Abstract: This talk will provide a comprehensive overview of over a century of research in the field of psychodrama. The investigation commences with the genesis of the term "psychodrama" and the seminal contributions of Jakob Levy Moreno in Austria prior to 1925. In 1931, Moreno coined the term "group psychotherapy" in the United States.
The subsequent sections of this talk provide examples of relevant research areas and results. In the domain of clinical research, a pioneering controlled trial on psychodrama was conducted in 1951. A recent meta-analysis has revealed a standardized mean difference of .768 for illness reduction and health promotion, which is nearly a large effect size. Systematic reviews conclude that psychodrama is an effective intervention for patients in multiple circumstances. Concretization, which externalizes and embodies action insights, stands out as a core mechanism for facilitating change. In process-outcome studies, participants frequently reported improvements in their personal therapeutic goals, a reduction in symptoms and life problems, and some demonstrated a notable increase in spontaneity levels. Training research dealing with end-of-life care demonstrated that psychodrama facilitated the processing of negative emotions related to death and enhanced students' confidence. The State Spontaneity Scale (SSS) is undergoing further development as a research tool appropriate for psychodrama. A notable project addressing gender-based violence effectively employed psychodrama to facilitate the resolution of victim-perpetrator relationships in the field of socio- and axiodrama.
The Moreno family and the writings of a biographer provide substantial documentation of biographical research.
The talk concludes with a reflection on scientific publishing. Moreno's legacy is marked by his instrumental role in establishing numerous journals, the majority of which were published under the aegis of his own Beacon House publishing venture. Notably, the psychodrama journals have not yet been incorporated into major science citation indexes, although an online bibliography and library are available.
To conclude, all this reveals that psychodrama is effective. In the future, it would be beneficial to dedicate more research efforts to investigating the mechanisms of change.
Keywords: Psychodrama, History, Research, Biography, Publishing
Wieser, M. (2025). Psychodrama research.
Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11620-025-00869-w
