What is psychodrama?
The word psychodrama is made up of the Greek words for action (“drama”) and soul (“psyche”). Accordingly, psychodrama is about making inner mental processes visible in a playful way.
The doctor and psychotherapist Jacob Levy Moreno founded psychodrama in the 20th century. It arose from the realization that people learn mainly by acting and not by speaking. Children in particular understand the world through play by imitating adults.
In contrast to other psychotherapeutic methods, the central method in psychodrama is therefore not talking, but acting. As a rule, psychodrama takes place in a group of eight to 15 people. In each session, a participant can bring in his or her desired play or topic.
Through the scenic representation, problems that have long since passed can also be experienced and changed in the present. Participants can also work on fears about the future by testing out possible scenarios in role play.
When do you do a psychodrama?
However, this type of problem solving requires active and creative action and is therefore not suitable for everyone. Anyone who has inhibitions about expressing their feelings in front of a group will find psychodrama rather difficult.
If you want to try psychodrama, you should also have imagination and empathy. Acting skills are not necessary, but participants should be able to put themselves in other people’s and situations’ shoes.
Psychodrama was originally intended as group therapy, but some therapists also offer it in an individual setting or in couples therapy. Depending on the topic, the sessions can last from a few weeks to several months.
What do you do in a psychodrama?
Psychodrama involves a psychodrama leader (therapist or counselor) and a group. In each session, one member of the group can become the protagonist, i.e. the person seeking help who wants to overcome their problems through psychodrama. The protagonist chooses fellow players or “helping egos” from the other group members to represent the protagonist’s attachment figures. The other group members can act as observers.
The psychodrama process is divided into a warm-up, action, integration and evaluation phase.
Warm-up phase
Psychodrama requires a great deal of spontaneity and empathy. There are various techniques for warming up to make it easier for the participants to get into the role play that follows. The leader often asks the participants about their mood at the beginning. Each individual can show their mood, for example, through their posture. If the participants do not know each other, the leader can ask them to line up in the room according to certain criteria (e.g. place of residence or age).
Action phase (game phase)
In the first step, the protagonist explains to the group the problematic issue that they would like to work on. This could be their work situation, for example. The second step is to select a scene that illustrates the central problem. The protagonist and his assistant act out the situation on a stage.
In a so-called “role reversal”, the protagonist can switch to the role of a helper and a co-player to that of the protagonist. This technique helps the person affected to better empathize with the position of other participants. In addition, the other players know how to behave in a certain role.
The psychodrama facilitator interrupts the role play as soon as they have the impression that the situation being acted out no longer provides any new insights. He also stops the role play when more controversial issues arise. The situation being acted out may remind the protagonist of a scene from their childhood. This is then immediately acted out in a role play. This method gives the protagonist a deeper understanding of the existing problems.
Integration phase
After the role play, the group exchanges ideas. For example, the participants can report on their own experiences in similar life situations and thus convey to the protagonist that he is not alone with his problems. They also talk about what they felt and perceived during the role play. Finally, the psychodrama facilitator explains the processes they observed during the role play. In psychodrama, great importance is attached to an appreciative atmosphere.
The protagonist should feel safe in the group and experience support. The effect of psychodrama lies not only in the role play, but also in the sense of community that is created in the group.
What are the risks of psychodrama?
The task of the psychodrama leader is to pay attention to the state of mind of all participants and to avoid overwhelming them. However, the larger the group, the more difficult it is for the facilitator to keep an eye on everyone.
Too long a session, little structure and insufficient explanations can overwhelm or stress the participants. If participants are suffering acutely from a mental disorder, the therapist must take particular care to ensure that the role play does not cause any additional stress. This can worsen the state of health of the person concerned.
What do I have to consider after a psychodrama?
In psychodrama, you will experience a variety of different feelings. The shared experience in the group can intensify these feelings even more. To enable all participants to sort out their feelings, an important part of the psychodrama is the discussion at the end of each session (integration phase).
If you still feel confused or overwhelmed after the session, you should tell the psychodrama leader. If the negative feelings are still present after a few sessions, you should talk about them with a therapist in an individual session. This also applies if you have issues that you do not want to deal with in a group or psychodrama.
