the Efficacy of Psychodrama With the Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design: Results From a Longitudinal Study

“…It is probably due to this association that the study of psychodrama’s effectiveness, in a controlled and more rigid academic way, has been neglected.” Nevertheless, the discovery of the therapeutic potency of spontaneity ( Moreno, 2010 ) and its effect on developing human interactions has been central to the process of recognizing the importance of psychodrama. The relevance of our study is directly linked to the discussion of the effects of psychodrama in several different contexts of application, clinical and non-clinical ( Kipper, 1978 ; D’Amato and Dean, 1988 ; Kipper and Hundal, 2003 ; Orkibi et al, 2017a , b ; Azoulay and Orkibi, 2018 ; Testoni et al, 2018 ) and to the need for solid methodologies that gather mixed approaches and acknowledge the complexity of this type of intervention, not always easily amenable to empirical research ( Kim, 2003 ). All in all, as stated by Kipper and Ritchie (2003 , p. 23) in their meta-analysis about the effectiveness of psychodramatic techniques, “the findings appear to shed a positive light on the issue of the validity of psychodramatic interventions and to encourage research regarding the specific psychotherapeutic effects of its basic techniques.”…”