Using social media‐based drama therapy and family counselling to treat symptoms of postpartum depression among women

• Published in: Australian and New Zealand journal of family therapy Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 368 - 378
• Main Authors: Onogwu, Elizabeth Odachi, Alidu, Ojonugbede Samuel, Anibueze, Anselm U., Okwuowulu, Charles, Ekwueme, Obiorah, Erojikwe, Ikechukwu, Gever, Verlumun Celestine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Richmond Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2023
• Subjects: Creative therapy; Families & family life; Family counseling; Husbands; Intervention; Mass media effects; Men; Mental depression; Postpartum depression; Research design; Social media; Social networks; Statistical significance; Therapy; Women
• ISSN: 0814-723X; 1467-8438
• DOI: 10.1002/anzf.1550

Abstract This study examines the impact of social media‐based drama therapy and family counselling in reducing symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) in women aged 18–34. The researchers used a quasi‐experimental design and randomly assigned the participants ( n  = 303) to the control, drama therapy, and family counselling groups. The key findings of the study are as follows. First, at baseline, women not only showed more symptoms of PPD than their male counterparts, but men also reached the PPD threshold of 12/13. Second, the difference between women and men regarding their PPD scores achieved statistical significance ( p  = 0.004). However, during the post‐intervention assessment, men who received drama therapy intervention reported a significant drop in their PPD below the threshold of 12/13. Only women whose spouses received family counselling on spousal support reported a significant drop in their PPD. However, those whose partners did not receive family counselling on spousal support still reported PPD scores within the threshold. In both instances, women in the control group still had high PPD scores. Finally, during the 6‐month follow‐up assessment, even men in the control group did not have significant symptoms of PPD as their scores dropped below the threshold. On the contrary, women in the control group still had high PPD, indicating that PPD lasted more in women than in men. Also, women whose husbands received family counselling on spousal support reported PPD scores below the threshold. However, women whose husbands did not receive spousal counselling still had PPD scores at the threshold, even though their scores marginally dropped.