Psychodrama In Medicare: A Missing Link In Nigerian Healthcare System

Abstract

Psychodrama is a real-life “externalization of inner mental processes” of a disturbed individual on stage through a protagonist. Nigerian drama has experienced all forms of theatre for development (TfD) impacting lives in communities and rural areas leading to greater awareness of problems and their solutions. However, illnesses arising from mental or emotional disturbances have received little attention in Nigerian dramatic experiments. Finding shows that treatments of mental illnesses in Nigeria both psychological and emotional have depended largely on doctor-patient approach, including counseling as therapy. Instances will be given how psychodrama works and how medical personnel can complement the little efforts began but abandoned by Chuck Mike in ’90 due to lack of support. There is urgent need to integrate psychodrama in the Nigerian healthcare practice as an effective means of a patient’s self examination, confession and correction. The paper thus advocates the need to integrate therapeutic gains of drama in the Nigerian Medicare system through collaboration between psychotherapy units and drama groups.