Rehearsals for Growth

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Daniel J. Wiener

What it is

RfG applies theatre improvisation games and exercises to psychotherapy with groups, couples, families and individuals. Its founder, Daniel J. Wiener, is a professor at Central Connecticut State University, a licensed psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist, a diplomate in family…

Format

• Format. Used in individual, couple, family and group therapy. In the couples video, Wiener works with one married couple over three sessions, alternating exercises with observations of the couple's dynamics and his reasons for each choice.
• Session count. Not specified in the sources used; RfG appears to be added to ongoing therapy rather than run as a fixed-length course.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: Rehearsals for Growth (RfG; styled "Rehearsals! for Growth" on Wiener's Intellect author page) as developed by Daniel J. Wiener, PhD, and described in the publisher's listings for Rehearsals for Growth: Theater Improvisation for Psychotherapists (W. W. Norton), his Intellect author profile, his couples-therapy training video, and secondary summaries of his Drama Therapy Review papers. Sourced…
• What it is. RfG applies theatre improvisation games and exercises to psychotherapy with groups, couples, families and individuals. Its founder, Daniel J. Wiener, is a professor at Central Connecticut State University, a licensed psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist, a diplomate in family psychology and an AAMFT-approved supervisor; he has written or edited six books and received the Zerka T.…
• How change is thought to happen. Improvised scenes let clients practise new ways of relating, as a rehearsal, instead of only talking about them. The training video's premise is that both therapist and clients can get stuck in "stale ways of engaging", and that improvised exercises open new options. In couples work, Wiener is summarised as working from a constructivist view: partners each construct their own version…

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?
• 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

• People agreeing too quickly. Rehearse the stop signal once, so it is real.
• Ending a session mid-scene, or with high arousal. Leave at least 10 minutes for this.
• Homework that sets up a confrontation. Keep the first real-life try small and low-risk.
• Observations heard as blame. Describe both partners, keep it specific, and invite correction.
• A partner still angry "as the character"; a group member treated as the role they played. Repeat de-roling and address it explicitly.

Problems the guide addresses

• Overwhelm and retraumatisation in a scene
• Couple scene turns into a real fight
• Reluctance, embarrassment or refusal to enact
• Stuck or flat scenes
• Characters used against someone afterwards
• Non-adherence to rehearsal homework
• Ruptures with the therapist
• Group-specific difficulties

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.