Die Wirkung von gruppenzentrierter Psychodrama-Therapie in der Behandlung von Kindern aus Trennungs- und Scheidungsfamilien

Abstract

Based on the concept of Aichinger this study investigates the specific effect of group-centred psychodrama therapy on children from divorced families using a design of pre-, post-, and process-diagnosis.Five hypotheses about the change of behaviour and experience of the children during the therapy are examined (i.e. expressions of worrying feelings, assigning problematic family situations for discussion, building-up the importance of one´s own value, handling aggressiveness, building-up of positive social contacts to children of the same age). Data acquisition resulted from the basis of videorecording of therapy sessions. The evaluation was done with a system of categories for the recording of play topics and of the speech- and action- levels, emerged from the play actions, which was also used for the categorisation of contents of children´s expressions in the diagnostic investigation. The frequency of this contents and of the various qualities of interaction behaviour, recorded by rating-scales, was analysed.Result: The children of the sample preferably brought in such topics on the symbolic level into the play which contained their internal experiencing, connected with the separation of parents. The predicted trends were confirmed: At the end of the therapy the children discussed worrying feelings, problematic family-relations and aggressiveness not as much as at the beginning. They more frequently discussed positive self value components and positive social behaviour. The number of positive social contacts with other children increased, aggressive behaviour in the course of the therapy decreased. The category system, developed in the investigation, proved to be appropriate for the recording of topics in the play actions as well as for the verbal expressions in the diagnostic. The symbolic play of the children in the therapy contained topics from their everyday life reality, which could be treated there representatively and symbolically and thus be overcome.