THE EFFECTS OF PSYCHODRAMA GROUP COUNSELING PROGRAM BASED ON THE RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY ON NEGATIVE AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS, DYSFUNCTIONAL ATTITUDE AND DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS

Objectives The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of REBT-based psychodrama group counselling on depression in adolescents. Methods For the purpose of this study, 182 middle-school teenagers in Jeollakbuk-do were divided into an experimental group and a control group of 91 subjects each, and a total of 10 sessions of REBT-based psychodrama group counselling were conducted. With a focus on authenticating the efficacy of this therapy method, a pre-post-test on depression, negative automatic thoughts and dysfunctional attitude was conducted on the adolescents. Results In order to evaluate the effects of program participants on negative automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitudes, and depression, mean and standard deviation were calculated to conduct pre-test and post-test on the experimental group (n=91) and control group (n=91), and covariate analysis (ANCOVA) was conducted to evaluate the effect of the program. A t-test was conducted to analyze the differences in variables between the experimental group and the control group, and a two-way mixed ANOVA was conducted to examine the effects of psychodrama group counseling program based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy on negative automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitude, and depression changes. Conclusions Following the use of statistical methods, the result of this study revealed a significant decrease in depression, negative automatic thoughts, and dysfunctional attitude in the experimental group in which REBT- based psychodrama group counselling was conducted, in comparison to the control group. Also, on the topic of expediting the argument on irrational beliefs, with psychodrama as the central theme, the application of REBT-based counselling has been suggested. Based on this, proposals and suggestions for follow-up studies on an integrated approach to REBT and psychodrama have been put forward.