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establishing healthier socialization patterns. The goal of play therapy is to
build the child’s self-esteem and to create an abuse-free identity for the child
through the help of the therapist (Cattanach, 1992). The outcome of literacy
therapy for young people in similar life situations is for them to experience
control over their own lives through constructing their life narratives. Clients
learn that their feelings and conditions are normal despite social expectations,
norms, and stereotypes. Group narrative construction has also been shown
to contribute to the development of group identity and help clients move out
of perceived or real isolation (Torrell, 2021).
DST is not a therapeutic method but can have therapeutic effects. In
fact, articulating distressing content can help individuals to accept it and
incorporate the memories into their identity. Unspoken thoughts and
fragments of memories are logically organized during the DST process,
which can help traumatized patients gain control over their memories (Ban
& Nagy, 2016). In Lanszki and Kunos’ (2021) experiment, students with
burnout syndrome created digital stories in connection with their school
experiences. They described what had happened to them since they first
entered the school building and then reflected on their current situations.
By the end of the process, the students were able to conclude their story and
formulate perspectivist and constructive strategies for themselves.
In the process of creating a narrative with a vulnerable group, care must
be taken to ensure that the dignity of the clients is not compromised. In
workshops by Cahoon et al. (2018), 81 people (comprised of patients, staff,
and managers) created a digital story about their experiences in healthcare;
the exercise resulted in a 45% reduction in complaints about care and a 9%
reduction in complaints about communication after 2 years, and a 50%
reduction in complaints about negligence. 91% of those surveyed reported
that staff listen to patients and listen to them.
DST can also help individuals and their family members in long-term
therapy. In a study, family members of people with psychiatric illness (n =
6) created a digital story through a painful, exhausting, and re-traumatising
process. Together, the group members relived their loss, supported each
other by listening to the stories, and were able to compare and discuss their
experiences. The process helped the group members to reassess their life
circumstances and their abilities. The process led clients to revise their life
narratives, which after the workshop were no longer seen as simply a series
of losses (Shea, 2018).
Facilitators used DST in group therapy for 12 HIV-positive patients in
Zimbabwe. The task was to capture the defining moments of their lives in
films, with the process showing a clear therapeutic impact, according to the
participants. During group discussions preceding the creative activities,
participants explored the elements that were common to all their stories.
Traumatic elements such as learning about the diagnosis, uncertainty, loss
of hope, loss of family members, stigmatization, social discrimination, and