Abstract
Psychodrama is a therapeutic method in which the stage is used to enact and reenact life events with the aim of instilling, among other positive changes, hope and empowerment in a wide range of populations suffering from psychological duress. The therapeutic process in psychodrama moves away from the classic treatment of the individual in isolation to treatment of the individual in the context of a group. In domestic violence situations, in which abusive men seek to socially isolate their victims from family and friends, the social support that psychodrama provides can positively influence the psychological health and well-being of the participants. This qualitative study examines the manner in which psychodramatic treatment can empower abused women residing in domestic violence shelters and help them regain control of their lives. An action research study of domestic violence survivors living in a women's shelter in Israel, over a 12-month period, demonstrates the role of psychodrama therapy in promoting the reduction of anxiety, stress, guilt, and self-blame, while reinforcing perceptions of self-worth and confidence. These findings contribute to our understanding of the potential of psychodrama in helping reshape life roles and reframe experiences within a creative process, with the aim of facilitating a transition from powerlessness to powerfulness among vulnerable populations.
Highlights
Domestic violence is described as a pattern of abusive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological forms of maltreatment, that are carried out to exert and demonstrate power over the victim; it is primarily perpetrated by men on their female partners (Walker, 1996; Meloy and Miller, 2011; Lombard and McMillan, 2013)
The following example is from a psychodramatic vignette with M, a 29-year-old mother of two who immigrated to Israel from Russia with her husband and his mother
The findings of this study show the potential of psychodrama group therapy to allow a once voiceless victim the opportunity to release pent-up emotions that can foster new learning and behavior patterns (Dayton, 1994)
Summary
Domestic violence is described as a pattern of abusive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological forms of maltreatment, that are carried out to exert and demonstrate power over the victim; it is primarily perpetrated by men on their female partners (Walker, 1996; Meloy and Miller, 2011; Lombard and McMillan, 2013). The global problem of violence against women crosses all religions and cultures. At the UN’s fourth International Conference on Women in 1994, every participating country reported that domestic violence was occurring within its borders (Chen, 1995; Paxton and Hughes, 2014). Global estimates published by the World Health Organization in 2012 indicate that 30% of women have experienced physical violence by their intimate partner (World Health Organization, 2012; Rollè et al, 2019). In the United States, it has been estimated that a woman is abused by an intimate partner every 9 s, and roughly 8.7 million women are physically abused by a male partner each year (Roberts, 2005). In Israel, according to Wizo’s (2020) violence index, over 200,000 women
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