Psychology knows many methods of group psychotherapy. One of them is the psychodrama method. This is a theatrical reenactment of problematic situations that helps people better understand their inner world and the characteristics of other people. At the same time, this is a great way to unleash your creative potential. Psychodrama helps a person change perception, self-perception, attitude, self-attitude, behavior. As a result, the productivity of the individual’s life and his relationships increases.
Why understand the types of psychotherapy?
The term “psychotherapy” implies a huge number of areas, approaches and methods, starting with individual conversations and ending with games, dances and tests. All techniques help to explore human emotions and find a route to improving life.
Today, many turn to specialists for help or at least think about such a step. However, it is not so easy to choose: some therapists work with couples, and some with families or groups of people, some with children and adolescents, and some with adults, and there are so many directions themselves, that it's easy to get confused. Friends can recommend a good doctor who cured them of depression, but your situation is most likely completely different. The experts themselves most often suggest using only those methods that they practice. And people ask a logical question: what exactly will help me?
Main types and methods of psychotherapy
Art therapy
A unique technique based on treatment through conversational therapy and creativity, the essence of which lies in the hypothesis that creativity is an external expression of internal emotions, the correct reading of which is the main task of an art therapist.
Who will it help:
- the method has no contraindications and is used in work with both adults and children;
- individual patients, couples, families, groups, communities;
- children and adults with speech impairments;
- clients who have difficulty expressing themselves;
- people who have experienced trauma;
- susceptible to childhood fears and somatic disorders;
- patients experiencing communication problems;
- experiencing difficulties in learning and education.
Methods:
Theatrical performances, music, drawing, sculpting, sculpture, any other art.
Client-centered psychotherapy
One of the most popular methods among modern psychotherapists, which is based on the assertion that the patient is able to independently become the best version of himself, identify the causes of his problems and find a solution to eliminate them.
Who will it help:
- people who lack understanding, sympathy, warmth;
- those seeking to explore their thoughts;
- susceptible to neuroses, anxiety and depression;
- those wishing to resolve social and family conflicts;
- in solving child development problems.
Methods:
The therapist, through a confidential dialogue, only accompanies and guides the client, suggests what to pay attention to.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
It is based on the theory that human behavior is a kind of reaction based on past experience. The main task of the psychotherapist is to help the client change their behavioral responses to stressful events.
Who will it help:
- those suffering from obsessive and compulsive disorders;
- susceptible to fears, phobias and addictions;
- those who want to overcome bad habits;
- those in a state of chronic stress;
- experiencing anxiety and worry.
Methods:
The therapist and patient explore together in what situations negative thoughts automatically arise. Through methods of softening rigid beliefs and special exercises, new skills are reinforced, and gradually the patient learns to live with more flexible views.
Body therapy
This is a set of methods that helps to deal with the client’s psychological resistance as delicately as possible for quick access to his unconscious. As a result, the psychotherapist gets the opportunity to analyze the relationship between the human mind and body and achieve the ultimate goal - a change in psycho-emotional well-being in a positive direction.
Who will it help:
- those suffering from psychosomatic diseases;
- for depression, stress and anxiety;
- to improve overall health;
- people with bad habits;
- susceptible to panic attacks.
Psychoanalysis
The founder of this popular teaching, Sigmund Freud, based psychoanalysis on the task of recognizing the patient’s unconscious processes (through the analysis of words, thoughts, dreams and fantasies), discovering true internal problems and building new relationships with the outside world.
Who will it help:
- those who want to answer their internal questions and build positive relationships with others;
- for various neurotic conditions;
- people with low self-esteem.
Methods:
The session goes like this: the patient lies down on the couch, tries to relax as much as possible and tells out loud everything that comes to his mind. The main method of psychoanalysis is free, flexible associations, which give the therapist access to the patient's subconscious.
Desensitization and reprocessing using eye movements
A method of working with the patient’s traumatic and negative memories.
Who will it help:
- people who are unsure of themselves;
- for post-traumatic stress disorder;
- to get rid of the consequences of emotional trauma;
- patients with low self-esteem;
- with obsessive thoughts, resentments, feelings of guilt.
Methods:
During the session, the psychotherapist asks the client to imagine past negative situations and at the same time moves a finger or pointer in front of the face, triggering the mechanism for processing information using specific eye movements. After this method, the memory of the painful events that occurred is preserved, but the person no longer perceives what happened acutely.
Dance movement therapy
One of the most dynamic and expressive forms of psychotherapy, based on the relationship between body and mind. Movement to music promotes self-expression, improves emotional state and appearance, and forms a positive image of oneself, so patients enjoy dancing. Psychotherapists include dance movement therapy in their rehabilitation programs, because this method has virtually no contraindications and is suitable for children and adults.
Who will it help:
- people of any gender and age who want to improve self-esteem, motor and coordination functions;
- those seeking to work through emotional tensions;
- susceptible to depression;
- suffering from emotional disorders and interpersonal communication disorders.
Family therapy
Family counseling is a field of psychotherapy that focuses on family problems, helping all family members (including children) cope with conflicts, establish mutual understanding and harmonious interaction with each other through the right decisions and new behavior.
Who will it help:
- families wishing to regulate parent-child and marital relationships;
- families with a problematic, disobedient child;
- any family member with a neurotic or psychosomatic disorder;
- people who are grieving the loss of a family member.
Methods:
The specialist talks with the entire family and with each member individually. The counseling process uses tests, drawings, games and homework to create new relationships and behaviors that will satisfy all family members.
Gestalt therapy
A method of psychotherapy based on the belief that people strive for mental and physical health, but patterned behavior creates obstacles to this. Gestalt therapy, with the help of special exercises, helps a person work through unlived feelings and unfinished stories, teaches them to live “right now,” activating responsibility for their behavior, cravings and the ability to live a full life. Gestalt therapy is an effective approach to working with children and adolescents.
Who will it help:
- those striving for a fulfilling life;
- with a tendency to suppress feelings and desires;
- people who have difficulty communicating;
- for fears, anxieties, apathy, bad mood;
- those who want to deal with their past;
- patients experiencing severe anxiety in unfamiliar company;
- with uncontrolled aggression.
Methods:
Individual or group consultations, during which methods of independent choice of behavior are mastered. At the first conversation, the psychotherapist and client(s) agree on the desired result and discuss ways to achieve it, plan the duration and number of meetings.
Hypnosis
Hypnotherapy puts the patient into a deep state of relaxation and altered state in which the unconscious mind is able to unimpededly perceive new possibilities, thoughts and behavior patterns.
Who will it help:
- when solving a specific problem;
- those who want to change behavior or attitude towards an acute situation;
- for the treatment of pain;
- for stress, anxiety and worry;
- those seeking to get rid of bad habits;
- people who want to develop.
Methods:
The psychotherapist uses special metaphorical language during a conversation to touch upon the patient's unconscious.
Jungian analysis
Jung's analytical tactics are based on the analysis of personality archetypes and dreams and are able to expand the patient's consciousness in order to build new values and achieve emotional harmony.
Who will it help:
- in achieving harmony and integrity of the individual;
- in solving family and interpersonal problems;
- people experiencing a crisis situation;
- people striving for a positive perception of the world around them;
- for young children to correct strong and painful experiences;
- to relieve psychological pain and suffering;
- for anxiety disorders, depression and other neurotic conditions.
Methods:
A confidential conversation, during which the client talks about everything that comes to mind - there are no taboo topics. The therapist also invites the client to be creative - to express his feelings and thoughts through drawing, journaling, and poetry. In a word, everything that can help a person understand himself is used.
Psychodrama
An area of psychotherapy that involves the participation of a group of people in a role-playing game in which acute life situations from the real life of one of the participants are played out.
Who will it help:
- those who want to see their emotions from the outside and begin to confront conflicts;
- seeking to learn new effective ways to solve problems.
Methods:
A dramatization of actions based on the plot of real events experienced by one of the participants, during which he and the people in the group are immersed in a stressful situation, “living” it in order to get answers to their questions. The support of group members and a psychotherapist helps to find the right solution in a specific situation.
Exercises
Let us briefly consider several popular exercises using psychodrama.
Shop
Participants are divided into sellers and buyers. Subsequently, dividing into pairs or subgroups, the participants reproduce conflicts and find a way out of them. Different themes are used, and participants often change roles. This exercise helps develop social and communication skills. Each participant learns to defend their position and overcome conflicts with dignity and seek compromises.
Bus
All participants are divided into “hares” (free riders) and controllers. The first sit in the inner circle, the second in the outer. Free riders make excuses, and controllers try to shame them, but at the same time put themselves in their position. At the end of the action, the participants discuss each other's game. During interaction, internal blocks, complexes and problems of people are identified, those features that prevent them from interacting with society. Each participant learns to defend their opinion, refuse, resist, and maintain composure in uncomfortable situations.
Family
The protagonist distributes roles in the game, also assigns his role to someone and describes what situation from his family the participants should reproduce. This exercise allows the main character to look at himself from the outside and look at other family members differently. After reproducing the situation, a discussion is held.
What type of psychotherapy should I choose?
We talked only about the basic therapeutic techniques, of which there are a great many in the practice of existing correctional specialists.
Let us answer right away that there is no ideal type of psychotherapy that would be better and more effective than all others. The choice should depend on the patient’s personality, his behavior, views and beliefs, on the specific problem and on the sincere desire to solve it.
Study your goals, consult with a specialist, listen to your inner feelings. Perhaps some method will respond specifically to you, and you will enthusiastically want to try its action.
It will be important to fully understand your goals and their compliance with the capabilities of existing methods of psychotherapy. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy examines how a person's thoughts influence behavior; the client-centered method helps you independently understand your problems; the existential approach answers the main questions of life, etc.
Types of relationships from the perspective of psychodrama
The theory of psychodrama considers three types of relationships: transference, empathy, body:
- Transference involves endowing another person with one’s negative, undesirable qualities. The perception of the other person in this case is inadequate.
- Empathy (feeling) implies the ability to imagine oneself in the role of another person. There is a cognitive and emotional component involved. Empathy is achieved by playing the role of another. It helps to see the situation through the eyes of another person.
- Body – adequate perception of each other by the participants, mutual understanding, mutual feeling. Understanding attraction or repulsion from each other.
A sign of mental health is adequate self-perception, perception of others and their relationship to a person, interaction with others based on empathy and the body.
What else should you pay attention to when choosing a psychotherapist?
To achieve a result, it is important not only the method that the therapist will use during the consultation process, but also your mutual sympathy and understanding - how carefully the specialist listens, accepts your problems and treats you with respect.
Another important point is the psychotherapist’s awareness of your goals and aspirations. If a specialist knows what you expect from therapy, he will have every opportunity to choose the method that is right for you to cope with your specific problem. Feel free to discuss this point if you feel that some of the proposed techniques are not suitable for you. If after this the doctor continues to insist on using his method, assures that you are resisting and are not interested in recovery, it is better to turn to another specialist.
The Power of Improvisation
Psychodrama rarely uses prepared scripts
. The psychologist selects the “scene” and “images” right here and now. At the beginning of the lesson, he conducts a diagnostic survey and during the survey he tries to choose a suitable drama. As a rule, it is possible to find a topic that concerns everyone present. It doesn't matter who plays what role. There are no “main” characters and no “minor” characters. All action is left to the will of the participants, and the facilitator only slightly adjusts the process, helping the participants remove barriers.
It is in improvisation that not only an understanding of various life situations is born, but also true feelings are revealed
. Right “here and now” you can discover facets in yourself that a person did not even suspect about before. What might take several years to develop in another psychological approach is revealed here in a few hours.
