Evaluation of Dramatherapy at the Addiction Recovery Unit by Alumni I

Abstract

This is the first part of an article dealing with an evaluation of the dramatherapy process. The first part introduces a long-term research project assessing the dramatherapy process at the 17B Addiction Recovery Unit of the Kroměříž Psychiatric Hospital. Building on therapeutic community principles, the treatment provided at the Unit is a medium-term addiction recovery programme (4 to 6 months). The part of the research discussed in this paper is focused on an evaluation of the dramatherapy process as seen by alumni (abstainers), who received therapy at the Unit between February 2014 and June 2017. The data was collected from semi-structured focus groups organized as part of alumni meetings at the Unit. The findings of the focus group analysis will be presented in the second part of the article. They are designed to describe the specific benefits of dramatherapy intervention in the treatment of addictions and the potential of the transfer of experience, obtained in dramatherapy interventions, for the abstainer's daily life from the perspective of alumni.