The dramas in each person's inner world reflect complex object relations that are the basis of their identity. These dramas are often unconscious and the only confirmation of their existence are emotional states such as anxiety or depression. However, they can surface through the silent dialogues between aspects of the Self.
As Freud says, these dramas surface through dreams (the "beautiful path to the unconscious") and nightmares. They also appear in "lucid dreams," which are to some extent controlled by consciousness. The activity of the inner world can also be manifested through "linguistic errors": this idea helped Freud become known to the general public.
Deep levels of mind: primary processes
Inner dramas become part of the inner world in early childhood ( and perhaps even before birth). The earliest memory traces, which encode interpersonal dramas in the human brain, are not integrated and involve only certain parts or aspects of the self or the other.
When early object relations surface in adult life, they will manifest themselves mostly through nonverbal feelings and actions. And only over time can names be given to certain feelings and reactions (e.g., anger, hatred, fear). Such unconscious acts of the mind, which originate in early childhood experiences, are called "primary processes"; according to psychoanalysts, they are characterized by absence of the sense of time, incoherence, contradiction, and negation. To some extent this fact explains the unreality of our dreams.
Meeting of the inner and outer world
The drama of everyday life
We all get attached to relationships that influence us and sometimes control us. The projection or externalization of certain figures from the past pushes a person towards manipulation or provocation directed at the people around them to make them repeat childhood patterns of behavior. However, for this process to be successful, the other person must respond with action and emotion. Sandler describes how one "scans" one's surroundings to find the right people and then enters into trial relationships with them to see if they will respond in a way that one's internal object attitude demands.
The drama of psychodrama
In the magical setting of the psychodramatic scene, the protagonist experiences the same "therapeutic insanity" as the patient in a psychoanalytic transference process. Even the most sane protagonist rejects disbelief and begins to talk to "his mother" or "his father" with a sense of complete emotional reality and conviction. The dramas of childhood can be played with tremendous power and immediacy. And at the same time, the protagonist knows (if he is not psychotic) that his willing "helper" has been transformed by the processes of psychodrama. The reality of the image is only an illusion. George treats Victor "as if" he were his father.
Many psychodramas (along the lines of Zerka Moreno and Elaine Goldman) go back in time, to early scenes in life. Here, too, the portrayal of people (more often parents) becomes less and less objective.
The technique allows various internalized "others" to externalize in a clear and dramatic way with the help of a few auxiliary "aces." The psychodramatic method also allows different aspects of an internal object, e.g. the "bad" or the "good" father( two externalizations of the same figure) to be externalized with magnificent clarity by means of auxiliary "aces" playing the different aspects of the internal object (or objects).
The repressed is referred to in the process of treatment: in psychodrama with the use of the auxiliary "aces", and in psychoanalysis with the help of transference in the relationship with the therapist.
In the beginning, the "father" may exist as an "other" object. Subsequently, in the process of introjective identification , in which the self identifies with the role (or object) , internalized first as an "other" object, leads to structural changes in its self-identity. The individual then feels that he possesses some of the qualities of his father.
The inner world of man has several faces. This inevitable complexity makes psychotherapy so difficult and "dizzying" at times, but the effort is worth it.
"The language tells us that the scriptwriter is 'the self'. Psychoanalysis teaches us that scripts were written many years ago by a naïve childish self struggling to survive in the world of adults whose dramatic conventions are totally different from the "customs" of children. These mental games can be performed in the theatre of our minds or in the theatre of our bodies, and they can take place in the outside world - sometimes using other people's minds and bodies. We are also able to move our mental dramas from one scene to another during stressful periods. So the self is a multifaceted figure" (McDougall).
In his adult life, George had the opportunity to become one of many diverse "Aces." And this means that at any given moment he can experience (feel) the strongest identification with the self-object that emerges as a result of his relationship with the mother (the "son and mother" object relation). At another moment his self will represent the self-shadow in the relationship with the father.
For George, each of these facets of his shared identity touches on different aspects of the role cluster "self as son." But each of these sub-scales is located in relation to different 'other' objects: his father and mother. The two personalities exist within him as internal objects with which his self-objects (or scriptural selves) are in relationship. For many people, this grouping of roles leads to confusion in the self-image and in the perception of "others." A "cross-talk" seems to take place between two or more object relations.
The process of role-playing (enactment) is a characteristic feature of psychodrama, family therapy and psychoanalysis.
"When the therapist has the members of a family interact with each other, acting out some of the problems they believe are causing the dysfunction and discussing the disagreements, for example in trying to subdue a naughty child, they are activating processes not controlled by the family. The usual roles are played out and interactions occur with almost the same intensity that is characteristic of these interactions outside the therapy session."
"Techniques of family therapy"
(Minuchin and Fishman)
Such is the interaction of family members "here and now" during a therapy session. Minuchin figuratively writes that in this process of acting out, "the therapist asks the family to 'perform a dance' in his presence."
Such a situation touches people connected to a common reality. It has a psychological significance for all participants, as well as their interactions, which Moreno calls "encounter-clash". This meeting of two real and equal people in a place common to them, where they influence each other according to their possibilities. Such a relationship can be considered symmetrical and, in Moreno's words, communication is modelled by a 'telos' which involves exchanges of attraction, repulsion, admiration and indifference.
British analyst Patrick Casement uses the term "acting out" in the practice of psychoanalytic counseling. when describing the drama that occurs between the patient and the analyst in transference. In this, the "there and then" situation is enacted "here and now."
The psychodramatist uses the term "acting out" to refer to the re-enactment in the theatre of personality conflicts, following the rule of "show, don't tell". During the sessions, auxiliary "aces" assume the roles of the protagonist's significant "others."
"Don't report what happened, don't tell the story of what you said to each other, but experience the situation as if it were really happening." Moreno
There are two forms of psychodramatic acting: psychodramatic acting in encounter-encounter (a real encounter between two people on stage) and psychodramatic acting from the inner world (related to the externalization of the inner world). They cannot always be separated because many of our "here" and "now" relationships are coloured with the world of the unconscious. In any situation in life or on the psychodramatic stage, the encounter-encounter (acting out in reality) can shift in the direction of acting out subordinate to the unconscious inner world of the two participants.
The auxiliary "aces" listen and respond to the psychological needs of the protagonist, providing the "others" needed in the psychodramatic world. Moreno understands that choices made in life are never accidental. The relationships people form with others are varied and healthy. He suggests that the process of choice often does not presuppose the availability of "transference" (which Moreno defines as "a factor responsible for dissociation and disintegration of the social group" or empathy, which he considers "one-sided" feelings that help one person to understand another or the actor to get into a role. Moreno says that it is the "calf" that is responsible for the increased reciprocity of choices, overriding chance.
For Moreno, spontaneity is another factor that is indispensable for the creation of new roles and for the whole process of psychodrama. "Spontaneity as a plastic function provokes an adequate reaction of the 'I' to unknown situations. Spontaneity as a creative function seeks to create an 'I' and an environment for it."
According to Moreno, the spontaneity of the personality can be developed or enhanced by training, i.e. by interpersonal activity in the social sphere. Increasing group spontaneity is one of the functions of the warm-up phase. "The individual does not have a reservoir of spontaneity in the sense of a stable volume or quality. Spontaneity is available (or not) in varying degrees of readiness, from zero to maximum, acting as a psychological catalyst." Spontaneity is a force or factor that allows the individual not only to express his or her self, but also to create new works of art, make social and technological new discoveries, new social environments, and new roles in psychodrama. A person with a high level of c-factor becomes more alive, energetic and inspiring. "When the functions of spontaneity are left without a guiding influence, contradictory tendencies develop within the self that destabilize the self and shatter its cultural environment." The mismanagement of Freud's "libido" or Moreno's "c-factor" becomes the cause of many personality problems.
Counter transfer
Moreno speaks of the therapist-patient relationship as a meeting between equals who have brought their skills, weaknesses and personal stories with them to the session. This view naturally differs from the traditional view that the therapist is in a more special and powerful position ( Freud, for example, adheres to this classical view).
The process of dynamic psychotherapy cannot be limited to the application of certain techniques or tactics for dealing with the patient's problems and symptoms, because the personal and professional aspects of the therapist-patient relationship are present. In psychodrama, as in analytical psychotherapy, the therapist's own feelings, intuitions and experiences play a crucial role in the process; the relationship between patient and therapist is of paramount importance.
The types of feelings the director (therapist) may experience during a session:
A) Feelings that arise in the principal as a result of a transference reaction to the protagonist. After all, therapists are people too. They can also "confuse" people from their present with significant figures from their past.
B) The therapist's feelings related to the protagonist's transference to the director.
C) Feelings corresponding to the "here and now" situation. Such feelings may be, for example, the anxiety and doubt that are present in everyone when faced with professional difficulties. It could also be irritation at group members being late or other reasons.
D) Feelings not related to the psychodramatic session. We all enter into some situation with feelings related to other events of everyday life. It happens that some feelings influence our thoughts and emotions even when we are occupied with totally different things.
The term "countertransference" itself was first used by Freud in 1910 to describe the feelings that arise in the psychoanalyst or therapist as a result of their contact with the patient. Like most terms associated with psychoanalysis and psychodrama, it is not perfect. Some authors use the term in a very narrow and specific sense, associating it only with the neurotic difficulties a therapist experiences during a non-session. Other psychoanalysts go to the other extreme, using the term to describe literally any feelings or reactions arising in the therapist while working with the patient. Paul Holmes tends to use the term as describing most of the therapist's feelings and emotional reactions during a session. However, he excludes from the term anything that arises in situations entirely outside the boundaries of his contacts with the psychodramatic group( point D).
But the work of the psychotherapist cannot be a neutral passive presence in the therapeutic relationship, no matter how hard he tries. This involvement by its very nature has certain consequences. It is impossible to preserve the detached objectivity to which a surgeon or physician adheres (often unduly) to his patients.
Freud suggests that the therapist can put someone from his past in the patient's place - and yet the analyst is unable to separate his (originating in his inner world) feelings and fantasies about the people who are significant to him from what is proper (in the here and now situation) rather to his relationship with the patient. Difficulties in psychotherapy may also arise if the patient's problems (e.g., caused by his aggressiveness or his relationship with his wife) are analogous to the therapist's situation. And then the patient and the analyst "collude" and would show "resistance" to exploring and resolving this problem. Obviously this situation would be counterproductive. Moreno explains it this way, "Obviously, if the phenomena of transference and countertransference dominate the relationship between the helping therapists ( or helping "aces" and group members) and are directed toward the patient (the protagonist) the therapeutic process faces serious difficulties."
Annie Reich notes that the analyst may or may not like the patient. If this relationship is conscious - there is no reason to be concerned about countertransference. However, if the intensity of the feelings increases, we can determine with complete certainty that the analyst's unconscious feelings, his own transference to the patient i.e. countertransference, are involved. The countertransference thus contains the analyst's own unconscious needs and conflicts. In such cases the patient is for the analyst an object from the past on which past feelings and desires are projected...This is countertransference in its proper sense.""On Countertransference" (Reich)
Reich clearly separates the analyst's emotional reactions (which Moreno would prescribe to the "encounter" taking place) from what is triggered by the therapist's neurosis. The fact that the therapist may or may not like the patient implies the involvement of the "tele" process. The therapist's emotions in the countertransference ( in Reich's sense) are related to his inner world and are rooted in his childhood - hence the term "neurotic countertransference". Moreno writes: "It is the patient who undergoes the positive or the negative. There is only one role. The psychiatrist is seen as an objective agent, at least during treatment, free from his own emotional complicity . He simply analyses the material the patient presents to him. But this is only apparent. Perhaps because only the patient is subject to analysis."
Moreno writes, "The would-be practitioner can let go of transference in relation to the therapist who is analyzing him. But this does not mean that he frees himself from transference with respect to any new person he will meet in the future. For that he will have to acquire the armor of a saint. This armor may break at any time with the appearance of a new patient and the new kind of complexes that the patient will transmit to him..."
From the nature and intensity of the feelings, the therapist learns about their origin (as in the case of patient transference reactions). Reactions of low intensity (point "B") can be elicited from the actual "therapist-protagonist" relationship and from the encounter modulated by the "tel". The more intense reactions (point "A") are perhaps generated by the transference that occurs in the director in his relationship with the protagonist. Moreno writes, "Therefore, the first recommendation made in the early days of psychodramatic work is that the psychotherapist who is to participate in the procedure - as well as the patient - should be analyzed by others in the process of treatment." Moreno suggests that the psychodrama director may feel influence from group members. Psychodrama stimulates such exchanges during the "meeting of equals," which undoubtedly helps people understand themselves better. Such interactions, while important, are not sufficient for the full professional and personal development of the psychodrama facilitator. For that you need an experience of influence similar to what psychoanalysts call "training analysis." I think the question of what kind of "help" or "therapy" a psychodrama director can get from the group he leads is quite controversial, but of course we all grow and learn by being in the role of the therapist.
During their training and practice, psychodramatists need personal help or the influence of the group in which they are not therapists. As Freud said 80 years ago, the therapist's ability to help others is limited by his ability to understand himself; this process requires him to accept help through personal therapy. Regular supervision is also very important.
Б. The protagonist's transference in his relationship with the director and auxiliary "aces".
Paul wonders if George was furious with his mother when she forbade his contact with the father. He understands what the dynamic is and asks George, "I'd like to know, did you feel at other times that some other people in your childhood - did they feel the same way about your encounters with your father?" With this question, Paul attempts to connect the difficulties that arose for George during the session to his past. This comment somewhat resembles an interpretive statement usually made by psychoanalytic therapists. George connects his feelings to the period in his childhood when his visits with his father were interrupted. It occurred to him that Paul (the therapist) was behaving "like" his mother. In fact, Paul indirectly interprets George's transference directed at him.
В. Feelings corresponding to a "here and now" situation
Moreno agrees that an "interpersonal transference" develops between patient and therapist, but distinguishes this process from the "tele"-relationship between two people, which "is not determined by a symbolic transference, has no neurotic motivation, but is conditioned by certain realities that this person embodies and represents...It is a complex of feelings that attracts one person to another and is created by the real qualities of the other person." Moreno suggests that no therapeutic process can take place during psychodrama if transference or countertransference dominates and "...the auxiliary "aces" themselves are disturbed by their own problems(1), there is a protest against the director of psychodrama(2) because of poor performance of the role entrusted to them(3), distrust and negative attitude towards the method(4), interpersonal conflicts(5);all of these create an atmosphere that affects the therapeutic situation...The decisive factor for the therapeutic process is the "body".
However, sometimes in psychodrama it is necessary to increase the clashes between group members, whereas in psychoanalytic group therapy the opposite is required. Certainly one reason why psychoanalysts remain relatively "unknown" (or "mirror-like") to their patients is the need to reduce the feelings and thoughts that are capable of developing "here and now" between two people. This encounter, as Moreno understands it, is better avoided. For example, the patient will hardly experience anger towards his mother(therapist) "in the process of transference" , if he accidentally understands that in reality he has experienced a severe loss.
The feelings experienced by the director may arise from real problems between him and the protagonist.
Mechanism of countertransport
The process of countertransference is undoubtedly of great importance in individual psychotherapy as well as in psychodrama. Paula Hyman writes: "My thesis is that the analyst's emotional response to the patient in a situation of analysis is one of the most important tools in his work. The analyst's countertransference is a tool for exploring the patient's unconscious. The analytic situation...is a relationship between two people. This relationship is distinguished from others not by the feelings in one partner, the patient, and their absence in the analyst, but above all by the depth of the sensations and the usefulness they give...If the analyst tries to work by ignoring his feelings, his interpretations become unfit.""On the Transference" (Heimann)
Racker suggests that the emotional reactions that arise in the psychoanalyst during a session are also, "...a fusion of the present and the past, a continuous and close relationship between reality and fantasy, the inner and the outer, the conscious and the unconscious" (Racker).
Concordant and complementary identifications of the therapist with the patient
Recker explores the process by which one person (the therapist) comes to understand the other (the patient).He suggests that the psychoanalyst has a "tendency toward identification" with the patient. This process, in his words, appears to be the "basis of understanding." The same is true of the director and the auxiliary "aces" since they work on understanding the psychology of the protagonist they want to help. Recker suggests that there are two forms of identification: concordant and complementary.
Concordant identification
Recker describes how a person seeking to understand another,"...can achieve his goal by identifying his own Ego with the patient's Ego, or put more simply...by identifying each part of his personality with the corresponding psychological part of the patient - his own Ego with the patient's Ego, his own Ego with the patient's Ego, his own Super-Ego with the patient's Super-Ego by taking these identifications into his mind. The concordant identification is based on the resonance of the external in the internal or in the recognition of what belongs to the other as my own ("this part of you is me"), also on the alignment of what is my own with what belongs to the other ("this part of me is you").
Complementary identification
This process differs from that described earlier in that the therapist identifies with the patient's internal "other"-objects. For example, the patient in psychotherapy perceives his therapist as if he were his father, experiences feelings in doing so, and adheres to patterns of behavior more consistent with his childhood years. Of course, this is "transference". In this, the therapist identifies, not with the patient's "self" but with his inner "father" with whom this "self" is in an inner relationship. It is through this identification that the therapist develops certain feelings which suit the role of the 'father'.
In a psychodramatic session, a similar process occurs, influencing identification (carried out by an auxiliary self) and projection (carried out by the protagonist). The protagonist projects his or her internal "other"-object onto a member of the group, who then responds to this projection to some degree. The group member who performs the role of the 'father' identifies with this internal object of the protagonist. This process involves aspects of the conscious and unconscious.
What benefit can the psychodrama director and group members acting as auxiliary "aces" derive from their feelings triggered by their relationship with the protagonist? These feelings (if realized) provide information about the modes of communication the protagonist uses and furthermore point to their internal object relations.
Unconscious aspects of the relationship between the protagonist and the director can noticeably disrupt the course of the protagonist-centered psychodrama if they are not understood and resolved. For George, Paul the therapist unconsciously identifies with his mother. When Paul finds out about this, he is faced with a choice.
- Turning to his psychoanalytic experience, he can "interpret" George's transference in terms of himself.
- He can help the meeting between George and the real Paul. "Look, George, why are you so angry with me right now. What have I done?"
- He might prompt George to do some inner work by asking him, "I'd like to know if you felt that other people from your childhood also got in the way of meeting your father?"
The first option is impossible, because everything happens in a psychodramatic group and besides, the experience of psychoanalytic therapy shows, the interpretation of transference in the initial stage leads to its intensification. This fact can only complicate Paul's relationship with George. The second option is psychodramatic and, with it, potentially effective. Paul decides to apologize to George ( in few words, as a direct address "here and now"). This seems to work effectively enough. He then moves on to the third option, trying to figure out who this inner object is in George's life. The next step after that is to look for an auxiliary "I" for the role of "mother".
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