Psychodrama Therapy

Most sessions are held every week, so you can expect to visit our facility (if you are in an outpatient program) or go to the associated room on campus (if you are in a residential care plan) during specifically designated times. Sessions are run by trained professionals and typically last for several hours at a time.

Psychodrama treatment in Kansas City can take the form of individual therapy or group therapy. The main difference is that group therapy will obviously involve other people, so any painful or traumatic events you act out will include other group members or be in front of other group members.

You might take turns with other group members acting out mental, behavioral, or emotional problems you have. Other group members can take on accompanying roles. If, for example, you are acting out a scene involving your family, you might have another group member portray your mother and your father. The director might leave the scene while other group members serve as the audience.

Psychodrama therapy sessions look very similar to a traditional acting class. Most of the time, your sessions might last for a few hours and be comprised of the following:

1. The warm-up
2. The action
3. The sharing

During the warm-up, it’s a chance for everyone to get familiar with the environment, get to know one another, or greet one another if the classes have been ongoing. As things progress into the action face, you can tap into the things you want to share with the group and begin to act out events from your past. Finally, the sharing phase lets everyone reflect upon the things that were acted out during that session and look for ways to solve those interpersonal problems.

There are different techniques used for psychodrama therapy in Kansas City. 

Empty Chair

Some professionals will use a technique like the empty chair, where you sit in front of an empty chair and talk to that chair as though the person with whom you have an issue is sitting in front of you. That chair might represent an entire situation or yourself or an object in your past.

Mirroring

During other sessions, you might apply a mirroring technique where you explain your feelings or a particular situation, and then another member of your group acts it out for you. Here you get the chance to see the scene from a different perspective and perhaps gain insight. 

Role Reversal

Another popular technique is role reversal, where you might play the role of another person in your life with whom you have an interpersonal problem. This gives you a chance to better understand how your actions might have affected someone else, why someone else may have responded or acted the way they did, and so forth. This is a good technique for developing empathy.