UNCORRECTED PROOF The Arts in Psychotherapy xxx (2018) xxx-xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Arts in Psychotherapy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com Research Article Psychodrama in therapeutic communities for drug addiction: A study of four cases investigated using idiographic change process analysis Ines Testoni a, ⁎ , Clara Cecchini a , Maria Zulian a , Maria Silvia Guglielmin b , Lucia Ronconi a , Kate Kirk c , Flaviana Berto d , Chiara Guardigli b , Ana Sofia Cruz e a FISPPA Department, University of Padova, Italy b School of Psychodrama of Treviso, Italy c Cork Counselling Services, Ireland d CEIS Community of Treviso, Italy e Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 26 June 2017 Received in revised form 12 December 2017 Accepted 15 December 2017 Available online xxx Keywords: Psychodrama Person centred approach Drug and alcohol addiction Change process research Person centered approach Therapeutic community ABSTRACT Many psychotherapeutic models, including psychodrama, have tried to address the problem of drug-addic- tion and alcoholism within, and outside, therapeutic communities (TCs). The dearth of literature related to the application of psychodrama in TCs means that significant efforts are needed to show its effectiveness. This article derives from a TC in northern Italy and presents a study of four cases, which analyzed the results of a 6 month psychodrama research intervention that adopted the Person Centered Approach (PCA). The ef- fects were measured through an idiographic change process with a mixed method design. The qualitative part of the assessment consisted of the Client Change Interview (CCI), the Helpful Aspects of Therapy (HAT); the longitudinal quantitative part used the Spontaneity Assessment Inventory – Revised (SAI-R), the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation – Outcome Measure (CORE-OM), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GS-ES), and the Pro.Spera. The changes in main personality factors were evaluated through Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results suggested on the one hand that psychodrama therapy may increase patients’ self-awareness and motivation to change their way of life and improve the PCA. On the other hand the qualitative methodology of HAT and CCI demonstrated, and monitored, the process of change and em- powerment in the patients. Finally, the subject of gender specificity is explored. © 2017. Psychodrama and the person centered approach in drug addiction The phenomenon of addiction is a social affliction that is preva- lent in our contemporary society. Therapeutic communities (TCs) for addiction are drug-free settings in which people live together in structured ways that aims to promote change, recovery and reinte- gration into society. Treatment interventions in TCs mostly adopt re- covery orientation methods, which focus on the whole person and overall lifestyle changes, whilst acknowledging the chronic, relapsing nature of substance misuse disorders (Vanderplasschen, Vandevelde, & Broekaert, 2014). Many psychotherapy models have a place in this process that aim to handle the problem inside, and out, the TCs; a wide variety of approaches are currently advocated, among which are psy- chodrama and the Person Centred Approach (PCA). Pioneered by Jacob L. Moreno in the early 1920s, psychodrama is an individual action method of psychotherapy conducted in a group ⁎ Corresponding author. Email address: ines.testoni@unipd.it (I. Testoni) format (Cruz, Sales, Moita, & Alves, 2016; Orkibi, 2011). It involves the representation of real-life experiences using dramatic techniques; its sessions follow several phases: warm-up, action, working-through, closure and sharing. Participants are encouraged to develop their spon- taneity and creativity in order to create an adequate response to a new situation or an alternative response to an old situation (Moreno, 1953). This occurs through the psychodrama process where new and different ways to interact are discovered and increased self-awareness, personal empowerment and positive relationships are developed (Azoulay & Orkibi, 2015; Kipper & Shamer, 2006; Moreno, 1985; Orkibi, 2008). Carl Rogers (1985) developed the person centered approach, which believes that patients can find appropriate solutions to their prob- lems supported by the therapist. The overall aims of treatment are: to train participants to be the protagonist, the main actor, in a per- sonal existential scene; to enable them to overcome their addictive be- havior; to help them to express their authentic identity; to promote self-control, responsibility, empathy, self-awareness and spontaneity (Sepucha, Uzogarra, & O'Connor, 2008). The overarching principle, that guides PCA, research and practice, is that understanding the pa- tients’ point of view is important for their empowerment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.12.007 0197-4556/© 2017.