WCP 2025

Chair: Martin Poltrum, Dennis Henkel

Dennis Henkel (Cologne)
Psychiatry and medicine in silent film (1895-1930)

Martin Poltrum (Vienna)
Connoisseurs of the soul, psycho villains –– psychotherapists in feature films (1925-2006)

Rainer Gross (Vienna)
“Hollywood’s love affair with psychoanalysis. Saving the patient through transference love.” Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945)

Ulf Heuner (Berlin)
The sad psychotherapist in the TV series Monk (2002-2009)

This presentation provides an overview of cases brought over many years before the psychotherapeutic complaints committees of the Austrian federal states. It examines significant failures in therapeutic practice and provides space for discussion and dialogue. The presentation invites critical reflection and offers considerations for preventing such serious errors in psychotherapeutic practice.

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

Systemic therapy thrives on the dynamic interplay of expansion and contraction—shifting environments, evolving cultural contexts, and the cyclical nature of resources and relationships. This workshop explores how expanding narratives and cultivating nurturing spaces can profoundly enrich therapeutic practice and enhance client well-being. Through collaborative activities and interactive dialogue, participants will discover innovative strategies to broaden systemic perspectives, adapt to diverse needs, and foster meaningful growth. Join us to exchange ideas, deepen your understanding, and strengthen your ability to create transformative therapeutic experiences and environments.

Emotional disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, depression), is the most common psychological disorders across different countries, while the global clinical professional capacity is relatively weak. In order to treat these disorders and sub-health state more efficiently, Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress (MIED) was developed, based on Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Unified Protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders (UP). Compared to other mindfulness-based interventions or UP, the MIED includes transdiagnostic Psychopathological Diamond Model and the corresponding four core intervention strategies. A series of studies indicated that both the eight-week MIED intervention led by professionals and/or the online digital self-help intervention program iMIED (Internet Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress) with only limited professional support have effectively alleviated the symptoms of patients with anxiety and depressive disorders or individual participants in subhealth. Moreover, mindfulness, experiential avoidance, distress tolerance, and decentering are potential mechanisms of action, which initially support the Psychopathological Diamond Model of MIED.