Psychodrama with children in foster care units in Bulgaria: challenges and reflections

Abstract

This article of the Zeitschrift fur Psychodrama und Soziometrie describes a programme conducted with children living in foster care institutions in Bulgaria. The programme was based on psychodrama with the children group approach established by Aichinger and Holl (2017) and the Evidence-Based Trauma Stabilisation Programme (EBTS, Flegelskamp et al. 2020). It included ten group sessions specifically designed for the purpose of the project focusing on the fulfilment of the basic needs of children first defined by Grawe (2007). Twenty-four six- to ten-year-old children from four institutions in Bulgaria participated in the programme. The conclusion of the programme following a qualitative analysis of the group process was that it is effective and at least partially fulfils the basic psychological needs of the children.