Conducting Substance-Abuse Groups Utilizing Improvisational Action Methods
Keywords:
substance abuse, groups, improvisation, action methods, rehearsals for growthAbstract
This article is based on work conducted over a two-year period with several open-ended
substance-abuse groups as part of a voluntary acute treatment program treating recently
detoxified clients in an outpatient homelike setting. Rehearsals for Growth, an application
of improvisational theater techniques to psychotherapy (D. J. Wiener, 1994), was used
successfully to teach group trust and cohesion, foster interdependence, and enhance group
members’ confidence in using their spontaneity and creativity to maintain a sober lifestyle.
This article first presents the rationale for using action methods in the treatment of clients
with substance-abuse problems; next, it describes the core concepts of Rehearsals for
Growth; then it briefly describes some distinctive techniques used in conducting these
groups; and it presents information that is useful to therapists for the conduct of these
groups. In a final section, comparisons are made between Rehearsals for Growth and
psychodrama groups.
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