A framework for social workers using drama in play therapy to assist youth at risk who has been exposed to violence

Abstract

Statistics by the PAN African Research Company (2016) reflect that 70% of South African youth are subjected daily to high-risk situations either by being involved with, or exposed to crime and violence in society. Exposure to violence is recognised as an important cause that triggers high-risk behaviour in youth. Such detrimental behaviour among young people predisposes them to potential negative life outcomes. Thus, social workers require new and innovative ways to prevent these negative outcomes in the lives of high-risk youth. Drama as a technique in play therapy is well suited to work with adolescents and can be used as a mode of intervention during therapy. The aim of the present study was to explore how youth at risk exposed to violence, can be assisted by incorporating drama in play therapy. Three focus groups with social workers woking with youth at risk and five semi-structured interviews with practitioners using drama in play therapy were conducted in order to gather experiential and qualitative descriptive data. The findings are presented and discussed in Section B of the present study. In this section, a framework is created to guide social workers in implementing drama techniques within the play therapy context when helping youth at risk exposed to violence. The framework provides a unique combination of tested practical guidelines for drama-based play therapeutic interventions that focus on at-risk young people who have been exposed to violence.