ABSTRACT
“Psychodrama seems to be known more for its applications than for its theories,” writes Peter Kellermann (1992, p. 33) in a book that has been highly regarded in psychodrama circles. Kellermann suggests that psychodrama should be considered a “collection of unsystematic treatment interventions.” Kellermann is wrong; there is an extensive body of theory associated with psychodrama and psychodrama is a method based on “a system of thought, a view, a philosophy of the world, a synthesis of methods that hang together and whose breakup produces confusion instead of enlightenment, invites disaster instead of producing cohesion” (Z. T. Moreno, 1969, p. 4.) Kellermann perpetuates a belief, common today, that psychodrama requires additional non-Morenean theoretical support. Many current psychodramatists combine psychodramatic techniques with one of the non-psychodramatic theories of psychotherapy. Books and papers have been published recounting these combinations of psychodrama with other methods. Some examples are: psychodrama combined with various theories of family therapy (Guildner, 1983, 1990; Hollander, 1981; Dodson, 1983; Williams, 1989; Perott, 1986; Remer, 1986); with psychoanalysis (Aronson, 1990; Kellerman, (1995); Lebovici, 1956a, 1956b); with Adlerian therapy (Dushman & Bressler, 1991; Starr & Weisz, 1989); with object relations theory (Powell, 1989; Holmes, 1992); and with Transaction Analysis (Holtby, 1975; Jacobs, 1975). These combinations raise the question of whether practitioners are conducting psychodrama or practicing another kind of psychotherapy utilizing psychodramatic techniques. Moreno addressed this issue when he complained that his methods had been widely adopted but the philosophy upon which they were constructed had been left behind “on library shelves.” His entire life and his life’s works had been dedicated to changing society, of creating “a superdynamic community” based on the principles of Spontaneity-Creativity and faith in the good intentions of our fellowmen. He perceived associating his techniques with other methods as potentially maintaining the status quo, the very thing he had set out to alter.
