Group psychodrama for children with leukemia: A brief report

Mehdi Purrezaeian | هدی پوررضاییان

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URL :   http://research.shahed.ac.ir/WSR/WebPages/Report/PaperView.aspx?PaperID=159383
Date :  2021/04/01
Publish in :    Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
DOI :  https://doi.org/10.1080/07347332.2021.1900484
Link :  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07347332.2021.1900484
Keywords :cancer; group psychodrama; leukemia; pediatrics; psychodrama

Abstract :

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Objective: Group psychodrama for children is one of the methods of group therapy in treatment of many behavioural and emotional disorders of children. However, it has been used very few in hospital settings. So, in this study, the group psychodrama was applied to evaluate its effectiveness for children with leukemia. Method: Sixteen children with leukemia aged 6–9 years participated in the present randomized controlled trial. Eight children in the intervention group and eight children in the control group were randomly assigned. The intervention group participated in eight sessions of group psychodrama (during the hospitalization time) and the control group waited for the treatment. The score of the bio-psycho-social expressions of incompatibility in hospital (BPSEIH) checklist was the criterion of evaluation of the group psychodrama effectiveness. Results: The results showed that group psychodrama was significantly effective in modifying the BPSEIH. Conclusions: The findings indicate the effectiveness of group psychodrama to moderate the psychological consequences of cancer and showed the feasibility of using this method in the hospital settings.