Psychodrama, sociodrama, sociometry and axiodrama (Moreno)

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · J. L. Moreno · 1934

What it is

This is a family of group action methods, not a single manualised therapy. Psychodrama enacts one person's (the protagonist's) life situation on a stage with the help of the group; sociodrama enacts a shared social situation with the group as protagonist; sociometry maps and makes visible the…

Format

• Session phases (classical):
• Warm-up. Goal: build trust, cohesion, spontaneity and readiness; surface themes; let a protagonist (or a group theme) emerge. Means: games, role presentation, sociometric exercises (spectrograms, hands-on-shoulder choices, step-in circles), movement, social atom or letter writing. Move on when one…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Processing (in training groups and in sociodrama/axiodrama): a separate review of the director's choices and the group's dynamics; sociodrama and axiodrama are described as running warm-up, dramatisation, sharing and processing.
• Version followed: classical Morenian psychodrama (warm-up, action, sharing) with its sociometric, sociodramatic and axiodramatic extensions, as described by certified trainers (TEP-level authors), the European training standard of the Psychodrama Association for Europe (FEPTO-aligned) and the 2018 systematic review of Morenian core techniques by Cruz et al.; trauma work follows the Therapeutic Spiral Model (TSM)…
• Professional frame. Psychodrama is a specialist group psychotherapy method requiring long training, and must not be run as therapy by people without it. USA: the American Board of Examiners in Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy (ABE) certifies Certified Practitioners (CP) and Trainer, Educator, Practitioners (TEP); a secondary summary lists for CP a related master's degree, at least 780 training hours…

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 any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• 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?
• 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

• disaster survivors' variant needs trauma-level pacing.
• grief scenes are powerful; leave ample time for sharing.
• honour any promise about privacy and how results will be used.
• sensory detail sharply raises arousal in trauma scenes; slow down.
• who steps in on trauma criteria and then looks absent; check in quietly.

Problems the guide addresses

• Screening and contraindications
• Overwhelm, dissociation and retraumatisation (risk flag)
• Premature or pushed enactment
• Exposure, shame and feeling belittled
• Rebound demoralisation
• Anger released beyond intent
• Stuck protagonist or flat drama
• Resistance and non-participation
• Group ruptures and sociometric hurts
• Auxiliary over-involvement

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.