Psychodrama? | JOT Counselor

What is Psychodrama?

Psychodrama is an experiential therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Jacob L. Moreno in the 1920’s. It was the original form of group therapy and its highly adaptable theories have been used in both individual and clinical group settings around the world. It may also be employed in schools, businesses, and professional settings.

With guidance from a trained Psychodrama therapist, participants will reenact meaningful experiences during sessions. These experiences may be real past memories, inner conflicts, dreams, or fears for the future. Issues or problems, along with possible solutions, are enacted rather than just talked about. When used in a group setting, other participants play the roles of significant characters featured in the story, or they become audience members to offer support. Psychodrama differs from many other traditional therapies as it is an active, safe, often fun, and a real-time experience for all the participants.

Psychodrama can help people:

Express themselves in a safe environment
Learn to trust others
Improve communication skills and relationships
Overcome trauma, grief or loss
Improve confidence and self-esteem
Satisfy creative needs
Experiment with new ways of thinking and behaving

In the non-clinical field, Psychodrama is used in law, business, education, and professional training. In the clinical field, Psychodrama may be used to alleviate the effects of anxiety, depression, grief, emotional trauma, and PTSD. Psychodrama can be used to mend family difficulties, interpersonal problems, communication problems, self-harming behaviors, and substance abuse issues. Psychodrama is also valuable to anyone who would like to engage in a creative therapeutic technique – it can encourage personal growth through new insight and can boost overall wellbeing through enhancement of confidence and learning new skills.

Below are links for further exploration:

Effectiveness of Psychodrama

Video Introduction to Psychodrama

Scholarly Research