Psychodrama as a psychotherapeutic method arose in the last century: it was founded by psychiatrist, sociologist, and psychologist Jacob Moreno. Psychodrama is used mainly in group therapy: it helps to better understand oneself and other people through improvisation. The goals of psychodrama are to reveal creativity, the inner world of a person, improve communication with other group members, and find a solution to a problem.
Psychodrama as a method date back to the 20s of the last century, when psychiatrist Jacob Moreno presented a play in which the actors improvised and actively involved the audience in the improvisational process. Even though the play was not a success among the audience, Jacob Moreno was very inspired and opened an institute, which became a platform for the development of psychodrama.
Moreno was a pioneer in group therapy (even the name itself belongs to Dr. Jacob). He argued that man is a social being, and therefore working through problems in a group can more effectively solve his issues than one psychiatrist or psychotherapist. Since the group is an open and dynamically changing structure, to understand likes and dislikes, the system of relationships in the group, such a concept as sociometry was introduced.
Sociometry is a system for assessing relationships; its principle is very simple. When the therapist asked simple questions (for example, who would you like to be your fishing companion or who would you like to go on vacation with), group therapy participants were asked to walk up to that person and place their hand on that person's shoulder. In this way, one can easily identify those who sympathize or, on the contrary, express antipathy towards group members, and it is possible to understand the division of a large group into smaller subgroups. If you skillfully select questions and tasks, you can easily influence the mood and situation in the group.
Psychodrama is based on sociometry, spontaneity, and role theory. Spontaneity, as defined by Moreno, is a certain impulse that exists here and now. In different situations, spontaneity can either be manifested or suppressed. And if it is suppressed, neuroses and anxiety arise. At the same time, spontaneity can be both constructive, that is, with creative potential, and destructive, negative. According to role theory, a role itself is the form that an individual’s “I” takes at one time or another. All roles can be classified: functional roles contribute to the resolution of complex and conflict situations, dysfunctional roles prevent this from being done, and coping roles prevent the conflict situation from being resolved constructively.
If we are talking about group classes, then such classes begin with an exercise that helps prepare the group for certain topics. Then the so-called protagonist, or the person who plays the main role, is chosen. Usually this is a person who wants to discuss some problem and sets the tone for the discussion. The protagonist is chosen by all group members. When the choice is made, the active part of the psychodrama begins. The protagonist, together with the group, stage by stage plays out the situation that is relevant to him. At the same time, other group members are involved in the game - they can play both the protagonist himself and the people involved in this situation, or the feelings that people experience. The game ends if a solution to the problem that worries the protagonist has been found.
After the game, the exchange of feelings and emotions of all group members begins. This is an important stage of the lesson, which supports the protagonist and all participants in the action.
In addition to the leader, psychodrama groups consist of 7-15 people. The duration of classes can vary from several hours to several months.
Psychodrama is aimed at experiencing new emotions: this could be a better understanding of one’s inner world, the experience of interacting with other people, immersion in real feelings, directly confronting a problematic situation face to face, the experience of solving a situation that could have been unresolved for a very long time, getting to know experiences and opinions of other people.