Theater and arts program to build resilience and reduce anxiety in children and teens

Developing Resilience and Anxiety Management Through the Arts (DRAMA) 2

This program will test whether adding CBT techniques to theatrical improvisation, improvisation alone, or a social craft group helps reduce anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with elevated symptoms.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 110 (estimated)
• Ages: 8 Years to 17 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Case Western Reserve University (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Cleveland, Ohio)
• Trial ID: NCT07033052 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

Children and adolescents aged 8–17 with elevated anxiety or depressive symptoms are assigned to one of three group activities: improvisational theater plus CBT techniques, improvisational theater alone, or a social craft group. Groups are led by non-therapists such as undergraduates, teachers, or arts students rather than licensed clinicians, and the activities are presented as an arts-based course rather than formal therapy. Participants are screened with standard measures (e.g., SCARED, RCADS, K-SADS) and symptom changes are compared across the three group types. The main question is whether adding CBT skills to improvisation yields greater reductions in anxiety and depression than improvisation alone or a craft control.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are 8–17-year-olds with elevated anxiety or depression (SCARED ≥15, RCADS Depression T‑score ≥65, or K‑SADS clinician severity rating ≥3) whose caregivers consent and who can participate in group activities.

Not a fit: Children who have conduct disorder, autism or developmental delays, severe psychiatric needs, or who require intensive clinical treatment are unlikely to benefit from this non-therapeutic, arts-based program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could offer a low-cost, scalable group option to help reduce mild-to-moderate anxiety and depressive symptoms in youth.

How similar studies have performed: CBT has strong evidence for treating youth anxiety and depression, and arts-based or improvisation programs show promising but limited evidence, while combining improvisation with CBT techniques is a relatively novel approach.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Between 8 and 17 years of age
* Individuals must have parental/guardian consent
* Elevated levels of anxiety or depression based on

  1. Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) score of 15 or higher, or;
  2. Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) Depression T score of 65 or higher, or;
  3. Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) clinician severity rating of 3 on any anxiety disorder or on a mood-related disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosed with Conduct Disorder or with behavioral symptoms that would make it difficult for the child/adolescent to participate in the group or comply with directions given by the group leader (such as difficulty following instructions, difficulty staying in one's seat, defiance of adults, harming animals or people, threatening others, getting into physical fights, hyperactivity, impulsivity, difficulty waiting for one's turn, etc.)
* Autism or developmental delays
* Psychotic symptoms or active suicidality
* Active Eating Disorders that raise concerns about morbidity and therefore need to be addressed in an intervention and actively monitored
* Unsteady dosage or recently or impending changes to psychotropic medication(s)
* Non-English-speaking individuals
* Wards of the State

Where this trial is running

Cleveland, Ohio

• Case Western Reserve University — Cleveland, Ohio, United States (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Amy Przeworski, PhD — Case Western Reserve University
• Study coordinator: Amy Przeworski, PhD

Conditions Anxiety; Depression; Mood