Complexifying the self: the breaking through of theatre in psychological education

Abstract

The following text frames and describes main orienting principles and recent results of Irromper [Pt. breaking through], an empowerment lead, artistic and psychoeducational project within the field of theatre, that was devised with a group of patients diagnosed with different psychological disorders. The methodology used in this article is mainly based in auto-ethnographic description. This theatre project was one of the latest outcomes of a line of post-doctoral research initiated in 2014, 2 intersecting Theatre, Psychology and Education, in collaboration with Encontrar+se [Pt. to find oneself] an institution for the promotion of mental health, in the city of Porto, Portugal. Since then, we have been conducting, in a weekly basis, theatre sessions that interweave artistic and scientific methodologies, with the objective of helping individuals diagnosed with different psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, among others) to cope with complex mental and bodily issues in a collective context. After several years of collective theatre practices and experiences by the Encontrar+se users (hereafter referred to as participants), in 2021, during the pandemic, the Portuguese General directorate for the Arts (DGArtes)4 opened a call for artistic projects relating theatre and mental health. The fact that the proposal Irromper was chosen in the highest funding threshold validated the artistic dimension of our proposal in addition to the therapeutical one, reinforcing the relevance of the arts as an important activity to address complex issues in the contemporary world.