Workshop Reveals Effectiveness of Psychodrama as a Therapy Method

“Psychodrama is a different take on the established psychotherapy methods, one in which the patient is an active participant in the treatment,” said the Clinical Psychologist at the Treatment & Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture, Rayya Farsakh, at a workshop on psychodrama held on November 28.

The workshop, organized by the Counselling Office at the Deanship of Student Affairs, presented the concept of psychodrama, its aims, elements, and standards of treatment, “Psychodrama is a type of psychotherapy which combines drama, as a form of art, and psychology. What marks psychodrama is its effectiveness in creating a safe space for patients to express their emotions and reactions through roles relevant to the situations they’re experiencing,” said Farsakh.

There are many elements to psychodrama, as Farsakh detailed, the most important of which are: the theme, the plot around which the dramatization revolves; story writing, which is done by the counselees themselves to explore their internal ideas and conflicts; direction, which is performed by the counsellor and includes playing a certain part of the dramatization or organizing the different roles in the play; and the actors, which are the counselees, one of which is the protagonist – the one around whom the play revolves– and the others play the roles of important people in the protagonist’s life, such as a parent or a close friend.

“Psychodrama adheres to certain standards which must be followed to ensure fruitful results and a healthy post-dramatization discussion,” added Fasakh.   “The counselees have to be comfortable with the performance – preferably written, organized, and performed by them – the attendees and the performers have to suspend their disbelief, and the performers have complete creative freedom over the dramatization.”

The workshop included example activities, on which psychodrama is based, such as trust-building exercises and circles of trust.