An Action-Based Psychosocial Group Intervention in Psychiatric Inpatient Care: A Pragmatic Add-On Study to Talk-Based...

Psychiatric inpatient care emphasizes pharmacological stabilization, yet psychosocial interventions remain essential for addressing complex emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral needs. While talk-based psychotherapy (TBP) is standard inpatient psychosocial care, some patients face barriers to exclusively verbal engagement during acute crises. This study examined the feasibility and implementation of psychodrama as a pragmatic add-on to routine inpatient TBP under real-world ward conditions.

A quasi-experimental pragmatic add-on design was used (N = 84). All participants received routine TBP; the experimental group (n = 47) additionally participated in psychodrama co-facilitated by a multidisciplinary team (MDT). Outcomes were assessed using the ASEBA-ASR. Non-parametric tests with effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate pre-post symptom changes over four weeks, and between-group differences were assessed using change-score comparisons.

Both groups demonstrated significant within-group symptom reductions following the intervention. However, between-group comparisons of change scores showed no statistically significant differences (all p > 0.05), with small effect sizes and confidence intervals including zero.

Psychodrama appears feasible to implement as an action-based psychosocial add-on in acute inpatient settings. Although statistical superiority over TBP alone was not demonstrated, the intervention allowed for the characterization of symptom trajectories under real-world constraints, suggesting that psychodrama may represent an action-based option to diversify psychosocial pathways within MDT-delivered care. Future adequately powered studies are needed to examine how action-based modalities may fit within multidimensional, complexity-informed inpatient care pathways.