Youth mental health needs extend beyond traditional clinical and school settings. Summer camps can offer responsive, relationship-based environments for emotional support; however, descriptions of such mental health interventions within this setting are currently lacking. To address this gap and advance a theory-based conceptualization of tailored approaches for summer camp, this article discusses the Wellness Program, a multi-tiered drama therapy-informed model delivering brief, developmentally attuned interventions for campers and staff at a large Jewish overnight summer camp in the Midwestern United States. Case illustrations analysed through drama therapy core processes demonstrate how techniques like role-play, embodiment and dramatic projection addressed anxiety, homesickness and acute distress, highlighting the clinical potential of drama therapy in camp-based mental health care.
This report outlines the development , articulation of the Drama Therapy Disability Justice Tenets, , emerging from a collaborative workshop led by the Lesley University Dis/ability Lab and New York University's Disability Justice Interest Group at the 2024 NADTA Conference. Responding to persistent gaps in drama therapy training, pedagogy and professional culture, including the marginalization of dis/abled practitioners, limited disability-centred frameworks , the reproduction of ableist norms, the tenets are grounded in critical disabil- ity theory and the principles of disability justice. They offer suggestions designed to move beyond accommodation-based approaches towards structurally inclusive and justice-oriented practice. Drawing from community dialogue, lived experi- ence and previous research, the authors interrogate ableist structures embedded in therapeutic and educational systems and position the tenets as a practical and philosophical response to these systemic barriers, proposing a shift towards more inclusive, relational and equity-based models of engagement. The report high- lights universal design, co-created learning and the repositioning of lived experi- ence as expertise, offering actionable strategies for integrating disability justice into drama therapy spaces. These tenets serve as a living framework, intended for adaptation, that reimagines access, care and embodiment in training and clinical practice.
Individuals facing housing insecurity are at elevated risk for loneliness, social isolation and poor well-being. This mixed-methods study (N = 52) examined a twelve-week drama therapy program with adults in permanent supportive housing using surveys, interviews and photo-elicitation. Significant increases in perceived group support were observed (z = 2.03, p < 0.05), with higher creative self-efficacy among interview participants (z = 2.54, p < 0.05). Six qualitative themes highlighted personal growth, social connection, emotional expression and structured therapeutic engagement. Integrated meta-inferences showed that participants experienced meaningful psychosocial benefits even when quantitative changes were modest. Drama therapy offers an accessible, relational intervention that supports connection, well-being and engagement in supportive housing settings.
This report concerns a seminar held by the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London, to celebrate 1000 citations of Drama as Therapy. The focus was on the influence of the book's definition of the 'core processes' of drama therapy, drawing on interviews with researchers in different countries. The extended report contributes to the drama therapy literature by offering extracts from the seminar to illustrate how Jones's core processes are being reinterpreted, operationalized and contested across varied, international research contexts, offering a form of qualitative knowledge insight derived from interviews with author/researchers. Themes within the interviews include the development of the core processes in: enabling the analysis of change within drama therapy research involving varied contexts and different client groups; understanding and articulating dialogues between drama therapy and different theories or frameworks of change; and supporting research concerning evidence-building.
This qualitative study explores how dis/abled drama therapy students and drama therapy faculty experience graduate training and envision more equitable education. Using separate virtual focus groups with dis/abled students and drama therapy educators across North America, researchers conducted reflexive thematic analysis to generate role- and system-based themes capturing 'Academic Harm', Findings highlight a persistent disconnect between individuals and institutions; reliance on individual faculty to 'patch' inaccessible systems; and the importance of mentorship, flexible pedagogy and disability justice principles. The authors propose a model and concrete recommendations to reorient drama therapy education towards access, collective care and leadership by those most impacted.
