'In Search of Myself…’ Utilizing Creative Drama to Develop Compassion Skills in Nursing Students for Individuals With Addiction: A Qualitative Research

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the creative drama workshop developed for nursing students to enhance compassion skills for individuals with addiction, specifically in achieving the targeted outcomes. Design: This qualitative study involved 22 students enrolled in the Nursing Department of a state university in Türkiye during the 2023–2024 academic year. The research applied a creative drama workshop program developed by the researchers to help nursing students develop compassion skills for individuals with addiction. The workshop consisted of three stages: Preparation-Warm-up, Acting Out, and Evaluation. To assess the effect of the workshop on achieving the desired outcomes, students were asked to write a poem titled “Life with Addiction” during the evaluation phase. The poems, serving as expressive materials based on personal experience, were analyzed using content analysis with an inductive approach. Results: The data collected during the evaluation of the creative drama workshop were organized into three themes: Cognitive Dimension: Understanding Pain in Life with Addiction, Emotional Dimension: Contact with the Feeling of Being Addicted, and Behavioral Dimension: The Need for Compassion in Addiction. Conclusion: The study indicated that the creative drama workshop developed and implemented to help nursing students acquire compassion skills for individuals with addiction effectively achieved cognitive, emotional, and behavioral gains related to compassion. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.