Performance as a psychodynamic device in social and educational contexts

This study analyses performance as a psychodynamic device, understood as a symbolic, repetitive and relationally sustained practice that organises emotional experience, in educational and social contexts, exploring how symbolic repetition, emotional externalisation and narrative construction foster processes of self-awareness, emotional regulation, resilience and empathy. A qualitative, arts-based design was adopted and applied to 14 performance projects carried out in Spanish educational contexts, involving teachers, artists and students. Data were collected through interviews, open-ended questionnaires, ethnographic observation and visual materials, and analysed using an inductive approach inspired by grounded theory. The results show that performance functions as an embodied, relational and symbolic process in which emotional experiences are collectively expressed, reorganised and re-signified. Furthermore, it highlights the interdependence of psychological processes typically addressed separately, proposing a processual model of transformation based on performative practice. This study contributes to the development of arts-based research in education and therapy, emphasising the role of the body, symbolic action and collective dynamics in promoting well-being. The findings contribute to understanding how performative practice shapes collective well-being, community bonds and spatial dynamics of social transformation.