Therapeutic enactment and addiction : investigating the process of recovery

While the literature is replete with studies that investigate Psychodrama as a method for working with individuals who suffer from the very serious problem of addiction, many are descriptive and do not employ a comprehensive theory of addiction to explain how or why this intervention might be effective. There is a dearth of research that systematically investigates what exactly changes in addicted clients as a result of psychodramatic intervention. The present study links a particular formulation of Psychodrama (called Therapeutic Enactment) to the Adaptive Model of addiction (Alexander, 1990). Clients in 28- day residential treatment participated in Therapeutic Enactment as part of their program of recovery. Therapeutic Enactment sessions were videotaped and then observed by the coinvestigator and participants. In-depth interviews were conducted after treatment intervention and again at three-month follow-up. Additional data sources included direct observations and documentation from client files. Qualitative data analysis revealed 16 reliable themes, the four most predominant being Self-Expression, Self-Awareness, Corrective Emotional Experience, and Change in Self-Schema. These findings lead to a better understanding of how Therapeutic Enactment facilitates the process of recovery from addiction. This study also supports previously identified therapeutic objectives and the use of Therapeutic Enactment in addiction treatment.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat