Personal Truths: Case Studies on Young Adults with Social Anxiety and their Lived Experiences in Improv Theatre

Abstract

In the past decade, there has been a spike in the number of Filipino young adults with mental health problems such as social anxiety. While seeking help is advisable, it is difficult to do so due to the stigma attached to mental health problems. However, there are alternative modes of therapy that some young adults participate in. This research studies the potential effect of Improv theatre as an alternative therapy for Filipino young adults with non-clinical social anxiety. The research utilized the case study qualitative research method to extract themes from semi-structured in-depth interviews on the participants’ Improv journey. The participants were recruited through snowball sampling and volunteering via a call for volunteers posted in the Third World Improv students’ Facebook group. The recruitment period resulted in three male and female volunteers for a total of six participants. Each of the participants were interviewed using an interview guide (Appendix E) that was content validated by two experts (Appendix G). One of the respondents was interviewed via face-to-face interview while the remaining five respondents were interviewed via Facebook messenger call or cellphone call due to the CoVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent quarantine period. The results of the study indicate that Improv has an effect on how the participants interact in the context of their culture, environment, and interpersonal relations. Overall, taking Improv helped the participants develop better coping strategies and thought processes for social interactions.