Psychodrama uses guided drama exercises to explore and review individual issues. Used in psychotherapy, it enables clients to spontaneously dramatize and role-play. These actions help people access inner challenges and give them applicable insights to drive change. It may be used during alcohol or drug rehab.

Dr. Jacob Levy Moreno first pioneered psychodrama in the 1920s by exploring the technique on a theater stage. A psychodrama therapy group reenacts real-life past events (or thoughts and decisions) or future expected activities by acting them out. Participants may then evaluate their actions, examine and reflect on how past incidents influence the present, and more acutely understand particular episodes or circumstances in their lives.

A core principle in psychodrama is the theory of spontaneity-creativity. Moreno said that we need to be spontaneous in order to create new paths for our lives and find ways to approach our past. The ability to improvise in the moment is crucial in creating new solutions. The process encourages spontaneous reactions to spur creative problem-solving.

By solving problems, participants discover new solutions and learn new ways to adapt. Moreno focused on spontaneous action by directing the Theatre of Spontaneity. He was unsatisfied with conventional, scripted theater, so he founded an improvisational ensemble in the 1920s that allowed him to experiment and improvise. This theater helped advance his psychodramatic theory.

Not intended to be a form of group therapy, psychodrama is actually individual psychotherapy within a group setting. There are often incidental benefits for group members who may benefit from the insights they gain from protagonists and apply them to their own lives.

Today, psychodrama has evolved into a creative holistic therapy for individuals or groups (sociodrama) to explore and solve personal problems. It has also found a variety of clinical applications, including addiction therapy. The use of psychodrama in group addiction recovery programs, involving the inclusion of other group members to become therapeutic agents (stand-ins) to populate the scene, may help the whole group connect and learn.

The Protagonist

In a psychodrama session, one member of the group plays the protagonist and focuses on a personally and emotionally problematic situation by role-playing. A variety of scenes may be enacted. They may depict happenings from the past, emotions or circumstances that cause inner turmoil, or preparations for future decisions.

Such scenes often mirror real-life circumstances or are externalizations of inner mental pictures. Other members of the group often play auxiliary roles. They may support the protagonist by acting out roles in the scene or may serve as doubles who fill in the roles of the protagonists.

Application to addiction therapy

Sociodrama is focused on enhanced application that targets not just the individual protagonist (as with psychodrama) but the whole group. Focusing on the group provides a holistic therapy for all. Sociodrama and psychodrama have many applications in the field of behavioral and mental health, including addiction treatment.

Psychodrama and sociodrama methods may be used to help individuals and groups practice better stress management, improve communication skills, connect better in social situations, and learn healthy coping mechanisms through group sessions. The technique may help people explore previous emotional trauma and individuals may learn how to improve daily life decisions and choices.

Some initial but limited studies on the effectiveness of psychodrama indicate that role reversal and doubling produced significant improvement rates. Individuals who practiced the techniques seemed to gain insight into who they were. They faced their problems and expressed their feelings better while they were improving their group unity and interaction.

Through sociodrama, actors learn ways to handle the past, situations that may lead to relapse, and potentially harmful situations in the future. They may do this by learning coping methods to overcome stressors and triggers. Participants also experienced improved communication with family and enhanced life skills.

Conclusion

Psychodrama gives a direct methodology that may give clients useful insights about their own emotions and themselves through acting and role-playing while they are observing others who are doing the same. As a holistic therapy method, it may encourage confidence and improve clients’ ability to relate to the world around them.

Individuals and clients who better understand themselves may find it easier to deal with close family members, friends, and other groups in society. When utilized as part of the addiction recovery plan, psychodrama may be a beneficial tool to sustain a long, healthy recovery.