ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION In this chapter I aim to give you an introduction to the principles and practice of group-analytic psychotherapy and in that way present a way of thinking which can enrich psychodrama practice. An appreciation of group-analytic principles can provide an instrument which helps a psychodrama director:
• to understand what is going on under the surface communication in a group;
• to lessen the director’s anxiety around silences in the group; • to demystify certain aspects of a group’s behaviour; • to understand transferential and countertransferential issues, related both
to the leader and to other group members; • to anticipate that each group member will project on to the group,
experiences of earlier groups in their lives, in particular their family of origin;
• to understand the process in a group over time; that is the steps and crises in the developmental stages of a group’s life.
