Psychodrama, Surplus Reality and the Art of Healing

by Moreno,Zerka T.

• ISBN13: 9780415223201
• ISBN10: 0415223202
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The practice of psychodrama allows participants to create a world for themselves, free of usual rules and constraints. This freedom from all ordinary conventions is what Moreno called 'Surplus Reality', and is one of the most vital, curative and mysterious elements of psychodrama. In this book, Leif Dag Blomkvist and Zerka Moreno explore the depths of this long-neglected concept. In addition, each chapter is prefaced by Leif Dag Blomkvist's explanations and illuminations of the forces and energies - from early religious rituals and festivals to the art of Surrealism - which have influenced psychodrama. Psychodramatists and mental health professionals who wish to take therapy beyond the 'verbal' will find the book valuable reading.

Author Biography

Leif Dag Blomkvist is Director of the Swedish Moreno Institute.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	xii
An early history of psychodrama	xiii
Introduction	1	(5)
Time and death	6	(5)
The moment of surprise	11	(3)
Ecstasy and role reversal	14	(3)
Surplus reality	17	(7)
Clinical applications: the use of humour and magic objects	24	(7)
The surreal experience	31	(9)
Psychodrama and the deliberately distorted mirror technique	40	(8)
Psychodrama as healing theatre	48	(10)
Psychodrama as tragedy	58	(3)
Diagnosis in psychodrama	61	(2)
Sharing in psychodrama	63	(3)
The creation of the double	66	(6)
Projection and the participation mystique in psychodrama	72	(8)
Group psychotherapy and the individual	80	(5)
The protagonist	85	(7)
Sociometry	92	(22)
The Tragic Self	114	(5)
Epilogue	119	(2)
Notes	121	(2)
Bibliography	123	(2)
Index	125