Humanistic psychodrama

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · Hans-Werner Gessmann · 1970 · Duisburg, Germany

What it is

HPD is a group psychotherapy method. Gessmann adapted J. L. Moreno's psychodrama, starting in the 1970s with delinquent and deviant adolescents in a state institution he headed. From about 1979–80 he rebuilt it on the axioms of humanistic psychology. He drew on Rogers, Perls, Ruth Cohn and…

Format

• Format. HPD runs as closed or ongoing therapy groups. It can also be adapted to inpatient units, shelters, therapeutic communities, outpatient groups and prisons. Gessmann's sources do not give a session length, total session count or group size. In general psychodrama a session lasts 90 minutes to…
• Within-session phases. Gessmann's open texts do not set out the phases. The three-phase structure common to German psychodrama is used here, and HPD's own named elements are mapped onto it.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• religious pressure. Make participation optional and respect members' beliefs.
• too much detail used to avoid the encounter. Move on once the protagonist's voice or posture changes.
• an auxiliary who still carries anger or sadness from the role. Give them first word in role feedback.
• the protagonist narrating to the director instead of speaking from the inside. Prompt them back to "I" statements.
• a stand-in who mocks, which risks shame. Signs that it is working: spontaneous recognition, then a wish to try something different.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.