Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Psychodrama is the original form of group psychotherapy. Jacob Levy Moreno, MD, the man who developed psychodrama, coined the phrases “group therapy” and “group psychotherapy.”
At it’s core psychodrama explores and corrects issues that have been identified by the group. A protagonist is chosen who’s issue represents the main elements of the group. Members of the group are brought in as auxiliaries to aid the dramatic enactment of the scene(s) brought forward by the protagonist.
A central tenet of psychodrama is Moreno’s theory of “spontaneity-creativity”. Moreno believed that the best way for an individual to respond creatively to a situation is through spontaneity, that is, through a readiness to improvise and respond in the moment. By encouraging an individual to address a problem in a creative way, reacting spontaneously and based on impulse, they may begin to discover new solutions to problems in their lives and learn new roles they can inhabit from within.