Psychodrama

Jakob Levy Moreno (1890-1974), a contemporary and passionate opponent of Sigmund Freud, defines his school of psychodrama as "the method that fathoms the truth of the soul through action". In psychodrama, situations, conflicts and ideas are translated into action beyond the matter at hand. Through active, immediate experience, the person gains new experiences that enable them to change their behaviour and attitudes.

Psychodrama is a method through which present and past life circumstances - which cause or maintain problems - can be dealt with, e.g. social contexts, professional situations, etc.

This holistic approach includes not only role play but also conversation, body-oriented exercises and other creative processing possibilities, whereby physical complaints are also understood as an expression of internal problems. In psychodrama, difficult situations can be experienced and new, future behaviour can be tested.

The aim of this therapy is to promote the diversity of individual behaviour, personal activity, the expansion of spontaneity, creativity and the ability to relate, as well as the elimination of existing disorders in these areas.

Through concrete experiences in psychodrama, confidence grows in oneself, in one's own possibilities and creativity. This opens up completely new possibilities for action in known and stressful situations. Empathy for oneself and others is also deepened.

A special form of psychodramatic work is therapeutic puppet theatre with children and adults as well as working with masks with adults.

With the help of masks and other figures, adults can find different expressions and behaviors more easily than those that were previously accessible to them.

Psychodrama stands out among the various schools due to the very great wealth of therapeutic techniques that has been developed over the last (almost) hundred years. Role-playing has become an important part of cognitive behavioral therapy, although it was originally developed in psychodrama. The "family constellation" which has become very popular recently is also based in psychodrama.