I’ve been invited to attend a Psychodrama Therapy session to satisfy my community visit for Mental Health/Psych Nursing. What am I in for if I do it?
I have a background in college/community theater and, perhaps more applicably, in ritual theater, where acting/improv can be used to affect psychological and emotional change. Is it something like that? Is it enacting real scenarios individual people are struggling with (eg. role play a specific argument between spouses) or is it more general than that?
Are there trust falls? Great og, don’t let there be trust falls!
That was actually my major in college - but back then Psychodrama was a relatively new form of therapy. Had to take theater and psych classes and to become a therapist, I would have had to go for additional certification, which I did not do.
You have the concept down, to a certain extent.
There are lots of approaches - for instance, you might have a married couple switch roles in an argument where he pretends to be the wife and she pretends to be the husband and must remain in character for a specific time.
You can also use it for role playing in work environments with employees, or you can use it with children when trying to determine the source of problems at home or with other classmates.
You could also use it for one-on-one therapy, although mostly it was for two or more people to experience/workout together.
One nice thing about it is that it has a “game” element to it that made it more fun and less threatening for people to initially take part. A good psychotherapist would then be able to slightly adjust the rules during the course of the game and get results that even the participants could see clearly and begin to better understand the dynamics involved.
Although I never went on to become a therapist, psychodrama has been very helpful to me in many classroom situations - allowing me to defuse situations through guided group activities. Let’s just say it is no accident that I intentionally put certain people in specific sub-groups for class activities. Many times I have seen potential enemies become good friends because I subtly forced them to work together on a project.
It has been many years since I graduated from college, so I am sure there are new advances in the approach and methods.
And no, we never did any trust falls or things like that - but who knows what your particular therapist will suggest.
Thanks, DMark! It’s a group thing, but I don’t know how many in the group or how the participants are related outside of the group. I have been told that I’ll be expected to participate, not just observe, so that makes me a little nervous. I’ll expect I’ll just put on my Priestess hat and treat it as if I was working a personal growth Circle, allowing whatever happens to happen and trust the process.
It helps to hear of practical uses for the technique. I was somewhat fearing it will be full of self-obsessed dramawhores (I mean that in the most judgmental way possible*), so it’s nice to hear that it can be actually useful.
*Actually, my snotty, knee-jerk, prejudiced-based resistance to the process is a big reason I think I’m going to go. I could stay “safe” with a visit to a community center or shelter, but I’m kinda feeling adventurous. This Mental Health rotation really *does *feel like it is about self-discovery as much as it is nursing, just like my teacher said it would be!
They make you take your shoes off on a day when you happen to have dirty, holey socks on and play footsie with total strangers. True story, most embarrasing.
It could be an interesting experience. As a person with theater background you may have the right stuff for enjoying the afternoon.
I can understand your resistance, WhyNot. At the time I took those workshops they were challenging. Sounds like your attitude about self-discovery will serve you well.
I learned to check my socks before I left the house for the day. It’s a pity. I could have learned not to worry about what others think of my socks.
