Potentials of drama therapy for healing childhood trauma in delinquents in Ibadan

Abstract

Drama therapy is the deliberate deployment of healing aspects of drama to address mental, emotional, and psychological issues bedevilling humans. Studies have confirmed the potency of drama therapy in addressing different health problems such as schizophrenia, dementia, learning disorder, trauma, domestic violence, and even eating disorders, especially in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, etcetera. However, there is limited or no research on leveraging the potency of drama therapy for childhood trauma in juvenile offenders in Nigeria. Therefore, this study is hinged on the propensity of drama therapy with juvenile offenders in Ibadan to alleviate the mental effects of childhood trauma in the correctional facility. The study dwelled on David Read Johnson’s developmental transformation, while adopting the qualitative approach with instruments such as interview, focus group discussion and participant observation to collect relevant data. Findings reveal that developmental transformation methods are capable of propelling traumatic juvenile offenders towards adapting with situations and suggesting ways to achieve their goals. It is concluded that drama therapy helped delinquents in Ibadan to release emotions and develop the courage and audacity to confront their problems, and suggest way-forwards without fear. Hence, the study recommends that theatre scholars in Nigeria and Africa should consider instituting the practice and research of drama therapy to expose its potency as a multidisciplinary field while also extending its impacts to the community.