What is Psychodrama? By Katherine Schreiber
Psychodrama: its name may sound horrific. But the process itself is far from it. Participants and practitioners agree, it heals. Psychodrama was created by Jacob L. Moreno — a psychiatrist from Bucharest known best for his contributions to group psychotherapy and sociometric research — in the late 1920’s. His goal? To help participants piece back together the parts of themselves they felt were broken by acting out whatever roles they assumed or encountered in their day-to-day lives.nnThe protagonist, his/her auxiliary egos (a fancy term for those who play significant others in a protagonist’s drama), the 
“director” (a psychodramatist who oversees the psychodrama session), and the audience (group members watching the drama) make up a typical psychodrama session. Sessions generally last about two hours and move through a group warm-up, a series of scenes the chosen protagonist acts out from his or her life, capped off by a reflective post-action group discussion.
Several techniques are employed throughout a psychodrama session — most notably: role reversal (where a protagonist assumes the role of another person in his or her life while a fellow actor plays the protagonist), mirroring (where a protagonist acts out an experience and another actor then re-enacts what the protagonist has performed), and doubling (where a fellow actor serves as one of protagonist’s ‘auxiliary egos’ or the protagonist’s second self). Protagonists are also encouraged to speak in soliloquies to enhance their own, as well as the rest of the group’s, awareness about their behavior and feelings.nnPsychodrama should not be confused with drama therapy, the latter of which entails acting out fictional character’s situations rather than one’s own emotional and historical truths. (Think of psychodrama as a more personal and less metaphorical use of theater techniques to achieve psychological well-being.)
If you’re interested in trying it out, check out the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama or upstate NY’s Lifestage for more info! And if you’d like to know a bit more about the life of founder John L. Moreno, take a look at his wife’s memoir, To Dream Again.