Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt

The Erasmus+ project “Death Education for Palliative Psychology” (DE4PP) under the coordination of the University of Padua investigated the effects of teaching palliative psychology with psychodrama and arts therapies, as positive effects on students’ attitudes towards life and death were suspected...

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Main Authors: Michael Alexander Wieser, Alexandra Leitner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-11-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/931
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author Michael Alexander Wieser
Alexandra Leitner
author_facet Michael Alexander Wieser
Alexandra Leitner
author_sort Michael Alexander Wieser
collection DOAJ
description The Erasmus+ project “Death Education for Palliative Psychology” (DE4PP) under the coordination of the University of Padua investigated the effects of teaching palliative psychology with psychodrama and arts therapies, as positive effects on students’ attitudes towards life and death were suspected through the use of these forms of treatment. Five countries participated in this project funded by the European Commission (Austria, Israel, Italy, Poland, and Romania). In Klagenfurt (Austria), 34 students from the University of Klagenfurt completed the pilot course entitled “Palliative Psychology” generated by the project partners. Course participants filled out psychological and satisfaction questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course, to measure the impact of teaching palliative psychology with psychodrama and arts therapies. The research involved a control group. In addition, six participants in the course participated in a focus group interview at the end, which included questions about their experience of the course; the impact of arts therapies and psychodrama techniques; experiences of verbal and artistic processing of death anxiety; and the meaning of life and death, representation of death, and associated feelings. The results, in summary, showed that processing of life and death had occurred in the participants due to the course they had completed. As part of the course, creative arts and psychodrama were bridges to death. Filling out satisfaction questionnaires, photovoice assignments, role reversal, and visualizing a personal social atom were seen by students in Klagenfurt as particularly effective methods for self-reflection.
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spelling doaj.art-37fa077480f04716ac34908cccd34bd02023-11-24T14:29:27ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-11-01131193110.3390/bs13110931Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in KlagenfurtMichael Alexander Wieser0Alexandra Leitner1Department of Psychology, University of Klagenfurt, 9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, AustriaDepartment of Psychology, University of Klagenfurt, 9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, AustriaThe Erasmus+ project “Death Education for Palliative Psychology” (DE4PP) under the coordination of the University of Padua investigated the effects of teaching palliative psychology with psychodrama and arts therapies, as positive effects on students’ attitudes towards life and death were suspected through the use of these forms of treatment. Five countries participated in this project funded by the European Commission (Austria, Israel, Italy, Poland, and Romania). In Klagenfurt (Austria), 34 students from the University of Klagenfurt completed the pilot course entitled “Palliative Psychology” generated by the project partners. Course participants filled out psychological and satisfaction questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course, to measure the impact of teaching palliative psychology with psychodrama and arts therapies. The research involved a control group. In addition, six participants in the course participated in a focus group interview at the end, which included questions about their experience of the course; the impact of arts therapies and psychodrama techniques; experiences of verbal and artistic processing of death anxiety; and the meaning of life and death, representation of death, and associated feelings. The results, in summary, showed that processing of life and death had occurred in the participants due to the course they had completed. As part of the course, creative arts and psychodrama were bridges to death. Filling out satisfaction questionnaires, photovoice assignments, role reversal, and visualizing a personal social atom were seen by students in Klagenfurt as particularly effective methods for self-reflection.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/931palliative psychologyarts therapiespsychodramastudentsteachingeffects
spellingShingle Michael Alexander Wieser
Alexandra Leitner
Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt
Behavioral Sciences
palliative psychology
arts therapies
psychodrama
students
teaching
effects
title Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt
title_full Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt
title_fullStr Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt
title_short Impact of Teaching Palliative Psychology with Psychodrama and Arts Therapies on Psychology Students in Klagenfurt
title_sort impact of teaching palliative psychology with psychodrama and arts therapies on psychology students in klagenfurt
topic palliative psychology
arts therapies
psychodrama
students
teaching
effects
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/11/931
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AT alexandraleitner impactofteachingpalliativepsychologywithpsychodramaandartstherapiesonpsychologystudentsinklagenfurt