| Abstract [eng] |
Thesis title. Applying Elements of Drama Therapy to Children with Developmental Disorders: Practitioners Experiences. Background. Drama therapy applied to children with developmental disabilities improves social skills, independence, empathy, self-confidence, emotional self-care, attentiveness, fine and gross motor skills. There is still no published research on the effects of drama therapy on children with developmental disabilities in Lithuania, and professional drama therapists are just entering the field of psychological health. The focus of the study was placed on theater profesionals not only because there is the shortage of drama therapists in Lithuania today, but also because theater practitioners use elements of drama therapy in their work with children with developmental disorders and the overarching link between drama therapy and the theater. Objective. To uncover the experiences of theatre practitioners working with children with developmental disabilities in theatre classes. Participants. Four theatre practitioners working with children with developmental disabilities. Methods. Qualitative research method was chosen. The data was collected through unstructured interviews. Data analysis was carried out using the Thematic Analysis method according to Braun and Clarke (2013). The study was conducted from October, 2021 to February, 2022 in Vilnius. Results. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews through the Thematic Analysis Method: 1) The choice and motivation for choosing the field of work; 2) Building bridges: the processes of working with children with developmental disabilities; 3) Professionals' goals and the means of achieving them; 4) The therapeutic impact of theatre activities; 5) Challenges that bring up difficult feelings. Conclusions. The theater profesionals intuitively choose to apply drama therapy in their work, even though it is not a direct mean to achieve their results, as drama therapy acts as a mediator, strengthening children involvement into the task at hand and the overall positive impact on their emotional wellbeing. However, the lack of a professional community within the fied makes theatre practitioners insecure about their working methods. Keywords: drama therapy, elements of drama therapy, theatre professionals, thematic analysis. |
