The Substance module is a 2 × 45-minute interactive theatre and mental health session that explores adolescent substance use through complex psychological, neurobiological, and social perspectives. The professional framework of the programme was developed by the creators of Decision Theatre in collaboration with mental health professionals and educational advisors. The session is based on the understanding that, during adolescence, the brain regions responsible for decision-making — especially the frontal lobe — are still developing, which is why young people often make choices driven by immediate reward, peer group expectations, or emotional impulse. 

The aim of the programme is not to moralise or condemn substance use, but to help participants understand the psychological and social processes that may lead to such situations, and how more conscious and responsible decisions can be made within them. The session is built around a dramatic scene in which students witness a realistic situation unfolding. At the key moment in the story, participants themselves are placed in a decision-making position: the audience shifts from passive observer to active thinker, and together they examine the internal and external factors that influence a choice. During the reflective process, participants consider how peer pressure operates, what role impulse control and short-term reward play, and how to distinguish between momentary relief and long-term consequences. 

The programme also places particular emphasis on the idea that, in an acute situation, community responsibility is not expressed through criminalisation or shaming, but through creating safety and asking for help. The Decision Theatre method gives young people the opportunity to try out alternative decision-making patterns within a safe framework, and to experience that the decision of “I’m not taking it” can arise not only from external prohibition, but also from inner understanding and autonomous responsibility. The goal of the programme is for students to develop a more conscious understanding of their own decision-making situations, strengthen their self-regulation and ability to weigh consequences, while also deepening their sense of community responsibility and mutual care for one another’s safety.