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ABSTRACT. Psychodrama is only one of many approaches developed by J. L. Moreno in his lifetime. Rather than being thought of as a single method, his work would be best served if recognized and utilized as potentially separate components. Although the effectiveness of these individual components might be increased by using them in concert, there are many situations in which they can be applied in their own right.
Keywords: improvisational drama, psychodrama, role playing, role theory, sociodrama, sociometry
THE TERM PSYCHODRAMA has come to be used in two senses. The first meaning refers to the therapeutic role-playing method usually conducted in groups. This approach was developed by J. L. Moreno, MD (1889-1974) in the mid-1930s, and it is sometimes referred to as classical psychodrama. A more general meaning has come to refer to the entire complex of Moreno's ideas and methods developed from 1908 onward, including:
1. A revisioned "religion of encounter" and a sense that the Divine can "speak" through the creative process in any individual, around 1908 (Moreno, 1989, p. 29-34).
2. The use of improvisation to enliven the dramatic play of children in the parks of Vienna, also around 1908 (Moreno, 1989).
3. The use of self-help, egalitarian group work (rather than having the group leader as authority) with prostitutes in Vienna, around 1912 (Moreno, 1989).
4. The idea of allowing people the freedom to express their preferences and having those preferences respected, so that people can affiliate with whom they chose rather than be assigned arbitrarily to subgroups (i.e., the roots of sociometry, in the refugee camp of Mittendorf, near Vienna, around 1917; Moreno, 1989).
5. The creation of what was possibly the first improvisational drama troupe, "Das Stegreiftheater (i.e., "Theater of Spontaneity," in 1921-1923, in Vienna, and later, other experiments with impromptu theatre in New York City, around 1930-1931 (Moreno, 1989, p. 73).
6. The application of the aforementioned egalitarian spirit and recognition of the therapeutic benefit of group therapy at Sing Sing prison, which was presented to the American Psychiatric Association in 1931 (Moreno, 1989).
7. The development of sociometry in assigning and working with residents at the Hudson School for Girls around 1933-1936 (Marineau, 1989).
8. The extension of work with groups, impromptu theatre, and sociometry,...