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Description
The aim of the project is to empower LGBT+ youth living in cities and regions of Lithuania to strengthen their psychosocial health through dance movement therapy and psychodrama. The project aims to create a safe space for LGBT+ youth to gain empowering experience, strengthen their inner resources, increase resilience, learn to notice how their bodies, thoughts and emotions, interact and strengthen mutual assistance competencies through mutual support. The project offers therapeutic services oriented to action, expression and artistic reflection which are attractive to young people and which help to build a relationship between the therapist/psychologist and young people. With the help of dance movement therapy and psychodrama, it will become easier for LGBT+ young people to name, accept, and release unexpressed emotions that affect them psychologically and physiologically, thus facilitating empowerment and inner changes for the sake of health, well-being, and growth. The project will promote new emotional support services for LGBT+ community in Lithuania, attracting 20 young LGBT+ persons (14-29 years old) from Visaginas and another 30 young LGBT+ persons (14-29 years old) from other areas of Lithuania to the block of dance movement therapy and psychodrama. Based on this experience, a methodology for therapeutic work with LGBT+ youth using creative methods will be developed and presented. The project applicant and partners will strengthen their competencies in the areas of project writing and management, and improve their knowledge in working with socially and ethnically excluded groups.
Summary of project results
Research reflects negative attitudes and widespread homophobic attitudes towards members of the LGBT+ community in Lithuania. This creates an adverse psychological environment in which LGBT+ youth experience additional mental health risk factors. It becomes too difficult for young people to overcome these difficulties alone, especially when living in regions without a supportive community and professional support services. Some organizations and initiatives have already taken several steps to increase the voice of LGBT+ persons and foster the empowerment of this group. The services offered by LŠJTA (i.e. dance movement therapy and psychodrama) perfectly complemented the already developed ideas with innovative emotional support solutions, which had not been offered in the framework of project activities in Lithuania so far.
The project team organized 2 remote therapeutic cycles (8 sessions of dance movement therapy, 8 sessions of psychodrama), in which 27 LGBT+ young people took part; also the team organized 2 live therapeutic cycles at the Visaginas Arts Residence (4 sessions of dance movement therapy, 4 sessions of psychodrama), in which 24 LGBT+ young people participated. Finally, one methodical publication was created, presented in an experiential way to a wider audience (32 people who participated live) and distributed through social media. Training was also organized to strengthen project writing and management skills, in which 12 representatives from the applicant and partner organizations participated.
The following results were achieved in the project: 1) Innovative (dance movement therapy and psychodrama) online services were adapted and run for 27 LGBT+ young people from cities and regions. 2) Innovative (dance movement therapy and psychodrama) services for 24 LGBT+ youth from the city of Visaginas were run. 3) A foundation was created for the further activities of the communities by strengthening the personal and community resources of the participants. 4) A methodology in PDF format for working with LGBT+ youth using dance movement therapy and psychodrama was created, presented and distributed. These results helped young people achieve greater self-knowledge and self-esteem; assess the possibilities of safe disclosure to oneself, relatives and the wider environment; notice how the body, thoughts, emotions interact and how the relationship with the environment changes as they harmonize; gain greater self-confidence; strengthen mutual aid competencies through mutual support.