Amicus cum Laude: Ethnodramatic Inquiry Regarding Sharing Mental Health in College

Abstract

In this manuscript, I utilize an ethnodramatic methodology in reanalyzing two data sets about college friends disclosing and receiving mental health-related information. After describing ethnodrama and how this methodology applies to mental health–related inquiry, I detail my process of creating an ethnodrama from two extant data sets. The result is an ethnodrama called Amicus cum Laude: Becoming a Friend with Honor for Mental Illness, a one-act play about how friends discuss mental health issues with one another. After providing the ethnodrama, I offer recommendations for taking the ethnodrama from page to stage while reflecting on and critiquing the final product.

“Kicking and Screaming” or “Gracefully Conceding”: Creative Nonfiction Stories of Aging With Multiple Sclerosis

“…To do a creative nonfiction, we utilized the “tips” proposed by Smith et al (2015) to assist in our thinking regarding how to transform the data into a story, and the detailed, contextual guides of Orr et al (2020) and Hall (2020). Smith et al (2015) proposed the necessity to (a) have a purpose (which we presented through the introduction), (b) use analysis and theory to interpret the story, (c) show findings rather than tell findings, (d) ensure verisimilitude (truthfulness to the experience), (e) select and develop characters to tell the story, (f) use dialogue to bring findings to life, (g) show bodies being expressive and acting, (h) write evocatively, (i) develop a plot, (j) set the scene, (k) select which parts of the story need to be told, (l) think about the story with your body, (m) edit, and (n) be epistemologically and ontologically aware.…”

“…We utilized Hall’s (2020) methodological process as an exemplar for showing how we constructed two creative nonfictions of aging with MS. We further drew upon Orr et al’s (2020) reflexive piece “Café Talk” as an insightful resource for how to develop different aspects of the stories.…”

“…In considering the final presentation of the stories, we reflected on what language, dialogue, scene creation, characters, and narrative overviews were required to create believable interactions and a meaningful knowledge translation of aging with MS. We therefore utilized numerous fictional literary techniques to link the stories, plot, and theory together in a storied fashion. To show how we created the nonfictions, we provide a "Data Source" column adjacent to the stories, akin to the structure of Hall (2020). Here, we show various stages of the process and why these particular stories were told.…”