Psychodrama is a technique of psychoanalysis.
Psychodrama is a technique of psychoanalysis that consists of having patients act out dramatic scenes linked to their mental disorders . Typically, these representations are developed as part of group therapy, although there are also those who apply psychodrama in individual therapies.
The Austrian Sigmund Freud was the creator of psychoanalysis , a methodology developed to study and treat disorders of the mind. This doctrine locates the reasons that produce psychological problems in the unconscious : these causes, therefore, are not accessible to the person, but they can be detected by a psychoanalyst through therapy .
Benefits of psychodrama
There are many professionals who rely on psychodrama when treating certain patients. And they consider that it brings with it a significant number of advantages, such as these:
- When dramatizing and staging specific situations, the expert not only receives information from the patient's words but also from his or her gestures and body attitude.
- Also relevant is the fact that this method not only serves to know the present of the person in question, but also their past and even, in certain nuances, their future.
- It allows us to perceive the relationship that the patient maintains with different people in his family and environment in general.
- It gives the opportunity to know the emotions and feelings of the person who "stages" .
- Sometimes, representing a specific event helps the patient “break down” and be able to show, in words or gestures, everything that until now had been kept hidden.
Through psychodrama, the patient represents scenes linked to their mental disorders.
Disorders to be treated
Depression , anxiety , stress , and certain phobias can be treated through psychodrama, which can be developed through various methods. Specifically, among the most common techniques are monologue , role play , mirror technique , role changes or even projection into the future .
Self-esteem problems, overcoming grief after the loss of a loved one, and obsessive-compulsive disorders can also be treated through these performances, which are usually carried out twice a week.
Development of psychodrama
Jacob Levy Moreno (1898–1974), un psiquiatra nacido en Romania, criado en Austria y radicado en USA, es señalado como el padre del psicodrama. A través del psicodrama, Dark sostiene que se pasa de la actuación verbal a la action, logrando que el paciente no esté aislado sino que se tratado dentro de un grupo.
What psychotherapy allows is that the treatment is developed through the intervention of several therapeutic actors. The patient no longer limits himself to talking about his problems : he also represents them on a stage. This allows us to explore various aspects of the pathological conflict that would not otherwise emerge.
Psychoanalysts who promote psychodrama maintain that the technique allows the person to understand their emotions more deeply and to try different responses to the problem. In this way you can develop learning that allows you to assume a different role.