ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a description of the function and meaning of three psychodramatic techniques: doubling, role reversal and the mirror technique in the context of psychodrama philosophy and psychoanalytic theory. Psychodrama theory understands these techniques to hold the following meanings: doubling represents the fusional stage with mother; role reversal represents the infant’s recognition that s/he is separate from mother; and the mirror technique represents the infant seeing their own reflection (Moreno 1977:92; Kellerman 1992:148). I will describe the successful application of these psychodrama techniques and the apparent difficulties they can present in a clinical setting. In this discussion I will link these successes and difficulties to the philosophy of psychodrama and to infant developmental theory associated with psychoanalysis. This has been articulated for me through the remarkable research into infant development by Moreno, Winnicott (1977), Stern (1985), Mahler (1975) and Fraiberg (1989), and has provided me with a further understanding of the more serious psychopathologies. This chapter will be insufficient in describing either Moreno’s or psychoanalytic theory of infant development, but will hopefully whet the appetite for further study.
