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ABSTRACT. The "magic shop" technique has been applied to good effect by various psychodramatists, each with his or her specific emphasis. In this article, the author presents some refinements and revisions of the magic shop technique that are grounded in theory. The author introduces experienced moments of learning by means of a series of ordered scenes, with the whole process based on an existential-dialectical model of development. The first section of the article contains the theoretical framework. In a specific example, the author then illustrates the successive stages of the magic shop technique. In the final section, the author presents a theoretical interpretation.
Key words: developmental psychiatry, dialectical psychology, existential psychology, Magic Shop
MANY AUTHORS (see Barbour, 1992; Leveton, 1992; Moreno, 1964; Petzold, 1971; Rustin & Olsson, 1993) have discussed the "magic shop" psychodramatic technique and some of its variations. In the present article, I note some refinements in the organization of the technique-a series of ordered scenes-along with the rationale for structuring the method in this fashion.
The basic idea is that a magic shop, opened by the director or by a member of the group under the supervision of the director, provides the group members with an opportunity to buy psychological qualities or characteristics that they feel they lack. The negotiation of the kind of payment for the purchase is especially significant, because what is offered in payment may be revealing and a source of potential insight for the protagonist.
Although the actual implementation of the magic shop may differ considerably among authors, they all proceed on a common basis, notably a remarkable combination of playfulness and seriousness, of humor and pain, of dream and reality, which constitutes the distinctive healing power of this psychodramatic technique. My own approach also relies on those features, yet I think it is worth noting that an additional dimension comes into play, that is, vividly experienced moments of learning that are attained during a structured number of stages, the process being based on an existential-dialectical theory of development. The primary emphasis is not on the element of negotiating, nor on the exchange of one quality for another, but rather on development-oriented learning through concrete and intense episodes of experiences. The process goes through several successive...