Creative Urban Care for Older Adults in Thailand: Drama Therapy and an Innovative Expressive Arts Framework for Better Urban Ageing

Abstract

This article examines drama therapy with older adults across three institutional contexts in Thailand: Chulalongkorn Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society; Kwong Siew Foundation Hospital; and Sawangkanives Housing, Thai Red Cross Society. Drawing on a practice-based qualitative study involving 60 older adults, facilitator observations, semi-structured interviews, reflective writings, and institutional descriptions, the article explores how drama therapy was adapted across medical, chronic-care, and senior residential settings. The findings suggest that drama therapy supported memory sharing, emotional expression, social connection, belonging, and quality of life among participants. The article argues that drama therapy should be understood not merely as entertainment or supplementary activity, but as a form of creative urban care that contributes to quality of life, cultural participation, and healthy ageing. It concludes by proposing a modular expressive arts framework for urban ageing that integrates drama, music, visual art, movement, mindful drawing, storytelling, and community-based creative leadership. The concept of creative urban care is offered as an innovative expressive arts framework that contributes to urban culture research and ageing studies.