The Love and Marriage of Psychodrama and Drama Therapy1

Other Experiential Approaches Similar to Psychodrama

“…Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) conceptualizes the psyche as having multiple parts with a centralized self—the core essence of an individual (Schwartz, 1994 ). This perspective is quite similar to Moreno’s role theory, with the self having parallels to the Morenean concept of the autonomous healing center within (Longer & Giacomucci, 2020 ). Like gestalt and psychodrama, IFS uses a non-pathologizing person-centered approach with a primary goal of promoting further integration within the self and in the external environment.…”

“…Psychodrama can be traced back solely to Moreno's theoretical and philosophical foundation in the early 1900. On the other hand, drama therapy emerged with multiple different theoretical and practical approaches developed by different pioneers several decades after Moreno (Johnson & Emunah, 2009;Landy, 2017). Kadem-Tahar and Kellermann (1996) offer an eloquently stated differentiation below:…”

“…Drama therapy is more connected to theater and sometimes moves from a therapeutic process to a focus on creating a theater production (Landy, 2017). While some psychodramatists are also theater professionals, most are not.…”

Effectiveness of drama-based therapies on mental health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies.

“…The second continuum ranges from process-oriented to presentational forms. Psychodrama is primarily about process and does not typically move into performance, whereas drama therapy, depending on the needs of the clients, may move from process to presentation, which essentially involves an agreement to move from spontaneous improvisation in the therapy room to rehearsing and then performing a chosen or co-created script for a selected audience to facilitate therapeutic aims (Bailey, 2007;Landy, 2017;Sajnani, 2017).…”

“…There is growing documented empirical evidence of the effectiveness of these therapies, as described in detail below. Psychodrama and drama therapy are two organized health professions where credentialed therapists, who have completed extensive academic education and clinical training, employ experiential drama processes and techniques to ameliorate health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship (Landy, 2017; Orkibi, 2020). Both psychodrama and drama therapy are offered to a wide range of clients of all ages, in individual, dyadic, familial, and group formats across a variety of clinical, medical, rehabilitative, educational, and community settings (Orkibi, 2020).…”