ABSTRACT
The years between 1909, when Moreno entered the University of Vienna, and 1925, when he immigrated to America, the years, which comprise what he called the religious phase of his life, were extremely productive ones for Moreno. He threw himself spontaneously into situations in which he perceived groups of people in trouble, often in despair and needing help. He worked to identify the causes of their problems and searched for the means to resolve their problems. Several of these experiences would become the seminal events upon which his later scientific work in America was based. The House of Encounter described in the first chapter is one example of how he took on the social problems of his immediate environment. There are at least seven other events, not counting the completion of his medical degree from the University of Vienna, which characterize Moreno’s transition from the religious to the scientific phase of his life. They are:
Conducting group therapy with the prostitutes of Vienna.
Resolving social turbulence in a refugee community.
The first psychodrama, a search for the new king of Austria.
Founding of the literary journal Daimon.
Creating the theater of spontaneity.
Discovering the therapeutic application of spontaneity techniques.
Invention of a sound and picture recording device.
