Using Shakespeare's Lear to Deepen Formulation Skills in Geriatric Psychiatry

A deep understanding of patients in psychiatry requires an ability to appreciate and describe the biopsychosocial determinants of health. Great works of theatre portray a nuanced observation of the human condition, but these have not been formally evaluated in psychiatric literature as teaching tools. The purpose of this study was to explore Shakespeare's King Lear as an educational intervention in supporting formulation skills training in geriatric psychiatry residency.

Seven residents attended a half-day educational session where they interacted with four professional actors of diverse backgrounds in creating five scenes from King Lear, with faculty debriefing. Residents completed pre-and post-surveys measuring confidence on topics related to the workshop learning objectives. Three-month follow-up surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants.

A non-parametric Friedman test among repeated measures indicated statistically significant improvements in confidence in formulating a biopsychosocial understanding (chi-square 9.30, p = 0.01), in communicating an understanding of social and cultural determinants of health (7.60, p = 0.02), and in describing the role of ageism and stigma associated with mental disorders in older adulthood (8.09, p = 0.02). Key themes from the semi-structured interviews included the importance of contextualizing and taking a holistic approach to formulation. This experience was deemed helpful and recommended for inclusion in the residency program.

The study demonstrates the potential benefits of using live performance of ancient text on residents' confidence in formulation, communicating determinants of health, and in describing ageism in geriatric psychiatry.