Drama therapy is a useful therapy method for improving the life quality of psychiatric patients. Drama therapy is a rehearsal of everyday life. In this therapy method, clients actively join the creative process in order to better understand their life experiences.

Drama therapy may improve patients’ ego functions, psycho-social and self-expression abilities, problem-solving skills, real-life adaptations and contribute to patient's psychiatric treatment.

The main aims were to examine the curative effects of drama group therapy and the effects of drama therapy on functionality in psychiatric patients.

The study was performed at the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine. Patients were referred from the Psychiatry Polyclinic of this university to Art Therapy and Rehabilitation Program. Drama therapy is an applied drama-based art group therapy. The 10 subjects in our study, ranged from 20 to 50 years old. This therapy group gathered once a week for a ninety minute session. Subjects continued their medical care and received psychotherapy throughout the 24-week study. The therapy plan included an introduction, a warm-up session, a drama therapy work and a sharing session. Patients were assessed in pre and post-treatment with Global Assessment of Functioning and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used for statistical analysis. Yalom's Group Curative Factors Scale was applied.

There was a significant decrease in loss of functioning (P < .05). In Group Curative Factors, the means of hope, identification, group cohesion and altruism were determined high.

Our study demonstrates that drama therapy has positive effects on patients with severe psychiatric patients.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.