Staging Therapeutic Enactment with Veterans in Contact!Unload. Issue 4 (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lea, Graham W.; Belliveau, George; Westwood, Marv
• Is Part Of: Qualitative research in psychology. Volume 17:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 521
• Page End: 540
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: Occupational stress injury -- post-traumatic stress disorder -- research-based theatre -- therapeutic enactment; Psychology -- Research -- Periodicals; Qualitative research -- Periodicals; 150.72
• DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2018.1442776
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1478-0887

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article shares an excerpt from the research-based theatre production Contact!Unload . The play, developed with military veterans using community theatre approaches, explores experiences of veterans transitioning from active service and living with trauma-related stress injuries. The excerpt included in this article provides a theatricalized example of therapeutic enactment (TE), a central intervention of the Veterans' Transition Project (VTP). After contextualizing both TE and VTP, the script provides a visceral example of one veteran's experiences both in service and in a TE. This article provides an example of using TE with veterans living with traumatic stress injuries and, in doing so, demonstrates the potential of research-based theatre as a methodology for engaging in and sharing psychological research.