Glossary of Psychodramatic Terms

I have uploaded a glossary of background terminology from the the book by Leveton hopefully to help those who may be new in this area to familiarised themselves with some of the terms. 

Psychodrama - Glossary of Terms (Rererence - A clinician's guide to psychodrama 3rd Edition by Eva Leveton Springer Publishing Company)




Acting. A discipline that trains the actor to take part in theater or film work. Acting is often confused with role playing, which is, in fact, only a small part of the discipline comprising improvisation, mime, voice production, body movement, character building, analysis of text, and many other techniques.


Auxiliary. Originally Moreno's "auxiliary ego" the term refers to the individuals who help the protagonist by taking parts in his drama.


Berne, Eric. Author of Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy and Games People Play; founder of transactional analysis, a system of individual and group dynamics using group therapy.


Bridge. Used to describe the connection the leader makes between the various scenes in a psychodrama and the commentary that precedes and follows them.


Catharsis. The discharge of intense emotion through its expression in a psychodrama, as, for example, the expression of unexpressed grief or anger in a particular scene.

Childhood recall. Sometimes referred to as age regression, the vivid and detailed recall of childhood experiences not readily available to the individual.


Client. A person under sufficient stress to pay for the services of another to help reduce it.


Conflicts. The collisions of opposing forces that are the heart of psychodrama. Whether the struggle is inter- or intrapersonal, both sides of the conflict are enacted on the psychodramatic stage.


Control. Here used in the sense of an individual's ability to remain in charge of his emotions. The leader must be aware that unpredicted outbursts of tears or anger in an enactment may challenge a protagonist's or auxiliary's sense control.


Critical distance. The physical distance vis-a-vis others comfortable for the role-player.


Director. The person in charge of a specific psychodrama. (There may be several directors in a group where each scene has a different director.)


Distancing. Here used to mean (1) putting the other person off, at a psychological distance, or (2) viewing the material from a greater distance, as when the protagonist chooses to direct all or part of scene rather than take part in it, or (3) locating the other person in the physical distance that fits the perceived psychological relationship.


Double. An auxiliary who represents another part of the protagonist.


Enactment. The staging of a protagonist's scene.


Erickson, Milton, M.D. Hypnotist known for the development of clinical hypnosis using metaphor and story to help clients work on their problems while in a state of relaxation.


Encounter. A psychotherapeutic approach centering on a dialogue between peers where each is expected to comment frankly and honestly on the other's behavior.


Drama therapy. A discipline developed in the '80s using drama and theater-based techniques to further emotional growth and individual change. It differs from psychodrama in its more direct connection with theater and performance and its focus on the whole group rather than the protagonist.


Emunah, Renee. Innovator of Drama Therapy. Author of Acting for Real, Drama Therapy Process, Technique, and Performance.


Esalen. A spa with hot springs in Big Sur, California, used as a center for learning. Both Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir were longterm resident teachers there.


Experiential. Here used to describe a therapeutic technique that actively provides the individual with a new life experience, as contrasted to the more analytic "talking" therapies.


Fantasy. All role-playing requires fantasy, but here we refer to material outside the real life situation of the role player. A fantasy role is imagined in the sense that it takes place in another country, another life /one, or dreams; a person can change into an animal, a rock, a much richer or poorer individual, etc. Another term used for this category is surplus reality.


Gestalt. A psychiatric theory and technique developed by Fritz Perls. Gestalt, the German word for figure, refers to the individual's need to complete his psychologically unfinished business, lest he spend his life repeating the same patterns, just as the hungry person spends his time with recurrent fantasies of food until his hunger is satisfied.


Haley, Jay. Member of the original Mental Research Institute group that developed systems and communications theory and the concept of the double bind. Author of many books, including Uncommon Therapy and Problem-Solving Therapy.


High-functioning group. Term used to refer to a group that can function without being affected by major psychological or physical handicaps.


Humor. Here used to highlight the use of irony and humorous contrast in a psychodrama to help an individual see problems from a lighter perspective.


Impasse. A stuck place reached when an enactment begins to lose energy and become repetitive because its protagonist has reached a major internal obstacle.


Intellectualization. A psychological defense mechanism in which a threat is deprived of its emotional content through intellectual analysis.


Johnson, David. Pioneer of Drama Therapy. Author of many articles describing his developmental theory and innovative improvisational technique in drama therapy.


Jackson, Don. Member of the original Mental Research Institute (MRI), Palo Alto, California (see Jay Haley). Editor of Human Communication, Volumes I and II, a compendium of this group's work.


Keleman, Stan. Teacher of Bio-Energetics (a system combining body awareness and psychological dynamics), therapist, and author of Living Your Dying.


Korn, Richard. Practicing psychodramatist best known for his work with prison inmates and prison personnel; trained byj. L. Moreno.


Lewin, Kurt. Sociologist. Founder of Field Theory, a system of social psychology that stresses the necessity of considering context in the analysis of any situation.


Low-functioning group. A group whose members are severely handicapped psychiatrically, physically, or mentally. Because their handicaps will make it difficult to focus attention, to maintain control, to express themselves freely or easily, the director must provide more structure and more concrete directions than in high-functioning groups.


Magic shop. Psychodramatic technique that uses the device of a shop dealing in human qualities to examine them.


Mirror. Psychodramatic technique in which an auxiliary mimics the protagonist to demonstrate an aspect of behavior of which she is unaware.


Model. To demonstrate how to play a role, comment, or behave spontaneously; an important aspect of psychodramatic leadership.


Moreno, J. L. Founder of psychodrama as a system of psychiatric dynamics and a technique of teaching and psychotherapy. Author of Psychodrama, Vol. I and, together with Zerka Moreno, Vol. II and Vol. Ill, and coeditor with A. Friedemann, and R. Battegar of The International Handbook of Group Therapy. The Morenos are the originators of psychodrama and have published widely in addition to these seminal volumes.


Moreno, Zerka. Psychodramatist, author, and coauthor with J. L. Moreno of Psychodrama, Vols. II and III, coeditor with J. L. Moreno, A. Friedemann, and R. Battegar of The International Handbook of Group Therapy, and with Dag Blomkvist, Surplus Reality and the Art of Healing.


Perls, Fritz. Founder of Gestalt Therapy. Author of Ego, Hunger and Aggression; Gestalt Therapy (co-authors: Ralph Hefferline and Paul Goodman).


Process. The "how" of doing something, here used to explore the workings of the director as well as the group interaction.


Protagonist. The main character in a psychodrama.


Psychodrama. Term originated by Moreno, which we use in a more general sense to designate role-playing in the service of personal growth.


Resistance. In relation to psychodrama, the psychological defenses designed to protect the individual from the dangers of change by cooperating without commitment, refusing to cooperate, or otherwise sabotaging the goals of the director and the group.


Resolution. The psychodrama achieves resolution when there is a lessening of tension and sense of completion that may be accompanied by a different point of view, a new solution, or insight.


Risk. Used when a person takes a leap into the psychological unknown.


Ritual. An activity that marks an important event or transition in human development, often conducted by a specialist such as a priest or a shaman. Psychodrama often takes on a ritual quality.


Role-playing. Taking part in a psychodrama. It is important not to confuse role playing with acting. Role playing refers to spontaneous improvisation depending solely on the participant's ability to fit himself into the role and his reactions to the others. Acting, on the other hand, begins with role-playing but involves a complex discipline requiring the individual to be able to learn scripts, play in a way suitable for stage or film, and repeat performances in exact detail.


Role reversal. When two role playing individuals take each other's roles. (In a father-son dialogue, for example, the father plays the son's part while the son plays the father.) For an excellent discussion of role reversal, see Adam Blatner, Acting-In: Practical Applications of Psyche-dramatic Methods (New York: Springer Publishing, 1988).


Satir, Virginia. Author of Conjoint Family Therapy and People Making. A leader in the development of family therapy and the evolution of experiential techniques.


Sacred space. A place where the ordinary world can be transcended. The psychodramatic stage often becomes a sacred space.


Scene. A part of a psychodrama with a beginning and an end. Directors often find it useful to divide a psychodrama into various scenes, each with a specific purpose.


Sculpture. An experiential technique requiring an individual to shape another person (or persons) into the posture he feels appropriately describes an emotional relationship.


Sensory awareness. A therapeutic technique designed to provide the individual with greater information about his body and his five senses.


Sociodrama. Moreno's term for drama based on social issues facing the whole group, for example, racial conflicts in a group withboth Caucasian and Black members.


Sociogram. A psychodramatic technique requiring the individual to make a living picture of a group of persons important to him by placing them at the physical distance appropriate for their psychological relationship.


Soliloqui. The protagonist speaks his thoughts directly to the audience.


Stage. Here used to designate any area where a psychodrama takes place.


Strategy. A plan developed by a psychodrama leader or director for a specific purpose in a particular psychodrama.


Style. The manner of doing one's work; that which is personal and idiosyncratic in the psychodrama director's performance.


Surplus reality. The world that takes place on the psychodramatic stage where anything can take place—time travel, fantasy, enacted metaphor—and still be seen in the present and in real dimensions.


Tele. Term coined by Moreno to denote the dynamic that determines the way in which individuals are connected in a group in terms of their attraction and repulsion. It accounts for preferences between group members, the mood of the group and the intuitive leaps often made in role assignments and role-playing.


Warm-up. The initial activity in a psychodrama group designed to encourage maximum participation and spontaneity as well as introduce material for further work.