The Dramarific Teenager: Definition, Development, and Deterrence

1
The Dramarific Teenager Definition, Development,
and Deterrence

• Jennifer Dynes, PsyD, LP
• Martha Aby, MSW, LICSW

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Agenda

• Definition of Drama
• Characteristics of Drama
• Characteristics of an Emotionally Dramarific Teen
• Characteristics of a Behaviorally Dramarific Teen
• Development of the Dramarific Adolescent
• The Drama Triangle
• Development of the Drama
• Deterring the Drama
• How to Escape the Drama
• How to Take the Drama out of the Drama
• Teaching the Drama to the Family
• Role Plays
• Questions?

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Definition of Drama

• A complex series of events that involves a
  problem which could be solved easily but never
  is
• Life situations that are easily found in daytime
  series operas, juvenile delinquency programs, EBD
  classrooms, Axis II clients, and youll never
  guess what happened intros.

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Characteristics of Drama

• Players
• Rescuer
• Persecutor
• Victim

• Need at least three players
• Contestants may change roles at any given moment
• Feels unnatural
• Overwhelming
• Anvils are everywhere

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Characteristics of an Emotionally Dramarific Teen

• Lack of sense of self
• Hard to tell where they end and other people
  begin
• Chronically involved in drama
• When drama arrives, the easy answer is never
  chosen (i.e. truth, openness, transparency, and
  straight-forwardness).
• Fear of abandonment
• Emotionally volatile
• I love you, I hate you tendencies
• Basic Axis II traits (Borderline, Narcissistic,
  Histrionic tendencies)
• Examples?

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Characteristics of a Behaviorally Dramarific Teen

• Lack accurate sense of self
• Impaired sense of empathy
• Difficulty forming relationships
• Crave a sense of power
• Chronically involved in drama
• Emotionally and behaviorally volatile
• I love you I hate you tendencies
• When problems occur, they revert to lying,
  stealing, aggression, and general rule breaking.
• Axis II traits (Antisocial tendencies)
• Belief that they have received a raw deal in life

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Drama Development Why do they act like this?

• Trauma
• Learned Behavior
• Temperament

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Trauma

• Is usually early and chronic
• Can be emotional, physical, sexual, or neglectful
• Primarily occurs within the family, but is often
  re-enforced in the community, at school, etc

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Some statistics

• Child maltreatment has been identified as one of
  the major risk factors for later development of
  delinquency.
• 92 of youth in Cook Countys Juvenile Detention
  Center report that they had experienced at least
  one traumatic event.
• Being abused or neglected as a child increases
  the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53.
• -Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
  Prevention

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Impact of Trauma

• Neurobiology research demonstrates that early
  trauma negatively impacts the brains ability to
  plan, organize, manage emotions, and
  direct/contain impulses.
• Neurobiology research demonstrates that early
  trauma increases a childs over reliance on
  flight or fight strategies in response to
  problems.

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Trauma continued

• Family trauma often teaches a child that others
  are unpredictable, unsafe, and untrustworthy.
• Others cannot protect me from unpleasant
  experiences.
• World is a battleground. I must consistently
  seek power to remain safe.

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Trauma continued

• Kids who experience chronic trauma, learn to
  focus on external environment. Thus, little
  energy is spent on observing self.
• Stable self perception is not developed.
• Problems identifying emotions.
• Problems identifying effective coping skills.
• Over reliance on or avoidance of evaluation from
  others.

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Results of environmental trauma

• Hypervigilance and hypersensitivity
• Misinterpretation of social cues as hostile
  and/or rejecting
• Difficulty modulating behavioral reactions
• Interference with emotional and moral development
• Anger turned outward through fantasies of revenge
  and retribution
• Terminal thinking or unconcern for future
  consequences
• Child Welfare League of America

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Learned Behavior

• Kids mimic what they see.
• Research has consistently demonstrated a
  correlation between anti-social acts by parents
  and the development of conduct problems in their
  children.

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Temperament

• Dramarific kids tend to display early behavioral
  problems.
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Intensity

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Drama Development The Drama Triangle
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Development of the Drama

• Entering as the Rescuer
• Players changing roles
• Skeet Shooting
• Youre the only one that understands
• I hate you/Im sorry
• External vs. Internal Locus of control
• Feelings of being overwhelmed, chaos, confusion,
  resentment and fear

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Drama Deterrence How to Escape the Drama

• Never Getting in the Triangle
• Constantly avoid Rescuer position
• Know your own boundaries
• Be hyper-vigilant
• Deflect and feed
• Lead a perfect life!

• Getting out once you got in
• Recognize whats going on
• Know where you are
• Find the dramaless way
• Deflect and feed
• Refuse to re-enter

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Drama Deterrence Teaching Problem Solving

• Identify Problem
• Brainstorm Solutions
• Evaluate Solutions
• Implement Solutions
• Evaluate Outcome

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Drama Deterrence Practice Emotional Regulation

• What are emotions?
• How do they feel?
• Are they ALWAYS this intense?
• How do I know Im feeling them?
• Now what do I do?

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The Thermometer

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Drama Deterrence Pay attention for social
missteps

• Kids who use drama tend to misinterpret social
  cues.
• Help the kid begin to accurately identify other
  peoples emotions and motivations.
• Use How did you know. and I wonder if.

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Drama Deterrence Share the power

• Kids who use drama are often trying to gain power
  over others. Overcompensating for power NOW helps
  them make up for power lost then.
• Give kids power in other areas, where power is
  appropriate.

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Drama Deterrence Teaching the Drama

• Know your audience
• Pick the willing to change
• Find the issue which causes most pain to work on
  first

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Teaching the Drama

• Being Concrete
• Tangible, moveable figures
• Clear, named stations
• Recent events

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Teaching the Drama

• Using the Stories to Set an Example
• Make sure the recent event has no more than 4
  characters
• Make sure that the characters change location
  during the course of the story
• Make sure that the drama can be viewed from
  multiple points of view
• Make sure the drama is containable and short
  enough to process

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Teaching the Drama

• Steps
• Let each member pick their own figurine
• Help each character move according to the story
• Let different members look at the drama from
  another point of view
• Talk about how people move spots and how they
  enter the triangle
• Focus on how people could have exited the
  triangle at different points

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Role Plays

• Hurricane Example
• Audience Example

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Comments or Questions?

• Jennifer Dynes, PsyD, LP
• Jennifer.dynes_at_co.ramsey.mn.us
• Martha Aby, MSW, LICSW
• maby_at_choicespsychotherapy.net