Integrating Life-Review and Drama Therapy for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: An Evidence-Based Model

Drama therapy is a widely acknowledged way to explore life-stories in late life. This presentation will describe a new model for creative interventions, based on the results of four studies that provide multiple perspectives on the integration of life-review and drama therapy for community dwelling older adults. The results of two quantitative studies (n=55, aged 62-93; n=78, aged 63-96) suggest that the drama therapy interventions have robust therapeutic potential to enhance mental health while aging. The findings of two qualitative studies with therapists (n=8), participants (n=27; aged 63-96) and staff (n=13) provide a better understanding of the process, and support the mechanisms that lead to positive effects on mental health. Combining the 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.

Teatro-terapia: un approccio originale per la gestione del comportamento dirompente del bambino

Aggressive behaviours are the main problem in children with disruptive behaviour disorders. In the majority of cases an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), often in comorbidity with ADHD, is diagnosed. In these cases the most effective intervention is the multimodal one that includes behavioural treatment for the child, counselling for parents (parent training) and teachers (teacher training) and, if needed, a pharmacological intervention. Drama therapy experiences have proved useful in various fields of medicine. It has been hypothesized that this type of intervention facilitates the development of communication skills, mutual social interaction and recognition of emotions. A group of children with ADHD-ODD comorbidity underwent a brief, intensive drama therapy intervention whose results were compared with those of a control population who received a typical treatment. The reduction in aggressive behaviour was significant and was confirmed at the follow up three months later. Drama therapy is a promising intervention, whose role should not be underestimated in the context of a multimodal approach.

El teatro como ejercicio terapéutico en Todos somos el rey Lear, de Guillermo Schmidhuber

En Todos somos el rey Lear, escrita en 1979 y publicada en 1982, el dramaturgo mexicano Guillermo Schmidhuber de la Mora plantea clara intertextualidad con William Shakespeare. El presente estudio es una exploración de cómo Schmidhuber teatraliza la creación de hiperrealidad como proceso terapéutico no sólo para ciertos personajes de la obra, sino también para el público e, incluso, para el dramaturgo mismo. Con esta finalidad se emplean los conceptos de Jean Baudrillard sobre la hiperrealidad y el simulacro, las afirmaciones del mismo Schmidhuber sobre la dramaturgia, así como también los conceptos psicológicos de Phil Jones sobre la drama-terapia y los efectos transformativos de este ejercicio teatral. Por medio de este proceso que resulta terapéutico, los personajes Millonario verdadero y Álvaro intentan enmendar los conflictos vitales que inquietan a ambos, a la par que el autor mismo negocia su identidad como dramaturgo.Theather as therapeutic exercise in We are all King Lear from Guillermo SchmidhuberAbstractIn We are all King Lear, written in 1979 and published in 1982, the Mexican playwright Guillermo Schmidhuber de la Mora clearly lays out an intertextuality exercise in front of William Shakespeare’s work. This study is an exploration of how Schmidhuber dramatizes the creation of hyperreality as a therapeutic process not only for certain characters of the play, but also for the audience and even for the playwright himself. To carry out this exploration, the paper applies Baudrillard’s concepts of hyperreality and simulation, as well as some affirmations from Schmidhuber himself about dramaturgy, and some of Phil Jones’ psychological concepts regarding drama therapy and its transformative effects as a theatrical exercise. Through this therapeutic process, the characters Real Millionaire and Álvaro attempt to rectify the vital conflicts that unsettle them both, while the author himself negotiates his identity as a playwright.Recibido: 05 de octubre de 2020Aceptado: 01 de febrero de 2021

Thank you for telling – thank you for listening: The Witness Theater model

Witness Theater is a year-long intergenerational drama therapy program that brings Holocaust survivors and adolescent students on a therapeutic and theatrical journey of telling and listening that results in the most unlikely and meaningful relationships. The program utilizes drama therapy in Holocaust education and remembrance, with an emphasis on repairing historical trauma through embodied storytelling and fostering empathy. This article will offer an overview of this unique approach to Holocaust education, a description of the program’s protocol, and the connections between this approach and the existing drama therapy theory and research. Case vignettes have been integrated to illustrate the model and potential impact of the program.

Drama therapy in late life: Taking life-story work one step further

Integrating life-story work with drama therapy creates new opportunities for the psychological development of older adults. In this conceptual article we suggest five qualities of dramatic reality by which this integration can promote psychological development in old age: its ability (1) to evoke a story, (2) to bring together the personal and the collective, (3) to help in processing unfinished business, (4) to create an integrative view of the self and (5) to open the way to imagining the future. We illustrate each of the five qualities using vignettes from our previous research in the field and show how exploring the life stories of older adults through dramatic reality provides opportunities for active self-exploration in the ‘here and now’ of the group process in a way that goes beyond verbal life-story work.