Combining Psychodrama and Process Group Psychotherapy

Psychodrama group work differs from process group psychotherapy in salient ways, one being the structure of the sessions. Both modalities use group members to support each other, but in psychodrama, the group focuses on a situation of one of the members that is then enacted experientially; in process group psychotherapy, the group follows the verbal interchanges among the members. This article describes each of the two orientations and presents examples of the addition of a process group session to close a psychodrama workshop, on one hand, and presents examples of the insertion of sociometry and psychodrama techniques into process group sessions, on the other. Drawing from both orientations gives the therapist access to a wider repertoire of techniques than either orientation offers alone, and the overall effectiveness of the therapist familiar with both approaches is enhanced by the increased spontaneity and enriched understanding achieved from working with both modalities.