Bio

Jason S. Frydman, PhD, RDT/BCT, NCSP is a state and nationally certified school psychologist, licensed psychologist, and registered drama therapist/board certified trainer. Dr. Frydman earned a BFA in English/Theatre (Syracuse), MA in Drama Therapy (NYU), post-graduate certificate from the Institute for the Arts in Psychotherapy, PhD in School Psychology (Fordham), and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Tulane University. Prior to joining NC State, Dr. Frydman was core faculty at Lesley University in the psychology department and the masters/doctoral expressive therapies program.

Dr. Frydman’s research interests extend to school mental health and beyond, including the role of the arts in school-based mental health intervention, trauma-informed programming in schools, adolescent mental health literacy promotion, and summer camp mental health. He is the co-editor of Fostering Mental Health Literacy through Adolescent Literature (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), recently contracted for its second edition. In addition, Dr. Frydman serves on the editorial board of School Psychology Review (NASP) and is the associate editor of general topics for Translational Issues in Psychological Science (APA). He is the recipient of the 2023 North American Drama Therapy Association’s Research Award.

Dr. Frydman utilizes both quantitative and qualitative approaches, with an interest in expanding the latter within school-based research.

Publications

• Barriers to Research Utilization Among North American Drama Therapists , The Arts in Psychotherapy (2026)
• Drama therapy interventions at summer camp: Case illustrations from a multi-tiered wellness program , Drama Therapy Review (2026)
• Fostering Mental Health Literacy Through Curriculum and Classroom Conversation on Ab(solutely) Normal , (2026)
• Methodological insights from a small-scale study with school-based art therapists on the utility of combining audio diary and arts-based research , Qualitative Research Journal (2026)
• Occupational Burnout and Related Factors Among Emerging Adults Working at Residential Summer Camp , Journal of Outdoor Recreation Education and Leadership (2026)
• Residential Summer Camp Staff Perceptions of a Comprehensive Mental Wellness Initiative , Journal of Experiential Education (2026)
• North American drama therapists’ attitudes toward research , The Arts in Psychotherapy (2025)
• Mental Health Literacy in the Middle School English Language Arts Classroom: Perspectives from Teachers and Social Support Staff , American Journal of Health Education (2024)
• Using Creative Arts Therapy to Promote Academic Success in the Postsecondary Setting: A Secondary Narrative Review of Preliminary Findings from 2009 to 2019 , Journal of Experiential Education (2024)
• A Scoping Review on the Use and Potential of School-Based Drama Therapy to Enhance Socio-emotional Skills in Early Childhood , Early Childhood Education Journal (2023)