Psychodrama Therapy Group

Psychodrama Weekly Group

Tuesdays 6 - 8pm
13th Sept - 13th Dec (No class 20th Sept) 2011
Cost: on a sliding scale £10 - £35 per session

Psychodrama is a creative action group therapy that can help individuals and groups
explore the complexity of thoughts and emotions present within any life situation.
Central to the approach is creativity and spontaneity of action, which can reveal aspects
of ourselves we have been unaware of, help us to express ourselves more clearly and
re-assess the focus and direction of our life. It is based on Jacob Moreno’s Role Theory.
Throughout our life we tend to adopt roles that match the expectations of those
around us. Some roles become overdeveloped, leaving other potential roles undeveloped.
By exploring actively, and embodying roles, psychodrama can give us an
opportunity to expand our role repertoire, thus creating more choice, a better balance,
more personal fulfilment and the ability to form healthier relationships in our life.
The symbolic language of dreams, a significant story or metaphor can be rich material
to explore through these methods, as are objects and images. The role of the group,
and its facilitator, is to create a safe environment in which feelings can be acknowledged,
expressed and contained. The work is done at whatever level of self-disclosure or depth
each individual is comfortable with. An important aspect of the culture of the group is
freedom of choice and the support to say no or stop at any time.
The process of any psychodrama enactment will involve the whole group in a
‘warm-up', where individuals may get in touch with a particular issue they might want
to explore further through action. The issue that is most alive for the group is often then
chosen by the group. The ‘action' phase of the psychodrama usually involves one
group member working as the ‘protagonist' with the support and facilitation of the
‘director' . Individuals may choose to work with a personal issue that is past, present or
in the future, or explore different aspects of themselves. The method enables the
involvement of other group members through playing ‘roles', identified by
the protagonist, or offering unspoken thoughts to the protagonist through ‘doubling' .
Following the enactment, a ‘sharing' phase offers the opportunity for all group
members to acknowledge their identification with the theme worked with.

Gary Smith