J. Except. People 2020, 9(1):79-89

Humour in dramatherapy in addicted persons

Jakub Vávra1, Milan Valenta1, Tomáš Lakota, Magdalena Šochmanová
1 Palacký University in Olomouc, Žižkovo nám. 5, 771 40 Olomouc, Czech Republic

The research focuses on the description of humour and its effect on dramatherapy intervention in people with addiction. In a short research, we used the so-called "sculpture" as one of the sources for obtaining data, where clients depicted selected thematic areas using their own bodies and subsequently verbally described their meaning. Another method used was a questionnaire survey with open questions, when clients answered thematic areas that arose from sculpture and last but not least it was field observation of dramatherapists. This compares body-based data and subsequently verbalises the attitudes and ideas of clients in conjunction with dramatherapist observations. Dramatherapy as a discipline uses for its work means such as play, role play, improvisation and more. These means, and especially improvisation, offer a number of situations and stimuli where humour is revealed and applied. The topic of humour arises in almost every dramatherapy intervention and works in different dimensions to the process. As it turns out, humour works on multiple levels, for example as an encouraging humour that helps build a therapeutic relationship, but also on opposite levels, serving as an escape from the topic the client is currently working on. It was the exploration of these levels of humour in dramatherapy intervention that was a central theme of the research study.

Keywords: psychotherapy, humour, dramatherapy, group, addictive behavior
Grants and funding:

This paper was supported by grant IGA_PdF_2019_005

Published: June 11, 2020  Show citation

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Vávra, J., Valenta, M., Lakota, T., & Šochmanová, M. (2020). Humour in dramatherapy in addicted persons. Journal of Exceptional People, 9(16), 79-89
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