From the guest editor: the creative practitioner: an introduction to psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy

Abstract

Psychodrama is a triadic system that incorporates psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy. It was developed in the first half of the 20th century by Jacob L. Moreno, a physician by training. He believed that a “truly therapeutic procedure cannot have less an objective than the whole of mankind” (1953, p. 3). Group work and psychodrama focus on working with vulnerable populations and strive to use their approaches to empower individuals, groups and communities. Group work and psychodrama have a similar philosophical stance and orientation toward group life. Knowledge of group work and psychodrama techniques can provide group workers with an additional set of intervention strategies to generate positive outcomes for clients and programs. Moreno believed that spontaneity fuels creativity and leads to the creation of a “cultural conserve” or new product or creative act. This past year, the pandemic sparked the psychodrama community’s spontaneity and creativity leading to the rapid and successful transformation of face-to-face psychodrama groups to online platforms. These groups connected people throughout the world experiencing common issues relating to isolation, illness and political upheaval. The articles in this special issue of Social Work with Groups represent the application of psychodrama, sociometry, and group psychotherapy to empower and give voice to diverse populations. It is my hope that this special issue will highlight the synergistic union between group work and psychodrama for readers of the Journal.