Who Benefits from Analytic Psychodrama? Psychological Characteristics Associated with Significant Improvement in Young Adults Attending a University Psychological Support Service

Introduction: Analytic psychodrama is a group-based intervention based on free association, role-playing, and the enactment of real-life experiences. At the Psychological Support Service (SAP, Chief – Professor Silvana Grandi) of the University of Bologna, it has been used for years to help students experiencing psychological distress, demonstrating promising effects in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to explore whether participants who achieved reliable improvement following analytic psychodrama differed from those who did not in terms of trait emotional intelligence, alexithymia, empathy, and perception of group climate, both at baseline and post-intervention. Rather than focusing on symptom change per se, the goal was to characterize the psychological profiles of students who respond to treatment in a significant way. Methods: Participants were 118 university students (27% male; 0.8% non-binary) accessing the SAP of the University of Bologna for anxious and depressive symptoms. Psychological assessments were conducted before and after participation in analytic psychodrama intervention. The Reliable Change Index was computed on the CORE-OM total score (excluding risk items) to classify individuals as significantly improved or not. Between-group comparisons (Reliably improved vs. Not reliably Improved) were performed separately at T1 and T2 using multivariate analyses of variance on: Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Short Form (TEIQue-SF), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ). Results: At T1, patients who went on to show reliable improvement presented higher alexithymia, lower scores on TEIQue-SF Wellbeing, Self-Control, Sociability, and Global Score, along with higher Personal Distress (IRI), compared to those who did not show a reliable improvement. At T2, those classified as reliably improved reported lower alexithymia, and higher Emotionality (TEIQue-SF) and Perspective Taking (IRI), relative to participants who did not meet the threshold for reliable change. Discussion: The findings suggest that analytic psychodrama may be particularly effective for young adults presenting with more pronounced emotional difficulties at intake, offering them a pathway to significant psychological reorganization. Moreover, the enhanced emotional competence and perspective-taking among those who benefit most from this intervention empirically support their centrality in the therapeutic process of analytic psychodrama.