Playing with identities and transforming shared realities: drama therapy workshops for adolescent immigrants and refugees

Abstract

In North America’s large multiethnic cities, the percentage of foreign-born children isconstantly rising. The profile of these migrants has changed considerably over the past fewdecades (Henry, Tator, Mattis, & Rees, 1995). While in the 1960s, most of them camefrom Europe, the majority of recently arrived children and adolescents, whether refugeesor immigrants, now come from countries in which there is an internationally recognizedform of organized violence, due either to a repressive regime responsible for major social´tensions or to internal armed conflict.Thedramaworkshopprogramdescribedherewasdesignedtofacilitatetheadjustmentofnewlyarrivedteens.Itwasdevelopedforhighschoolsandfollowsuponcreativeexpressionworkshops for the same population in elementary schools. The aim of the program is tomake it easier for adolescents to adjust to their new environment through creative groupworkinvolvingidentityissuesrelatedtobeingmigrantsandmembersofculturalminorities.The program also seeks to improve intergroup relations in multiethnic schools.Beforedescribingtheworkshopprogram,wewillfirstbrieflydiscusssomeofthefeaturesspecifictomigrationinadolescence,andinparticular,theimportanceofidentityissuesatthispoint in the life cycle. We will then review the drama therapy experiences that inspired ourown program. Last, we will describe the various activities in the program, with a qualitativeassessment of its effects on the adolescents who took part.