Children and Young People’s Perception of the Active Ingredients of Dramatherapy When Used as a Treatment for Symptoms of Emotional Disorders: A Meta-synthesis

A developing evidence base suggests that dramatherapy, a creative form of psychotherapy, is a useful treatment for child and adolescent emotional disorders. However, little is known regarding the therapeutic benefits (“active ingredients”) of this intervention. A systematic search and meta-synthesis of secondary qualitative data reflecting participants’ perceptions of active ingredients of dramatherapy for symptoms of emotional disorders (anxiety, depression and trauma-related stress) was conducted. Six analytical themes emerged from eight studies. Dramatherapy as a learning (1) and social (2) experience and dramatherapy as a positive intervention (3) which supports self-expression (4) and emotion regulation (5) were identified as active ingredients. The skill and professionalism of dramatherapists (6) were also identified. This study is limited as the data available were not collected for the primary purpose of identifying active ingredients, more focused investigations may reveal different findings. In addition, studies contributed unequal amounts of data thus, findings may be skewed. The findings of this synthesis were benchmarked against other interventions commonly offered to children and young people with emotional distress. Three active ingredients (dramatherapy is fun, dramatherapy builds confidence, participants process difficulties through drama) were deemed unique to dramatherapy. Further research could employ mediation analysis to determine therapeutic mechanisms of change of this intervention.