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Improvisational theater intervention

The 13th European Congress of Mental Health in Intellectual Disability (EAMHID) was held in Berlin, Germany, September 23 - 25, 2021. The central theme was 'From Science to Practice'. To kick off sharing the knowledge we have interviewed some of the keynote speakers. This is an interview with Regina Fabian, family therapist and drama therapist (Theaterpädagogin) at Königin Elisabeth Hospital Berlin in Germany.

 

Research, intellectual disabilities, and mental health (or challenging behaviour). What comes to mind reading these key words? 

Some fields which engage with the topic of mental health in people with intellectual disabilities lack formal research. In the context of drama therapy for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems, there is little research and few studies. And there are absolutely no reports on improvisational theatre interventions in adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems.

 

What is the main research objective/theme/focus of the study you will be presenting? What are the main results from your study?

Our workshop presents a new improvisational theatre intervention to support people with intellectual disability and mental disorders. We developed a manualized treatment model for an improvisational theatre intervention in people with intellectual disabilities and mental disorders to foster social interaction. Since 2014, two improvisational theatre groups were implemented for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and mental disorders in the outpatient clinic of the Berlin Treatment Center for Mental Health in Developmental Disabilities. In our study, the feasibility and appropriateness of the improvisational theatre therapy were assessed. Results show that the new improvisational theatre therapy offered every two weeks is feasible. The average participation period was 19 months. Qualitative assessments suggest that the applied methods and the structured treatment were well received and are appropriate for people with intellectual disabilities and mental disorders. We were positively surprised that the improvisational theatre methods seem to give participants with a wide range of cognitive and socio-emotional abilities confidence, as well as activate and enable them in improvising social situations with others.

 

How might outcomes of your (previous) studies affect daily practice in the support of persons with intellectual disabilities and mental health disorders and/or challenging behaviour? How can daily care improve their support based on your study/work?

Our study focused on a new improvisational theatre-based intervention in people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems. The newly developed intervention focusing on social interaction expands the range of treatment in the field of art therapy for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems. A wide range of treatments provides the ability to choose specific treatments for the different needs of people with different abilities and mental health problems. Also, drama therapists could be encouraged to implement improvisational theatre therapy as group therapy for people with intellectual  disabilities.

 

Can you suggest topics for future studies you will be working on? How can we better implement scientific findings in daily practices?

Topics for further studies could focus the treatment effects of an improvisational theatre therapy on social competences, self-confidence and emotional expression. One of my goals is a joint study with other drama therapists on the experiences of treatments with various theatre methods for people with intellectual disabilities.