I invite you to take a look at my short article, Healing Through Psychodrama, in the Summer 2016 Women’s Health Source newsletter (pg. 8) published by Mainline Health. The article introduces the use of psychodrama to facilitate healing from trauma and addiction while offering a brief description of a group session:
Mere words aren’t enough for some people to communicate about painful experiences. Another option for healing is psychodrama. This technique explores a person’s relationship with herself and others through creative tools such as role-playing and role reversal, which allow people to learn new ways of relating to others.
“Psychodrama allows us to talk directly to the issue at hand— whether it be interacting with God, a parent, shame, or addiction,” says Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, Mirmont Treatment Center. “Psychodramatists empower people to create change in their lives.”
The following describes a psychodrama experienced by Maria, a survivor of trauma and addiction, while she was an inpatient at Mirmont. The Mirmont team designated one side of the room as “the past” and had a group member role-play as Maria’s 7-year-old self. When Maria was invited to “role reverse” with her younger self, 7-year-old Maria found a safe space to have a voice. She expressed the terror of living in an abusive home and how she escaped her sadness through drug use.
Maria was able to honor her 7-year-old self and give her the love she craved in her childhood. She was invited to choose an object in the room to represent her resilience; she chose a blue marker. Empowered, Maria held her resilience in the air and exclaimed, “I get to write my own future!”
-Scott Giacomucci
