A model for dis/ability and drama therapy education: Student and faculty perspectives

This qualitative study explores how dis/abled drama therapy students and drama therapy faculty experience graduate training and envision more equitable education. Using separate virtual focus groups with dis/abled students and drama therapy educators across North America, researchers conducted reflexive thematic analysis to generate role- and system-based themes capturing ‘Academic Harm’, ‘Institutional Disempowerment’, ‘Collaboration’ and ‘Subversive Resistance’. Findings highlight a persistent disconnect between individuals and institutions; reliance on individual faculty to ‘patch’ inaccessible systems; and the importance of mentorship, flexible pedagogy and disability justice principles. The authors propose a model and concrete recommendations to reorient drama therapy education towards access, collective care and leadership by those most impacted.