Tragic catharsis

Domain XVI · Historical, discredited & harmful · Aristotle · -400

What it is

Tragic catharsis (Greek katharsis, "cleansing" or "purging") is Aristotle's term for what tragedy does to the emotions of pity and fear that it arouses. In the Poetics he defines tragedy as the imitation of a serious, complete action, in dramatic rather than narrative form, which through pity and…

Format

• Group and action methods (from the 1920s). Moreno developed psychodrama in New York from 1925. Drama therapy today centres on "aesthetic distance" rather than discharge.
• Alternatives and processing. Goal: build arousal-reducing skills, reflective processing and, where it fits, engagement with art or drama at a manageable distance (with referral where needed). Move on once the client uses the alternatives outside sessions and reports less anger or less aggression…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Testing the hydraulic idea (1959 onwards). In Bushman's account, Hornberger (1959) found that people who pounded nails were more hostile afterwards. Bandura (1973) called for a moratorium on catharsis-based venting. Geen and Quanty (1977) concluded that venting does not reduce aggression. Bushman's…

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

• The client manufacturing crises in order to feel "progress". It is working when the client values steady change.
• Overcorrecting into suppressing emotion. It is working when trainees can name both the history and the evidence.
• Flooding mistaken for breakthrough. It is working when the client can stay with the emotion and still talk about what it means.
• Imposing a Western "let it out" norm. It is working when the client chooses a way of expressing emotion that fits their own values.
• Retaliation, or a culture where questioning is discouraged. It is working when the practice changes or the concern is formally recorded.

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.