Life Review and Life‐Story Work

Westerhof, Gerben Johan

doi:10.1002/9781118521373.wbeaa209

Cited by 12 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In this way, playback theatre can provide a safe and creative space in which older adults can explore past experiences through their involvement in improvised theatrical action [39,53]. On the basis of all these ideas, we developed an original creative group intervention in which playback theatre is integrated with the principles of lifereview in old age [56][57][58][59].…”

Section: Playback Theatre As Drama Therapy Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…harsh life events [57,59,62]. In this way, life-review enhances the individual's sense of integrity and acceptance of life [60,61,63].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, it involves the exploration of self-defining memories [92]. Therefore, one implication is that such interventions should be conducted by professional creative art therapists who are familiar with playback theatre and theatrical creative processes, as well as possessing an understanding of the life-review therapy and the psychological development process in old age [56,57,59].…”

Section: Future Research and Clinical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Playback theatre in adult day centers: A creative group intervention for community-dwelling older adults

et al. 2020

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The literature indicates that theatre and drama-based interventions have the potential to improve older adults' well-being and health. The goal of the current study was to characterize the process of a creative group intervention in adult day centers (ADCs), which integrates playback theatre and life-review principles. Our objective was to provide an evidence-informed framework for drama therapy interventions, which would allow older adults to bring up and explore their life-stories in a dramatic creative process in their own community. A total of 27 participants ranging in age from 63 to 91, took part in one of three playback theatre groups. The playback theatre group intervention comprised 12 weekly sessions. All sessions were videotaped to capture the lived experience of the creative process and were analyzed in post-intervention interviews. In addition, focus group meetings were conducted with 13 ADC staff members to decipher further the effects of the participation as perceived by people outside the groups. Three types of potential transformation were identified in the qualitative analysis: the evolution of life stories, evolution of playfulness, and expansion of social engagement. The results indicate the potential of the integrative framework to serve as a creative intervention in ADC communities, as well as its potential to bring about a personal transformation and expand it to enable a person's social engagement in the community. The findings imply the potential benefits of using playback theatre groups to supplement the routine care provided in ADCs.

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Section: Playback Theatre As Drama Therapy Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…harsh life events [57,59,62]. In this way, life-review enhances the individual's sense of integrity and acceptance of life [60,61,63].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Research and Clinical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Playback theatre in adult day centers: A creative group intervention for community-dwelling older adults

et al. 2020

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“…Hence, the findings show that online arts-based intervention can support one of the common methods in psychotherapy for the aging population, i.e., life story work [ 83 , 84 ], and enrich it with artistic and symbolic language. The creative process also allowed participants to process issues connected with their aging and end-of-life experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Crafting Life Stories in Photocollage: An Online Creative Art-Based Intervention for Older Adults

Keisari

Piol

Elkarif

et al. 2021

Behavioral Sciences

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Creative arts therapies (CAT) provide a safe and creative environment for older adults to process life experiences and maintain personal growth while aging. There is a growing need to make creative arts therapies more accessible to the aging population, as many have limited access to these services. This need has been catalyzed by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tele-CAT offers a possible solution. This study explored the experiences of older adults who participated in an online creative process of digital photocollage based on CAT. Twenty-four Italian and Israeli community-dwelling older adults aged 78 to 92 participated in this research through Zoom teleconferencing software. Transcriptions of the sessions and the art produced through the photocollage were qualitatively analyzed through Thematic Analysis. The findings show that the projective stimuli of digital photographs supported older adults’ narratives and engaged them in a more embodied emotional experience. Participant experiences involved artistic enjoyment within a positive and safe interaction with therapists. The creation of digital photocollages allowed the participants to process their life experiences and create an integrative view of their life, a vital developmental task in late life. These results point to the advantages and challenges of tele-CAT for older adults.

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“…The analysis is based on the review of four studies that implemented Life-Review , one of the leading approaches to therapeutic processes in late life ( Butler, 1963 ; Erikson, 1982 ; Haber, 2006 ; Westerhof, 2015 ). Life review encourages the formulation of an integrative view of one’s life story by including life events from different periods in the life span and positive memories and achievements, alongside the acceptance of failures and harsh life events ( Kenyon et al, 2010 ; Westerhof and Bohlmeijer, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanding the Role Repertoire While Aging: A Drama Therapy Model

Keisari

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Drama therapy has been found to improve various facets of mental health while aging. It provides opportunities for personal growth and creative expression and enhances group relationships. Drama therapy is a widely acknowledged way to explore the life stories in late life. However, only a handful of studies have empirically explored the value of drama therapy for the aging population. This conceptual analysis was designed to address this need by developing a new integrative model of drama therapy. The analysis is based on the review of the results of four studies that explored the integration of life-review and playback theater as a drama therapy approach for older adults. The therapeutic process focused on the exploration of life-crossroads stories, a short unique technique which enables the participants to craft a harmonious view of their life stories in a short-term dramatic creative group process. Combining the four results yielded a multidimensional model which points to three potential transformative routes: the evolution of the life story, the evolution of improvised dramatic expression, and the expansion of social engagement. The transformative routes are described through the lens of role theory in drama therapy.

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Life Review and Life‐Story Work

Cited by 12 publications

References 20 publications

Playback theatre in adult day centers: A creative group intervention for community-dwelling older adults

Playback theatre in adult day centers: A creative group intervention for community-dwelling older adults

Crafting Life Stories in Photocollage: An Online Creative Art-Based Intervention for Older Adults

Expanding the Role Repertoire While Aging: A Drama Therapy Model

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