Skip to content
1981
Disability, Chronic Illness and Debility Justice in Drama Therapy: Global- Political Perspectives
  • ISSN: 2054-7668
  • E-ISSN: 2054-7676

Abstract

The lived experience of dis/abled drama therapists and drama therapy students is understudied. This article examines the experiences of four dis/abled researcher-participants via a phenomenological study, utilizing a critical dis/ability lens and an Emancipatory Educational Action Research framework. Through a series of interviews and a focus group, researcher-participants shared their experiences as dis/abled drama therapy students in training. Data were analysed using inductive qualitative analysis through an iterative process. The results revealed how the use of power within academic systems can both help and harm students. Uses of power and how they intersect with different aspects of being a dis/abled student and clinician in training are further explored. Suggestions for professors and others in positions of power are provided.

Resumen

La experiencia vivida por los dramaterapeutas dis/capacitados y los estudiantes de dramaterapia está poco estudiada. Este artículo examina las experiencias de cuatro investigadores-participantes dis/capacitados a través de un estudio fenomenológico, utilizando una lente crítica de dis/capacidad y un marco de Investigación de Acción Educativa Emancipadora. A través de una serie de entrevistas y un grupo focal, los investigadores-participantes compartieron sus experiencias como estudiantes de dramaterapia dis/capacitados en formación. Los datos se analizaron mediante análisis cualitativo inductivo a través de un proceso iterativo. Los resultados revelaron cómo el uso del poder dentro de los sistemas académicos puede ayudar y perjudicar a los estudiantes. Se exploran más a fondo los usos del poder y cómo se cruzan con diferentes aspectos de ser un estudiante dis/capacitado y un clínico en formación. Se proporcionan sugerencias para profesores y otras personas en posiciones de poder.

Résumé

L’expérience vécue des dramathérapeutes et des étudiants en dramathérapie en situation de handicap est peu étudiée. Cet article examine les expériences de quatre chercheurs-participants en situation de handicap à travers une étude phénoménologique, en utilisant une perspective critique de handicap et un cadre de recherche-action éducative émancipatrice. Grâce à une série d’entretiens et à un groupe de discussion, les chercheurs-participants ont partagé leurs expériences en tant qu’étudiants en dramathérapie en situation de handicap en formation. Les données ont été analysées à l’aide d’une analyse qualitative inductive selon un processus itératif. Les résultats ont révélé comment l’usage du pouvoir au sein des systèmes universitaires peut à la fois aider et nuire aux étudiants. Les utilisations du pouvoir et la façon dont elles se recoupent avec différents aspects du fait d’être un étudiant et clinicien en formation en situation de handicap sont explorées plus en détail. Des suggestions pour les professeurs et autres personnes en position de pouvoir sont fournies.

© 2024 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/dtr_00146_1
2024-05-07
2026-04-16

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bailey, S. (2016), ‘Dissolving the stigma of disability through drama therapy: A case study of an integrated classroom approach to addressing stigmatization by pre-professional health care students’, Drama Therapy Review, 2:1, pp. 65–78, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr.2.1.65_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Baum, F., MacDougall, C. and Smith, D. (2006), ‘Participatory action research’, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 60:10, pp. 854–57, https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2004.028662.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bendixen, R. M., Benevides, T., Ideishi, R., Smythe, R., Taylor, J., Umeda, C., Kerfeld, C. and Jirikowic, T. (2022), ‘Community conversations: Stakeholder-identified research priorities to foster community participation for individuals with intellectual and developmental disability’, Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 3, https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2022.873415.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Berne, P., Morales, A. L., Langstaff, D. and Invalid, S. (2018), ‘Ten principles of disability justice’, WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, 46:1–2, pp. 227–30, https://doi.org/10.1353/wsq.2018.0003.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Black, R. D., Weinberg, L. A. and Brodwin, M. G. (2015), ‘Universal design for learning and instruction: Perspectives of students with disabilities in higher education’, Exceptionality Education International, 25:2, pp. 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5206/eei.v25i2.7723.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Boorse, C. (2010), ‘Disability and medical theory’, in D. Ralston and J. Ho (eds), Philosophical Reflections on Disability, New York: Springer eBooks, pp. 55–88, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2477-0.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006), ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3:2, pp. 77–101, https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Broadbridge, A. (2014), ‘Inclusive integration: How whole person care can work for adults with disabilities’, IPPR North, 18 December, https://www.ippr.org/articles/inclusive-integration-how-whole-person-care-can-work-for-adults-with-disabilitie. Accessed 4 March 2024.
  9. Brown, R. and Stobart, K. (2007), Understanding Boundaries and Containment in Clinical Practice, New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Campbell, F. K. (2008), ‘Exploring internalized ableism using critical race theory’, Disability & Society, 23:2, pp. 151–62, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590701841190.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Cargo, M. and Mercer, S. L. (2008), ‘The value and challenges of participatory research: Strengthening its practice’, Annual Review of Public Health, 29:1, pp. 325–50, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.091307.083824.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (2005), ‘Staying critical’, Educational Action Research, 13:3, pp. 347–58, https://doi.org/10.1080/09650790500200316.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Chevalier, J. M. and Buckles, D. J. (2019), Participatory Action Research, 2nd ed., Abingdon and New York: Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351033268.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Chinyowa, K. C. and Chivandikwa, N. (2017), ‘Subverting ableist discourses as an exercise in precarity: A Zimbabwean case study’, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22:1, pp. 50–61, https://doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2016.1263562.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Cook, A. (2021), ‘A post-intentional phenomenological investigation of inclusivity in a therapeutic theatre production’, Drama Therapy Review, 7:2, pp. 169–91, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00072_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Cook, A., Young, K., McFann, C. and Angier, M. (2022), ‘Examining drama therapy practices through the lens of dis/abled-clinicians-in-training’, Drama Therapy Review, 8:2, pp. 273–80, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00110_7.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Disability Unit (2020), ‘Living with non-visible disabilities’, 17 December, https://disabilityunit.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/17/living-with-non-visible-disabilities. Accessed 10 April 2024.
  18. Dokter, D., Lea-Weston, L. and Thornewood, T. (2023), ‘Waving and drowning: The gradations of therapist fitness to practise’, Dramatherapy, 44:1, pp. 7–17, https://doi.org/10.1177/02630672231171326.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Dolan, V. L. B. (2023) ‘“… but if you tell anyone, I’ll deny we ever met”: The experiences of academics with invisible disabilities in the neoliberal university’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 36:4, pp. 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2021.1885075.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Dolmage, J. T. (2017), Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Doria, S., McFann, C., Hitt, T., Young, K. and Cook, A. (2023), ‘Building an equitable research framework with dis/abled participants: PAR and drama therapy’, in S. B. Barret (ed.), People with Disabilities: Perceptions, Stigmas and Stereotypes, New York: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 199–219.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Estrella, K. (2019), Handbook of Expressive Arts Therapy, New York: Guilford Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Fossey, E, Bigby, C., Chaffey, L., Mealings, M., Williams, A., Serry, T., Venville, A., Oates, J. and Ennals, P. (2017), ‘Supporting students with mental health issues and acquired brain injury: University teaching staff perspectives’, JANZSSA: Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, 41:49, pp. 15–25.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Freire, P. (1970), Pedagogy of the Oppressed, London: Bloomsbury Academic.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Girli, A., Sarı, H. Y., Kırkım, G. and Narin, S. (2016), ‘University students’ attitudes towards disability and their views on discrimination’, International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 62:2, pp. 98–107, https://doi.org/10.1179/2047387715Y.0000000008.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Goode, T. D., Carter-Pokras, O. D., Horner-Johnson, W. and Yee, S. (2014), ‘Parallel tracks: Reflections on the need for collaborative health disparities research on race/ethnicity and disability’, Medical Care, 52:10suppl3, pp. S3–8.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Goodley, G. (2018), ‘The dis/ability complex’, DiGeSt Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies, 5:1, pp. 5–22.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Hadley, S. (2013), ‘Dominant narratives: Complicity and the need for vigilance in the creative arts therapies’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 40:4, pp. 373–81, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2013.05.007.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Hahn, H. (1997), ‘An agenda for citizens with disabilities: pursuing identity and empowerment’, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 9:1, pp. 31–37, https://doi.org/10.3233/jvr-1997-9105.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Hodermarska, M., Stevens, A., Johnson, J., Jones, E., Manzi, M. and McGowan, S. (2021), ‘Disability justice: Drama therapy as collective liberation’, in Artability: Creative Arts and Disabilities, Chennai: Notion Press, pp. 182–203.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Hosking, D. (2008), ‘Critical disability theory’, 4th Biennial Disability Studies Conference, Lancaster University, Lancaster, 2–4 September.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Houtenville, A. and Rafal, M. (2020), ‘Annual report on people with disabilities in America’, white paper, University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability, https://disabilitycompendium.org/annualreport. Accessed 4 March 2024.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Invisible Disabilities Association (2023), ‘How do you define invisible disability?’, https://invisibledisabilities.org/what-is-an-invisible-disability. Accessed 4 March 2024.
  34. Kinsler, K. (2010), ‘The utility of educational action research for emancipatory change’, Action Research, 8:2, pp. 171–89, https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750309351357.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Kinsler, K. (2016), ‘Chapter 3: The utility of educational action research for emancipatory change’, in P. Hinchey (ed.), A Critical Action Research Reader, New York: Peter Lang Publishing, pp. 27–38.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Knill, P. J. (1994), ‘Multiplicity as a tradition: Theories for interdisciplinary arts therapies – An overview’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 21:5, pp. 319–28, https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-4556(94)90059-0.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Kuder, S. J., Acardo, A. and Woodruff, J. (2021), College Success for Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Neurodiversity Perspective, Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Kwon, C., Guadalupe, S. S., Archer, M. and Groomes, D. A. (2023), ‘Understanding career development pathways of college students with disabilities using crip theory and the theory of whole self’, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 16:3, pp. 520–25, https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000464.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. McGregor, K. K., Langenfeld, N., Horne, S. V., Oleson, J., Anson, M. and Jacobson, W. (2016), ‘The university experiences of students with learning disabilities’, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 31:2, pp. 90–102, https://doi.org/10.1111/ldrp.12102.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. McLeod, J. D. (2023), ‘Invisible disabilities and inequality’, Social Psychology Quarterly, 86:1, pp. 6–29, https://doi.org/10.1177/01902725231153307.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Mertler, C. A. (2019), Introduction to Educational Research, 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Mingus, M. (2011), ‘Access intimacy: The missing link’, Leaving Evidence, https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/access-intimacy-the-missing-link/. Accessed 3 March 2024.
  43. Mitchell, D. T. (2015), ‘Disability, diversity, and diversion’, in D. Bolt and C. Penketh (eds), Disability, Avoidance and the Academy: Challenging Resistance, London: Taylor and Francis, pp. 9–33.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Morgado Camacho, B., Lopez-Gavira, R. and Morina Dıez, A. (2017), ‘The ideal university classroom: Stories by students with disabilities’, International Journal of Educational Research, 85, January, pp. 148–56, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJER.2017.07.013.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Mullins, L. and Preyde, M. (2013), ‘The lived experience of students with an invisible disability at a Canadian university’, Disability & Society, 28:2, pp. 147–60.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Murugami, M. (2009), ‘Disability and identity’, Disability Studies Quarterly, 29:4, https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v29i4.979.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Musicka-Williams, A. (2018), ‘Offering space for choice and voice: Participant assent as a creative workshop informed by dramatherapy practice’, Creative Arts in Education and Therapy, 4:2, pp. 206–13, https://doi.org/10.15212/CAET/2018/4/31.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Musicka-Williams, A. and Cook, A. (2022), ‘Making connections across countries between creative approaches in qualitative interviewing with dis/abled communities’, Disability & Society, pp. 1–22, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2022.2090901.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Mutanga, O. (2017), ‘Inclusion of students with disabilities in South African higher education’, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 65:2, pp. 229–42, https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912x.2017.1368460.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Mutanga, O. and Walker, M. (2017), ‘Exploration of the academic lives of students with disabilities at South African universities: Lecturers’ perspectives’, African Journal of Disability, 6:316, pp. 1–9, https://doi.org/10.4102/ajod.v6i0.316.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Noffke, S. and Somekh, B. (2009), The SAGE Handbook of Educational Action Research, London: SAGE Publications Ltd., https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857021021.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Notara, D. and Robinson, S. (2013), The Belonging Project Report of Outcomes, Lismore: Family and Community Services.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Oliver, M. H. (1983), Social Work with Disabled People, New York: SpringerLink, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-86058-6.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Oliver, M. (1997), ‘Emancipatory research: Realistic goal or impossible dream?’, in C. Barnes and G. Mercer (eds), Doing Disability Research, Leeds: The Disability Press, pp. 15–31.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Olney, M. F. and Kim, A. (2001), ‘Beyond adjustment: Integration of cognitive disability into identity’, Disability & Society, 16:4, pp. 563–83.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Onyeabor, S. (2016), ‘Addressing health disparities at the intersection of disability, race, and ethnicity: The need for culturally and linguistically appropriate training for healthcare professionals’, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 3:3, pp. 389–93, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0140-9.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Osborne, T. (2018), ‘Not lazy, not faking: Teaching and learning experiences of university students with disabilities’, Disability & Society, 34:2, pp. 228–52, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2018.1515724.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. O’Shea, A. and Meyer, R. H. (2016), ‘A qualitative investigation of the motivation of college students with nonvisible disabilities to utilize disability services’, Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 29:1, pp. 5–23.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Payne, Y. A. (2017), ‘Participatory action research’, in B. S. Turner and C. Kyung-Sup (eds), The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118430873.est0272.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Reinholz, D. L. and Ridgway, S. W. (2021), ‘Access needs: Centering students and disrupting ableist norms in STEM’, CBE: Life Sciences Education, 20:3, https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-01-0017.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Renwick, R., Denise, D., Jasmine, C., Debra, C., Schormans, F. and Natalie, R. (2019), ‘Voices of youths on engagement in community life: A theoretical framework of belonging’, Disability & Society, 34:6, pp. 945–71, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2019.1583551.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Richards, E. (2023), ‘Thriving with chronic pain: A newly qualified dramatherapist’s journey towards learning her body’s language’, Dramatherapy, 44:1, pp. 41–50, https://doi.org/10.1177/02630672231176684.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Riddell, S. and Weedon, E. (2014), ‘Disabled students in higher education: Discourses of disability and the negotiation of identity’, International Journal of Educational Research, 63, pp. 38–46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2013.02.008.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Sajnani, N., Marxen, E. and Zarate, R. (2017), ‘Critical perspectives in the arts therapies: Response/ability across a continuum of practice’, Arts in Psychotherapy, 54, pp. 28–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.01.007.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Sajnani, N., Mayor, C., Burch, D., Feldman, D., Davis, C., Kelly, J., Landis, H. and McAdam, L. (2019), ‘Collaborative discourse analysis on the use of drama therapy to treat trauma in schools’, Drama Therapy Review, 5:1, pp. 27–47, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr.5.1.27_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Sajnani, N., Tomczyk, P., Bleuer, J., Dokter, D., Carr, M. and Bilodeau, S. (2016), ‘Guidelines on cultural response/ability in training, research, practice, supervision, advocacy and organizational change’, Drama Therapy Review, 2:1, pp. 141–48, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr.2.1.141_7.
     [Google Scholar]
  67. Sayre, D. N. (2022), ‘Care work and social justice in creative arts therapy: Putting queer performance theory and disability justice in conversation with drama therapy’, Arts in Psychotherapy, 80, pp. 1–6, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2022.101940.
     [Google Scholar]
  68. Schalk, S. (2017), ‘Critical disability studies as methodology’, Lateral, 6:1, https://doi.org/10.25158/L6.1.13.
     [Google Scholar]
  69. Shaw, L. R., Chan, F. and McMahon, B. T. (2012), ‘Intersectionality and disability harassment’, Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 55:2, pp. 82–91.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. Sins Invalid (2015), ‘10 principles of disability justice’, Sins Invalid, https://www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/10-principles-of-disability-justice. Accessed 3 March 2024.
  71. Soon, R. L. (2016), ‘Nohona i Waena i n ̄a Mo’olelo/Living between the stories: Contextualizing drama therapy within an Indigenous Hawaiian epistemology’, Drama Therapy Review, 2:2, pp. 257–71, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr.2.2.257_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. Stack, E. and McDonald, K. E. (2014), ‘Nothing about us without us: Does action research in developmental disabilities research measure up?’, Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 11:2, pp. 83–91, https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12074.
     [Google Scholar]
  73. Test, D. W., Fowler, C. H., Wood, W. M., Brewer, D. M. and Eddy, S. (2005), ‘A conceptual framework of self-advocacy for students with disabilities’, Remedial and Special Education, 26:1, pp. 43–54, https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325050260010601.
     [Google Scholar]
  74. Tyack, D. B. (1967), Turning Points in American Educational History, New York: John Wiley and Sons.
     [Google Scholar]
  75. United Nations (2004), ‘Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities’, https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/international-day-of-persons-with-disabilities-3-december/international-day-of-disabled-persons-2004-nothing-about-us-without-us.html. Accessed 3 March 2024.
  76. US Department of Education (2004), National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF), 1999, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
     [Google Scholar]
  77. Vagle, M. (2014), Crafting Phenomenological Research, Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast.
     [Google Scholar]
  78. Vaughn, L. M. and Jacquez, F. (2020), ‘Participatory research methods: Choice points in the research process’, Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 1:1, https://jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/13244-participatory-research-methods-choice-points-in-the-research-process. Accessed 3 March 2024.
     [Google Scholar]
  79. Walmsley, J. (2001), ‘Normalisation, emancipatory research and inclusive research in learning disability’, Disability & Society, 16:2, pp. 187–205, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590120035807.
     [Google Scholar]
  80. Williams, B. M. (2016), ‘Minding our own biases: Using drama therapeutic tools to identify and challenge assumptions, biases and stereotypes’, Drama Therapy Review, 2:1, pp. 9–23, https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr.2.1.9_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  81. World Health Organization (2023), ‘Disability’, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health. Accessed 10 April 2024.
/content/journals/10.1386/dtr_00146_1
Loading
Drama therapy, academia and dis/ability: Experiences of clinicians in training
Drama Therapy Review 10, 63 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00146_1
/content/journals/10.1386/dtr_00146_1
/content/journals/10.1386/dtr_00146_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): ableism; accesibilidad; accessibility; accessibilité; autonomisation; capacitisme; capacitismo; creative arts therapy; disability; discapacidad; educación superior; empoderamiento; empowerment; enseignement supérieur; handicap; higher education; inclusion; inclusión; investigación cualitativa; qualitative research; recherche qualitative; terapia de artes creativas; thérapie par les arts créatifs

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test