Improvisational Psychodrama (即興心理劇)

Peter Ross

Psychodrama is a therapeutic technique conceived and developed by Jacob L. Moreno, MD. Using experiential guided drama techniques, psychodrama provides a safe, supportive environment in which participants can practice new roles, language and behaviors, thus facilitating insight, personal growth, and integration.

There is no single, rigid pattern to the psychodrama process. However, the cycle can be divided roughly into three phases. The first involves warming up, selecting protagonists and antagonists and setting the scene. The second phase consists of an inprovisational roleplay. In the third phase, the participants reflect on their work, and relate it to their own, everyday lives.

This workshop will demonstrate applications of the psychodrama cycle to the language classroom, incorporating the Japanese concepts of 'tatemae' and 'honne'.

Peter Ross is an associate professor at Tokyo Keizai University. His interests include feedback in the classroom, the Silent Way, NLP, Ericksonian Hypnosis and teaching grammar through images.