What is psychodrama? | Diseases and conditions.

Psychodrama

Psychodrama is a technique developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century by Jacob Levy, as a method of psychotherapy that is contrary to the dominant model of the time. If until then used an individual psychotherapy, where the patient had to talk about their problems, related to their childhood traumas, inherited from the psychoanalytic model, now breaks with this trend suggesting the opposite.
Psychodrama originated as a group psychotherapy, where there is a sofa, but a scenario where they can interact with others; looking for that each of the participants will experience, and realize your way of relating with others and with himself, without making an exercise in introspection based in its verbal expression, and without that there is a prior script whereby the governed.
Psychodrama uses techniques from the world of interpretation, which are used to become an actor or actress, but focused on psychotherapy, where there is a stage, a division of roles or roles and a moment of interpretation with that experience, for subsequent comment and receive comments of feelings and ways of relating that have been established in that fictional scene.
Like traditional psychotherapies, the ultimate goal of the psychodrama is the patient aware of his tendencies and limitations, and that from there can decide to change; but, also, this technique has the advantage that the patient now has new experiences, that are trained and practice within these fictitious scenes, but that serves as a basis to apply to your everyday life.

Applications and techniques of psychodrama

Although the psychodrama is based on a set of scenographic and theatrical techniques, their application is currently oriented both to clinical psychotherapy and personal growth through the experience. Where a director, who is the therapist, are indications that the patient Act and interact with others in a fictitious scene, looking for the insight or awareness as a therapeutic vehicle.
This therapy has many techniques of the theatre, used for different effects in the patient, such as monologues, the mirror, the reversal of roles, the projection to the future, the role play, the magic shop or the empty chair, among others. All of which gives great possibilities to the director of psychotherapy to provide an enriching experience to the patient, so you go little by little taking awareness of the role played in his life and how it interacts with its environment.
Although the patient will have to play a role as an actor in a fictitious reality, artistic preconditions are not required to participate in a psychodrama therapy, because what is being sought is not so much the perfection of the representation, if not give him the opportunity to reflect on its role, and the feelings generated by you , as well as their interaction with other participants in the session.

For who is psychodrama?

initially designed to cover a therapeutic lack of time, to develop as group psychotherapy, currently you can work both individual, couple, family or group, because that depends on the skill of the director put on therapeutic value the work performed in the psychodrama sessions and which serve to each participant for their particular problem.
In addition, one person, acting individually or in a group, can work various aspects related to your partner, family, or work, or own which will count on the collaboration of auxiliaries, that they may represent the role of husband, wife, family or head, as required by the fictional scene.
Therapeutic applications of psychodrama rely on more of the skills and experiences of the director that the technique itself, since proven their utility to treat different pathologies, such as depressions, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders or social phobias. In addition to to help overcome the duel, improve self-esteem and motivation, and to change inadequate habits.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, psychodrama, as it happens to other psychotherapies is contraindicated when the person is subject to medication, especially when this is crippling, since what works will have little or no effect on the person, due to the effects of the medication, so it is recommended that the patient go when low doses and has passed the acute phase of the disease.

How is a psychodrama session?

Psychodrama can be used individually, as in couple, family or group. Depending on the number of participants at the meeting, so it will be its duration, ranging from 45 minutes to two hours, rocking the same price between 40 and 100 euros, so that it is more economical for many more participants involved. Ideally, there is an approximate periodicity of two sessions per week.
Psychodrama sessions are usually divided into three major steps:

Warming

In this phase the participants should only move freely, doing exercises that provide a suitable environment, sometimes perform plays, physical or vocal expressions free so be encouraged that environment; looking for the disinhibition and the involvement in the group, which allows disconnect with the problems and concerns that the patient could bring from abroad.

The dramatization

In where director selects one of the patients so that play a role, within a fictional setting, recreating a past, present or future, actual or imaginary, situation in which will participate one or more assistants and auxiliaries, which already will have special instructions on how they should react and speak with the patient who plays its role.

The eco-group

Finalized once exercise is abandoned the stage to meet internationally, is when the participants and viewers, those who have not spoken on this occasion in the scene, expressed what they have seen and sense of representation, seeking to facilitate the insgiht or taking of conscience by the patient, what helps you to reflect on their own experience and how it looks from the outside.

Who teaches the psychodrama?

The session of psychodrama director is the psychotherapist, that when you work with patients with clinical problems should be a health care professional qualified, and with a specialization on psychodrama, for which there are schools, associations, federations official where dan training both theoretical as practical to teach it, as well as the stage of supervision, where the apprentice practice to be director.
One of the features of the psychodrama is among the participants there are so-called auxiliary figures, that will interact with the patient in a concrete and specific manner, in such a way that it causes the experience which the director seeks to facilitate awareness. These are regular contributors to director or director apprentices who are in formation.
Director is who designed the fictional scene and asks the patient who get involved and act on it, with the rest of participants who make it turn freely, except the auxiliary, they already know how should act in this case; then a good director is also defined by having good assistants, since without them it would be very difficult to apply correctly the psychodrama.
The patient becomes psychodrama protagonist of his action, but the way of relating and its resolution depends on both him and the rest of the participants, in particular of the auxiliaries, but all planned by the director to mobilize the patient towards a reflection of change, to learn the tools necessary to properly engage with others and with himself.

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